簡介
Listen to #Hashtag Hong Kong every Sunday morning at 8.15
Focussing on issues affecting civil society, we'll hear from representatives of NGOs, associations, statutory bodies, and non-profit groups.
(Sundays 8.15am - 8.25am)
最新
Wong Shek Hung, Director of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Programme, Oxfam Hong Kong
It is the eighteenth year I have been working at Oxfam Hong Kong. I have dedicated my passion here because Oxfam is courageous enough to speak the truth and advocate for a just world that narrows the poverty gap. Each year, we launch our Hong Kong Poverty Report based on the data from the Census and Statistics Department, providing in-depth analysis of the poverty situation in Hong Kong to develop policy suggestions for alleviating poverty. Looking back, this marks the tenth year since we launched the poverty report. Unfortunately, I must say that this year's report reveals the largest income gap and the highest poverty rate to date.
According to our latest report, it found that the poorest decile earned 81.9 times less than the richest decile in the first quarter of 2024. Over 1.39 million people now live under the poverty line. Of this total, about one million individuals are poor non-economic active population, having left the labor market for different reasons. Even more alarming is the rise in poverty among our elderly; more than 580,000 individuals aged 65 or above were living in poverty, including approximately 260,000 singleton and doubleton elderly households.
Government has just released the Policy Address and I am glad to see that the Policy Address aligns with our calls to activate the non-economic poor population, including the elderly and women, to re-engage with the community with different forms of support. However, the establishment of a poverty line has not been addressed.
Since 2022, the government has stopped publishing poverty reports and associated poverty lines, adopting Targeted Poverty Alleviation instead. This strategy supports single-parent households, elderly households, and those in sub-divided units. However, it's crucial to retain a poverty line to analyze and monitor Hong Kong's overall poverty situation. This data enhances the design of effective poverty reduction policies tailored to different target groups. We understand the concerns in society regarding the accuracy of the poverty line, noting that it may overestimate poverty situation, as some individuals may own properties and other assets. In July of this year, we finished another research report regarding the poverty line and we suggest analysing households that include elderly individuals independently and converting the assets of these families into monthly income through annuitisation methods. We are open to discussing the measurement of the poverty line and hope the government will reconsider it, as it serves as crucial evidence for designing targeted poverty strategies.
The Policy Address proposed the set-up of a Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy. Oxfam expects that the Committee will design its policy suggestions focusing on 'enabling' and 'active ageing' strategies to address the issues arising from population ageing.
We previously suggested the Government create a database for singleton and doubleton elderly households by integrating data from different departments. We’re pleased that the Policy Address mentioned creating an interdisciplinary database for caregivers of the elderly and disabled. We hope this database's scope expands to include singleton and doubleton elderly households and is shared with social welfare agencies. This would help match appropriate social welfare support to these families.
Above all, early intervention and preventive measures are crucial for reducing health risks among the elderly. I welcome the government's proposal in the Policy Address to develop primary healthcare solutions. We further suggest that the government utilise telemedicine and technologies to provide suitable medical care. It should also promote elder-friendly exercises such as dance and stretching, combining programmes with online platforms to enable home training. The government could consider expanding medical vouchers to include online/offline health courses on exercise, allowing elderly to manage their health independently.
For those young old who are still willing to join labor market, we need an elderly-friendly environment. Hong Kong's poor elderly labor participation is only 3.8%, far lower than Mainland China (25%) and Norway (22.2%). The significant discrepancy is largely due to the intensity of pull factors in policy. We advocate the government should encourage employers to hire elderly through simplified application procedures of the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged by directly providing subsidies based on the number of new elderly employees hired, as well as enhancing elderly’s willingness to work by lowering the threshold for elderly applicants in the Working Family Allowance Scheme. Even if they engage in part-time job, they could still enjoy full subsidies.
Population ageing doesn't have to lead to a social crisis. Long-term, by promoting Active Ageing and creating elder-friendly environments through technological and social innovations, society can address elderly needs. With government incentives to help re-engage motivated elderly in society and the job market, they can become valuable social capital. We all play a role in supporting each other. With vision and cooperation among public, private, and community stakeholders, Hong Kong can overcome challenges and build a more inclusive future.
This morning, I would like to dedicate a song “Imagine” by John Lennon to all of you and hope we will make a better world together.
重溫
Simon Wong, President of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants & Related Trades
As the government has announced the “ Waste Blueprint for HK 2035 “ to tackle the challenge of waste management as well as to build a circular economy and a sustainable green living environment, “Waste Reduction” is on the top priority list. The government has proposed a measure to regulate disposable plastic tableware in phases. The Amendment Bill for the first phase of regulation was thus passed in March 2023 and will be in force on April 22, 2024.
Under the Regulation, nine types of disposable plastic tableware would be introduced.
In the first phase under the Regulation, EPS tableware, plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery and plates are prohibited to sell to end-consumers and prohibited to provide by catering premises to customers for dine-in and takeaway services. The other disposable plastic tableware such as plates, cups food containers etc, will come into force in the second phase, but the date of implementation has yet to be determined.
There are a few issues which the catering industry is concerned upon the introduction of the ban on using plastic disposable materials. The catering industry at first worried if there were alternative products to substitute the plastic tableware, and whether those environmental substitutes would increase the operating cost.
Accordingly, if we look at the website of the Environmental Protection Department, we find that at the moment 64 companies are carrying 737 items which cover a wide range of non-plastic disposable tableware. Restaurant operators do have a lot of varieties to choose from which would suit their needs.
However, many restaurant operators are, at the moment, not eager to use non-plastic tableware as the government is giving a six-month grace period to the trade, such that operators will not be fined if they do not follow the regulation on and after April 22. On the other hand, it would give enough time for importers and wholesalers as well as retailers to consume or or deal with their inventories within the allowable period. This period would also offer more time for the catering industry to find more suitable products to suit their budget and needs.
In general, the cost of environmentally disposable products is about 20-30% more expensive than the plastic ones. Take the straws for example, a few cents increase seems not much for each straw, but it can translate to a substantial percentage increase when large quantities of straws are to be consumed. Since almost all non-plastic disposable products are imported, importers and wholesalers are not willing to take the risk of keeping too much stock in their warehouses at the moment. However, we believe that costs will come down when all restaurants have adopted the practice due to the larger quantity imports.
Another concern is the quality of the substitutes. Those non-plastic substitutes are commonly made of paper, bamboo, softwood, wood pulp and plant fibre materials. Though there are a lot of choices for each type of utensil, the quality of the product varies. Some customers have complained that the paper straws or spoons cannot sustain in higher temperatures nor cannot be put in liquid for too long as they will become soft. Of course, we can find better quality products in the market, but the cost will then be higher.
As the date for launching is drawing near, the catering industry has thought of ways to deal with the situation. Large restaurant groups, such as fast food chains, hotels and high-end restaurants have started using non-plastic utensils. Even though the cost, in general, is higher, they are willing to do so as it’s a social responsibility to compile with the ESG initiative. Some restaurants simply do not provide disposable utensils, but charge customers upon their request. Some restaurants or coffee shops have started to encourage customers to bring their utensils; in such cases, restaurants will save on the cost of providing the materials, while customers do not need to pay additional to the restaurants for getting non-plastic disposable tableware.
There are about 18,000 restaurant outlets in HK, and 98% of those are small and medium-sized enterprises. With the present gloomy economic environment, these SMEs would be very cautious about the increased expenses if environmental products are used. However, I would suggest to them to use more reusable products to lower their cost and not provide the disposable utensils to customers.
After all, the bill has passed, we, as an individual should do more for the environment. I also believe that education and publicity are vital means to pass the message to the public. The government should without any hesitation, launch more programs and publicities to educate the public how to deal with the change of living habits as well as to let people understand our environment is at risk if we do not act now.
I'd like to share this song with you all this morning, I want to dedicate "Somewhere over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland. Thank you for listening.
