McSleepers - Number of Hong Kong People Sleeping At McDonald's Increases Sixfold

The number of Hong Kong people sleeping at McDonald's restaurants has increased almost sixfold since 2013.

People sleeping in McDonald's outlets, commonly known in Hong Kong as 'McSleepers' or 'McRefugees', are a common sight in Hong Kong, where the presence of McSleepers is usually tolerated by employees.

According to a recent survey by the non-profit organization Junior Chamber International Tai Ping Shan, the number of McSleepers in Hong Kong has risen from 57 to 334 individuals over the period from 2013 to August 2018.

Embed from Getty Images

In densely populated Hong Kong there are a a total of 116 McDonald's outlets open 24-hours: 30 in Hong Kong Island, 42 in Kowloon, 40 in the New Territories and 4 on the Outlying Islands. The American food chain provides not only cheap meals, but also free internet and air-conditioning, thus attracting customers from the city's poorest social groups.

Hong Kong-based Wenweipo reports that 70% of McSleepers have a home, yet they choose to sleep at McDonald's. Some cannot afford to pay for electricity to keep air-conditioning running in Hong Kong's scorching summer heat. Some live in small, subdivided flats and prefer to sleep in McDonald's rather in their minimal living space. Others simply have problems with relatives. 30% of McSleepers do not have a home.

The age of McSleepers ranges from 19 to 79, while the average age is about 53 years old. 57% of McSleepers have a job and the rest are unemployed.

In September 2013 the Hong Kong government announced the first official poverty line, set at 50% of the median monthly household income. A 2017 study shows that despite annual economic growth averaging 3.4% from 2010 to 2017, and a low unemployment rate of 3.4%, poverty remains a pressing issue in the city.

In 2016, the number of poor people was more than 1.3 million, amounting to 19.9% of the population. Government welfare policies (recurrent cash) reduced the figures to 995,800 and 14.7% respectively.

Hong Kong’s housing shortage is the cause of social problems such as the proliferation of cage homes.

Comments

The Window Trick of Las Vegas Hotels

When I lived in Hong Kong I often passed by a residential apartment complex commonly known as the " monster building ". " Interior of the Yick Cheong Building November 2016 " by Nick-D is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 . _____

Living in Taiwan: Seven Reasons Why It's Good to Be Here

Chinese New Year can be a pretty boring time for a foreigner. All of my friends were celebrating with their families, and since I have no family here, nor have I a girlfriend whose family I could join, I had nothing special to do. Shops and cafes were closed - apart from big chains like McDonald's or Starbucks, which were overcrowded anyway. So I had a lot of time to think. On Saturday evening I went out to buy my dinner. While I was walking around, I heard the voices of the people inside their homes, the sounds of their New Year celebrations. Then I suddenly asked myself: "What on earth are you doing here? Why are you still in Taiwan?" Before I came to Taiwan, some Taiwanese friends of mine had recommended me their country, highly prasing it and going so far as to say that Taiwan is a "paradise for foreigners" (bear in mind that when I say foreigners I mean 'Westerners'). "It's easy for foreigners to find a job," t

Is China's MINISO Copying Japan's MUJI, UNIQLO and Daiso?

Over the past few years Japanese retailers such as UNIQLO and MUJI have conquered foreign markets, opening shops in cities such as Paris, Berlin or New York and becoming household names in several countries. But the success of their business model seems to have inspired people with dubious intentions. As the website Daliulian recently showed, a new chain called MINISO, which claims to be a Japanese company selling ‘100% Japanese products’, seems to be nothing more than a knock-off of UNIQLO, MUJI and Daiso, copying their logos, names and even the layout of their stores. The company’s webpage proudly announces – in terrible English – that “ MINISO is a fast fashion designer brand of Japan. Headquartered in Tokyo Japan, Japanese young designer Miyake Jyunya is founder as well as the chief designer of MINISO, a pioneer in global 'Fashion & Casual Superior Products' field. ” According to the company’s homepage, MINISO advocates the philosophy of a simple,

Macau: Gambling, Corruption, Prostitution, and Fake Worlds

As I mentioned in my previous post , Macau has different faces and identities: there is the old Macau, full of colonial buildings and in which the pace of life seems to resemble a relaxed Mediterranean town rather than a bustling, hectic Chinese city, such as Hong Kong or Shanghai. On the other hand, there is the Macau of gambling, of gigantic hotel and casino resorts, and of prostitution. These two Macaus seem to be spatially separated from each other, with an intact colonial city centre and nice outskirts with small alleys on the one side, and bombastic, modern buildings on the other. The Galaxy - one of the huge casino and hotel resorts The Importance of Gambling for Macau's Economy Dubbed the 'Monte Carlo of the East', Macau has often been portrayed as the gambling capital of China. Media reporting on Macau tend present pictures of the city's glistening, apparently luxurious skyline. But a visit in Macau suffices to realize that it is fa

Trip to Tainan

Tainan Train Station Last weekend I made a one day trip to the Southern Taiwanese city of Tainan (Chinese: 臺南, pinyin: Táinán), the former capital and one of the most important centres of culture, history and architecture of the island. This blog post is also intended as a special thank to Grace, a Taiwanese friend who was so kind to show me around, and very patient, too. Since Tainan doesn't have an extensive public transport net, Grace picked me up at the train station with her motorcycle, a vehicle that, along with cars, is regarded by locals as indispensable for living comfortably in Tainan. To my great embarrassment, though, I had to admit that I cannot ride a motorcycle. That's why we had to take busses to move around. It was the first time she ever took a bus in Tainan. And now I know why: busses come more or less every half an hour, and service stops early in the evening. No wonder Tainanese snob public transport. Grace had no idea about the routes and about whe

Schedium

Search This Blog