Hard living: Hong Kong scores 70th in rank of world cities, lags Singapore

HongKong(left)ranked70th,tyingwiththeUScityofDetroit(right).Photos:RobertNg

(SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST) HongKonghasbeenranked70thinastudyonqualityoflivingincitiesaroundtheworlddespitethesocialunrestithasbeenexperiencing.

ThecitycameinatthesamespotastheAmericancityofDetroit.

AmericanhumanresourcesconsultancyfirmMercerawardedscoresto230citiesworldwidebetweenSeptemberandNovemberlastyearbasedon39factorswhichexpatriatesregardedasimportanttotheirqualityoflife.Theseincludedpoliticalstability,economicenvironment,education,healthandhousing.

Thisyear’sresultforHongKong,whichdidnotchangefromlastyear’s,meantthecityremainedtheonewiththehighestqualityoflivinginChina.TherankingalsoputitjustaheadoftheKoreancapitalSeoul,whichwasranked73rd.

ButHongKong’sscoretrailedfarbehindthatofitsregionalrivalSingapore,ranked26th,aswellasmanyEuropeancitiesincludingViennaandZurich,whichgainedthetwotopspotsinthesurvey.

ConnieLeung,aconsultantatMercer,said:“AlthoughtherehavebeenrisingconcernsaroundsocialissuesinHongKongrecently,thesurveyshowsthatqualityoflivingandpersonalsafetyinHongKongremainatarelativelygoodstandardcomparedtomostothernearbycitiesintheregion.”

ManytoptierChinesecitiesdidnotmakeitintothetop100thisyear.Shanghaiwasplacedat101st,Beijing118th,Guangzhou119thandShenzhen137th.

DataforthesurveywasanalysedbetweenSeptemberandNovemberlastyear,butassessmentswerethenrevisedtoreflectthelatestdevelopmentsinpolitics,economicsandtheenvironment.

DrChungKim-wah,assistantprofessoroftheDepartmentofAppliedSocialSciencesoftheHongKongPolytechnicUniversity,saidheoverallagreedwiththestudyfindingbecausehealsofeltthequalityoflifeinHongKongdidnotexperiencesignificantchangesoverthepastyearandwasoverallsafe.

“Overall,thecrimerateinthecityislowandrentalsostartedtofallslightlytowardstheendoflastyear.Therewereclashesbetweenthepoliceandcitizensbuttheirscaleweremostlyconfinedtoonearea,”saidChung.

AccordingtotheHongKongpolicelastmonth,crimeinthecitylastyearfelltoitslowestratesince1979.

But,hesaidincidentssuchastheMongKokriot,whichtookplaceonthefirstdayofLunarNewYear,couldaffectHongKong’srankingiftheyoccurredmoreofteninthefuture.