As she surveyed her home in Hong Kong, Liu Lanhua tried not to be bothered that her narrow kitchen doubled as the family’s only bathroom.

当刘兰华（音）打量自己在香港的家时，她努力不去在意狭小的厨房同时也是家中唯一的浴室。

Colanders, pans and hairbrushes dangled above the toilet. Jars of chili oil were precariously balanced on water pipes. A stew of chicken wings and chestnuts warmed on an electric stove a few feet from the shower faucet.

漏勺、平底锅和梳子放在马桶上方。水管上放着几罐辣椒油，随时会碰倒的样子。距离花洒几尺开外的电炉上正热着一锅栗子烧鸡翅。

She and her 12-year-old daughter are among 220,000 people in Hong Kong living in subdivided homes, which have long been among the starkest examples of the city’s vast income inequality.

和刘女士及她12岁的女儿一样，香港有22万民众居住在㓥房里。长期以来，这种分拆而成的楼宇单位一直是香港收入严重不平等的最明显例证之一。

Now her home is under threat. Hong Kong’s leader, John Lee, last month announced that the city would impose minimum standards on the size and fixtures of such apartments. The policy is expected to phase out more than 30,000 of the smallest subdivided homes.

现在，她的家正受到威胁。香港特首李家超上个月宣布，将对此类公寓的面积和装备情况实施最低标准。该政策预计将逐步淘汰3万多套面积不达标的小㓥房。

In Ms. Liu’s home, there was no space for a sink; the only spot for two pet turtles was in a basin under the fridge. “If we had money, these would be in separate rooms,” she said, looking at the cluttered kitchen and toilet.

在刘女士的家中没有地方放置水槽；两只宠物乌龟只能养在冰箱下面的一个盆子里。“如果我们有钱，这些东西会放在不同的房间里，”她打量着杂乱的厨卫说道。

Beijing has urged the Hong Kong government to get rid of subdivided units and other tiny homes by 2049, because it regards the city’s housing shortage as one cause of the antigovernment unrest of 2019.

北京方面敦促香港政府在2049年前彻底淘汰㓥房和其他迷你住房，中央政府认为住房短缺是香港在2019年出现反政府动荡的一个原因。

新规定不会解决那些住在所谓“棺材房”或“笼房”里的民众的生活条件，它们是香港最小的住房单位。

But Mr. Lee’s plan has raised concerns among experts and advocates of more public housing, who say it would raise already high rents for the poor and evict a number of people without clear plans for their resettlement. It also doesn’t address the worst types of housing in the city: rental bed spaces so small they are known as coffin, or cage, homes.

但李家超的计划引发了专家和公共住房倡导者的担忧，他们表示，这将使得穷人本已高昂的租金进一步上涨，而且在没有明确安置计划的情况下，一些住户会遭到驱逐。它也没有解决该市最糟糕的住房类型：只放得下一张床的“棺材房”或“笼房”。

Of Slums and Slumlords

贫民窟和贫民窟房东

Hong Kong’s subdivided homes, created when apartments are carved into two or more units, are usually in old tenement buildings in densely packed, working-class neighborhoods. Despite their often dilapidated conditions, the units are in high demand because affordable housing is in short supply.

香港的㓥房是将公寓分割成两个或者多个单位而成，通常位于人口稠密的工薪阶层社区的旧唐楼里。虽然条件很差，但由于政府公屋供不应求，㓥房的需求很大。

Hong Kong has among the world’s most expensive homes, and highest rents. The average living space per person is 64.6 square feet — less than half the size of a New York City parking space. Owners of tenement apartments partition the units into smaller ones to rent them to more people.

香港的房价和房租在全球名列前茅。人均居住面积为6平方米，还没有纽约市停车位的一半大。公寓楼的业主将单位分隔成更小单元，以便租给更多人。

“These are effectively slums and the landlords are slumlords,” said Brian Wong, a researcher at the Liber Research Community, an independent group in Hong Kong focused on land use and urban issues.

“这些实际上都是贫民窟，业主就是贫民窟房东，”本土研究社的研究员黄肇鸿说。本土研究社是香港的一个独立组织，主要研究土地使用和城市问题。

He added that the landlords who rent out subdivided units are often upper-middle-class residents looking to maximize profits. Paradoxically, the rent price of such units, on a per-square-foot basis, is usually higher than that of larger private apartments.

他还指出，出租㓥房的房东往往是希望获取最大利润的中上阶层居民。矛盾的是，㓥房的单位租金通常高于面积更大的私人公寓。

Ms. Liu pays $500 a month for her home of about 80 square feet, about a quarter of what she earns working at a construction site. Her unit is in a 60-year-old tenement building with peeling pink and yellow paint in Kwun Tong, a district in east Kowloon that was once an industrial heartland, with cotton mills and a soy sauce factory.

刘女士的房子面积不到7.5平方米，每月的租金是500美元，大约是她在建筑工地工作收入的四分之一。她住的㓥房位于观塘一栋有60年历史的公寓楼，外墙的粉色和黄色油漆已经斑驳。观塘位于九龙东部，曾经是一个工业中心区，有数家棉纺厂和一家酱油厂。

观塘是香港人口最稠密的地区，也是最为贫困的地区。

“I will live where it’s cheap,” she said, adding that she wanted to pay for after-school classes for her daughter. She has been waiting for six years to move into public housing but has no idea when that might happen.

她表示，“哪里便宜我住哪里，”还指出女儿上补习班也要钱。她已经等了六年，希望能搬进公屋，但不知道何时才能实现。

Ms. Liu and her daughter sleep on bunk beds in the 60-square-foot main room, pushed against windows that are covered with paper for privacy and always closed to keep rats out. Ms. Liu appreciates that her neighbors don’t complain when her belongings spill into common spaces.

主屋的面积大约为5.6平方米，刘女士和女儿睡在一张紧贴着窗户的高低床上，窗户为了隐私贴了纸，而且根本不会开窗，以免有老鼠跑进来。刘女士很感激她的邻居们，她的东西家里放不下，放到了共用空间，但大家并没有埋怨她。

Kwun Tong is the most densely populated district in Hong Kong, and the poorest. People are drawn to it for its connectivity and services. Ms. Liu moved there six years ago to take a housekeeping course. Her daughter rides two stops on the subway to attend public school and studies with a tutor nearby until dinnertime. Their apartment is close to a large wet market.

观塘是香港人口最稠密的地区，也是最为贫困的地区。人们喜欢这里是因为它很方便，而且各种服务都有。刘女士在六年前搬到这里，参加一门家政课程。她的女儿坐两站地铁去上公立学校，下课后在附近跟着一位家教补习功课，直到晚餐时间。附近还有一个很大的菜市场。

The Hong Kong Leader’s Plan

香港特首的计划

Ms. Liu’s home would not meet the standards required under the policy outlined by Mr. Lee, the city’s chief executive, which stipulates that each home must have a separate bathroom and kitchen. It would likely require significant renovation or remodeling.

刘女士的家不符合李家超拟议政策所要求的标准，该政策规定每户家庭必须有独立的卫生间和厨房。这可能意味着需要进行重大翻新或改建。

The policy also calls for apartments to be at least 86 square feet and come with windows.

该政策还要求公寓面积不少于8平方米，并且要有窗户。

Ms. Liu’s bathroom and stove are in a narrow cubicle that is slightly more than 20 square feet, separated from the main room by a common hallway. There is one faucet but no shower cubicle or sink, so she soaks ingredients in a bowl on the floor. The fridge faces the toilet.

刘女士的浴室和炉子都在一个不足2平方米的狭小隔间里，与主屋之间是一条公共走廊。家里只有一个水龙头，没有淋浴间或水槽，所以她把食材放在地上的碗里浸泡。冰箱正对着马桶。

刘女士的浴室和炉灶位于一个狭小的隔间里，与主屋之间隔着一条公共走廊。

Merged toilet and kitchen setups like this are common in subdivided apartments. Some apartments come only with toilets or kitchens that are shared with other households.

这种厨卫一体的设计在㓥房中很常见。有些㓥房甚至连厨卫都需要与其他家庭共用。

The government estimates that 30 percent of the city’s 110,000 subdivided homes will fall short of the new standards.

香港政府估计，全市11万套㓥房中，有30%达不到新标准。

The Housing Bureau said in a response to questions from The New York Times that the rules were needed to improve living conditions. It said it would inspect apartments and that landlords could face prison time for not complying with the rules.

房屋局在回答《纽约时报》提问时表示，这些规定是改善居住条件所必需的。它表示将对㓥房进行检查，不遵守规定的房东可能会面临牢狱之灾。

The bureau also said that landlords would have a few years to renovate their units to meet the standards, and register them in a centralized system.

该局还表示，房东将有几年的时间来做翻新工作，以达到标准，并在一个集中系统中进行登记。

Plan Leaves Much to be Desired

计划仍有很多不尽如人意之处

At a recent meeting between social workers with the Kwun Tong Subdivided Home Concern Group, a nonprofit, and residents of the district, questions were raised about the government’s plan. What are the standards for a proper toilet? If rents go up, will the government provide tenants with subsidies? Will those evicted be given priority in housing wait-lists?

在最近一次由非营利组织观塘㓥房关怀小组的社工与该地区居民举行的会议上，人们对政府的计划提出了很多疑问。什么样的厕所才算合格？如果租金上涨，政府是否会为租户提供补贴？遭到驱逐者是否会在公屋等待名单中获得优先权？

志愿者收集食物分发到香港深水埗的“笼房”。

“The standards have been raised but our finances haven’t,” said Moon Tang, a mother of three. She also wondered what would happen to people if they were evicted. “If they had money, they would have rented a more expensive space in the first place,” she said. “Where do they go?”

“标准提高了，但我们的经济条件没有跟上，”三个孩子的母亲唐沐恩（音）说。她还想知道，如果人们遭到驱逐，会发生什么。“如果他们有钱，一开始就会租一个更贵的地方，”她说。“他们要去哪里？”

In its emailed response to questions, the Housing Bureau said the government would “adopt a gradual and orderly approach” to the changes and would help residents “where necessary.” Most affected tenants would be able to turn to an increased supply of permanent and temporary public housing apartments by the time the rules come into force in the coming years, it said.

房屋局在通过电子邮件回复提问时表示，政府将“采取循序渐进的方式”应对这些变化，并将“在必要时”帮助居民。它表示，在未来几年这些规定生效时，大多数受影响的租户能搬去供应增加的永久和临时公屋。

Experts note, however, that the new policy also fails to address problems faced by those living in “cage homes” or “coffin homes” — bed spaces separated by wired metal or panels of wood. (Such spaces are regulated by a separate law.)

不过，专家们指出，新政策同样未能解决那些住在“笼房”或“棺材房”（用金属丝或木板隔开的床位空间）里的民众所面临的问题。（这些空间受另一部法律的监管。）

深水埗一处屋顶“笼房”。

Siu Ming Chan, an assistant professor at the City University of Hong Kong who researches poverty and housing, said the rules could lead to a rise in rents, making apartments even more unaffordable. The government should increase subsidies for those affected by the policy, many of whom are older and live alone, he added.

香港城市大学研究贫困和住房的助理教授陈绍铭表示，这些规定可能会导致租金上涨，使公寓更加难以负担。他还指出，政府应该增加对受该政策影响的人的补贴，其中许多人年龄较大且独居。

Ben Shek, 68, a former technician who lives alone in a 60-square-foot Kwun Tong apartment that would likely be considered substandard, does not want to move. He suffered a stroke more than a decade ago that left him with a limp and unable to work. He shares a bathroom with two other families, inside a carpentry workshop. He likes his place because it is on the ground floor, making it easy for him to get around.

68岁的本·石以前是技工，独自住在观塘一间约5.6平方米的㓥房里，可能也不达标。他不想搬家。十多年前，一场中风导致他走路不太方便，无法工作。他与另外两个家庭共用位于一个木工作坊内的卫生间。他喜欢现在住的地方，因为在一楼，方便出门。

“Since I’m not working anymore, I don’t get to have too many expectations,” he said. “And even if I did, they can’t be too high.”

“既然我不再工作，我就没有太多期望，”他说。“即使有，也不能太高。”

本·石在位于观塘的㓥房里看电视。