Growing Numbers of Hong Kong Residents Sleep in McDonald's

Some in Hong Kong would rather sleep in McDonald's restaurants than in substandard housing or among family they do not get along with. Five years ago, Junior Chamber International’s Tai Ping Shan branch conducted a similar study and has found the number of people sleeping in McDonald's had tripled. "A branch in Tsuen Wan hosted more than 30 sleepers, the highest among all branches, according to the latest study," Shirley Zhao reports for South China Morning Post.

Because of housing prices, many in the city do not have the living situation they want, either because they live farther from their work than they like or because the conditions in their homes are uncomfortable. Hong Kong's public housing waiting list includes more than a quarter million people.

"Researchers were able to interview 53 McRefugees aged between 19 and 79 in depth, and found 57 per cent of them had a job and 71 per cent of them had flats that they rented or owned, contrary to the common belief that these people tended to be jobless and homeless," Zhao reports.