The government of Hong Kong has offset extremely low taxes by leasing state-owned land to property developers charging huge rents. ”If you’re not coming from a wealthy family, then you have no expectation or hope of purchasing your own house,” says politician and activist Nathan Law. With limited access to state housing, many are forced to live in dangerous and often illegal living conditions. ”Sometimes you can see the rats running along the ceiling,” Auntie Har says of her dingy accommodation. The growth of philanthropy to help the young has done little to help the aging population; in the absence of a comprehensive welfare system, many have been made homeless. Cherry, the child of manual labourers, sees personal wealth as the only way to secure her parents’ future. “ At the moment, my parents are raising us up and when I grow up and they’re old I can earn money and look after them.”