Real action urged against poverty

COMMUNITY groups have called on the government to initiate genuine anti-poverty measures.

Representatives confronted Secretary for Labour and Welfare (勞工及福利局局長) Matthew Cheung Kin-chung (張建宗 ) at a Legislative Council (立法會) panel meeting.

Cheung told them the government has the determination to deal with poverty and that it is the focus of several policies. He said the government will provide accomodation subsidies for undergraduates in need and increase financial aid to students on self-funded programmes.

A representative from the Salvation Army (救世軍) said the poverty line (貧窮.) set by the government is too low and there is no comprehensive system for regular reviews.

Alliance for Children Development Rights (關注學童發展權利聯席) representative Ho Yu-ying said Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (梁振英) promised to push forward 15 years of free education but has not delivered.

A group outside the Central Government Offices (政府總部) criticised Leung for saying an open chief executive election will result in policies being driven by the poor.

Leung had suggested that the poor would benefit most from an election conducted under a universal franchise. “If it is entirely a numbers game and numeric representation, then obviously you would be talking to half of the people in Hong Kong who earn less than HK$14,040 a month,” Leung said.

(The Standard, 29 October 2014)