(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-05 16:18

A recent online opinion poll by Xinhuanet.com indicated that housing price hike was among the "topics of most concern" of Chinese netizens.

"I am frugal in everything, but the dream of owning a house is far, far away," said a netizen named "Wen Fan" who participated in the opinion poll.

Saving half of his 4000-yuan (US$563) salary each month, he still needs 40 years to buy a single-room flat in Beijing as the price for most of its newly-built apartments hit 10,000 yuan (US$1,408) per square meters. If he applies for loans, it will still take another 20 to 30 years for him to pay all the debts given his financial situation.

"I am just like a slave for the flat. It feels like the meaning of my whole life is to fulfill the dream of owning a flat," he wrote in the bulletin board of the Website.

For migrant workers in cities, the situation is even worse. Kang Houming, one of the three migrant workers who were elected as deputies to the top legislature for the first time, recalled his living situation when he was a migrant worker in Guangdong Province ten years ago.

"At night, sometimes I had to hide in the hill or climb on the tree for a shelter, because I could barely afford to rent a flat, let alone buying one without a residence permit," said Kang, from southwestern Chongqing Municipality.

He hopes the government could provide more low-rent housing for migrant workers in the future since "what they want is just a safe and comfortable nest in cities after years of hardships."

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