A general evening view of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon peninsula across the harbour is seen in this June 14, 2002 picture. Once a key wealth creator in Hong Kong and a pillar of its economic strength, the languishing property sector has become emblematic of the territory's economic malaise. The once thriving capitalist territory is trying to claw its way out of its second recession since the end of British rule while communist China has been racking up sizzling growth rates of seven to eight percent a year.