The hegemony of the real estate industry: Redevelopment of ‘Government/Institution or Community’ (G/IC) land in Hong Kong

The high property price syndrome in Hong Kong has led to heightened concern about the role of landed capital in property development. Recently, the hegemony of the real estate industry has become a buzzword in local literature, but unfortunately there is neither adequate theoretical articulation nor informed understanding of the concept of hegemony. There is widespread misunderstanding of hegemony, equating it to domination by property tycoons. The local literature has overlooked the government-business collusion in constructing the common sense of society so as to dominate others. Through an empirical investigation of the redevelopment of ‘Government/Institution or Community’ (G/IC) land in Hong Kong, this article attempts to offer an alternative explanation to the land question of G/IC redevelopment by highlighting that the everyday life of the silent majority and of professionals has in fact perpetuated the hegemony of the real estate industry in Hong Kong. It is argued that the government, property developers, professionals, charitable organisations and the general public have altogether participated, in different ways and to different extents, in the capital accumulation projects of leading developer conglomerates in Hong Kong. A land (re)development regime has thus contributed to the property boom in Hong Kong. 香港的高房价综合症增加了人们对土地化资本在地产开发中的作用之担忧。近年来，房地产业 霸权成为了地方文献中的一个热词，但很遗憾，对于霸权这一概念，人们既没有在理论上做清 晰的表述，也未形成全面的理解。人们对霸权有着普遍的误解，将其等同于房产大亨的支配。 地方文献忽视了政界与商界在建构社会常识以支配他人方面的共谋。本文通过实证研宄香港 “ 政府、机构或社区” （G/IC)用地的再开发过程，尝试对G/IC再开发的土地问题提出一个别 样的解释。我们强调，沉默的大多数以及专业人士的日常生活事实上使得香港房地产业的霸权 得以保持。本文指出，政府、地产开发商、专业人士、慈善机构和公众一起以不同的方式、在 不同的程度上参与了香港开发巨头的资本积累过程。土地（再）开发机制由此对香港的地产繁 荣作出贡献。