Whampoa Gardens estate in Hung Hom. [PAUL YEUNG / BLOOMBERG] Hong Kong is a city of stark financial contrasts, being home to luxury-brand flagship outlets and also to three in 10 people living in public housing heavily subsidized by the government. Despite being helped financially, the cost of living weighs heavily on this group. According to the Census and Statistics Department, they paid rent of HK$1,500 ($191) on average in 2016, an increase of HK$190 on 2006. For 50 percent of the city's 7 million people living in private housing, their rent nearly doubled from HK$5,100 to HK$10,000 over the same period. The much lower rents for public housing residents have provided them with a crumb of comfort. In the 2014-15 financial year, spending on food took up HK$6,159, or 46 percent, of their monthly household expenditure, according to a survey carried out by the department every five years. Eating lunch in cha chaan tengs, or Hong Kong-style diners, costs HK$50 per person on average. A bottle of water in a convenience store costs more than HK$7, while a small bottle of cola costs about HK$9. Even cooking at home is not cheap for those with little money. According to a survey in 2016 by the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, it cost HK$114 to make a single dinner such as fish or pork with vegetables. A pack of cigarettes in the city costs nearly HK$60 and a small bottle of imported beer HK$18. Those living in private housing spend more on food a month - HK$8,324 - but it only takes 23 percent of their monthly expenditure compared with those living in subsidized public housing. Tenants in public housing pay HK$1,049 a month on average on public transportation, while those in private accommodations spend HK$2,849 to get about. A train journey from Lo Wu on the border with the Chinese mainland to Central district on Hong Kong Island costs HK$49. Hailing a taxi costs HK$24 for the first kilometer and HK$8.50 for each ensuing kilometer. For drivers, 1 liter of gasoline costs HK$15.80 and the registration fee for a vehicle such as a new electric Volkswagen e-Golf can be as high as HK$199,480 - more than 60 percent of the retail price of HK$326,980. canadian wristbandsrubber bracelets animalsfuck cancer braceletcustom woven friendship braceletspaw print silicone bracelets
SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK) President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday held phone talks over the Korean Peninsula situations, the Blue House of the ROK said.Moon and Abe had the dialogue for 40 minutes from 4:00 pm local time (0700 GMT), exchanging views over the "changed situations" on the peninsula, Moon's spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a press briefing.It came ahead of the summit between Moon and Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), scheduled for Friday in the border village of Panmunjom.Moon told Abe that the success of the inter-Korean summit will be of great benefit to the DPRK-US summit and normalized ties between the DPRK and Japan.The ROK president said the successful inter-Korean summit will be an opportunity to fundamentally resolve issues between Tokyo and Pyongyang.In response, Abe said that if the inter-Korean and DPRK-US summits end successfully, talks between Japan and the DPRK will be naturally held.Abe said the successes of the inter-Korean and DPRK-US summits would mean the resolution of nuclear and missile issues as well as the abduction of Japanese people by the DPRK, noting that under such situations, Japan and the DPRK can normalize relations.Regarding the issue to turn the current armistice agreement into a peace regime on the peninsula, Moon told Abe that the issue on declaring an end to the 1950-1953 Korean War cannot be resolved only through talks between the two Koreas.The Korean Armistice Agreement, which halted the Korean War, was signed on July 27, 1953 by China, the DPRK, and the US-led UN Command.
