Why Taiwanese youth complain of becoming “housing slaves”

Ever since Ice Jao, a 30-year-old, got married two years ago, her mother has been pestering her to buy a home. The jewellery seller pays $425 a month to rent a flat about the size of two parking spaces on the outskirts of Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. She shares it with her husband and two cats. Her parents think that “only a house you own can really be a home”, she says. But Ms Jao is reluctant to become a wu nu, or “housing slave”, she says. That is slang for young homebuyers who feel trapped by their expensive mortgages.