In 2003 the then Hong Kong government decided to help the elderly who were looking for a place in subsidized care (nursing) homes. It allowed developers to waive land premiums if the plot of land was used to build elderly care homes. Its intentions were good.

But the results were sad and disturbing. Ten years later, not a single care home was built under such a scheme. Disappointing citizens might wonder why government officials have not reviewed this policy for a decade - as it did not work.

Today, old people in Hong Kong wanting a place in subsidized elderly homes must wait for 36 months. This is 20 percent longer than the 30 months waiting time back in 2003. This is not acceptable, given that our society has become wealthier and more prosperous in recent years, due partly to the influx of mainland tourists who spend lavishly on luxury goods.

The "land-premium-for-care-homes" scheme doesn't work because developers know that if they combine care homes with private housing projects, potential buyers will view the elderly homes as a drawback or as a disincentive to say the least. It is sad to say this but it's true. Hong Kong people by and large have yet to change parochial views that they would rather not live near facilities housing the elderly, the mentally ill, minorities, or funeral parlors, for that matter.

It is a shame for all Hong Kong people. We must change this narrow mindset and change "traditional culture", feng shui or whatever. In particular, young people must be taught to show compassion for the sick, elderly, people of a different race and the underprivileged. It will take time - perhaps a whole generation - to show discernible results. That is exactly why we should have a "cultural revolution" (to alter people's narrow mindsets) in Hong Kong as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the government, after keeping quiet for 10 years, can amend the land premium for its care homes policy to make it work.

Instead of allowing a premium-waiver for lands used to build care homes for the elderly, it could make it mandatory for developers to build such facilities for the aged if they want to acquire a particular site for development. Yes, the adjacent private housing project to be built by the developers might see a 10 percent or more price drop in the new units sold. But such housing projects would no doubt reap a handsome profit for developers.

Some developers would definitely take the plunge as such a move would gain them intangible assets: goodwill (people will remember that a particular developer is caring).

Companies in Hong Kong are spending millions of dollars to engage in Community Social Responsibility (CSR) projects. Developers should regard building care homes for the elderly inside private housing estates as part of their CSR projects. This would enhance their reputation in our community.

Currently about 30,000 aged people are waiting for subsidized care homes. The queue might become longer in coming years as the aging population in Hong Kong is growing fast. Government figures show that the city's population has grown an average of 1.6 percent a year from 1961 to 2011 (from 3.1 million people to 7.1 million). However, the number of old people has increased 4.8 percent a year in the same period, from 88,000 to 940,000.

There is no time for procrastinating. Government officials must change the policy as soon as possible.

The author is coordinator of the B.Soc in financial journalism program at the Communication School of Hong Kong Baptist University.

(HK Edition 01/08/2014 page1)