University of Hong Kong public opinion programme head Dr Robert Chung Ting-yiu, whose survey of Hongkongers' sense of national identity was criticised by a Beijing official as 'unscientific' and 'illogical', insisted yesterday he would continue to conduct surveys, including an online 'election' for the public to choose their favourite chief executive before the official vote on March 25.

Rally calls for HK$8,000 budget handout

About 200 people marched to the new government headquarters in Admiralty to demand an HK$8,000 handout be added to the budget delivered by finance minister John Tsang Chun-wah last week. Giving cash directly to people was the best way to help the city's needy, said lawmaker Wong Yuk-man of People Power, which organised the rally. He would vote against the budget if Tsang did not add the handout.

HK$2 fares for elderly, disabled 'in second half'

Fares of HK$2 on major public transport were likely to become reality for the elderly and disabled in the second half of the year, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said yesterday. The government had speeded up talks with transport providers on the concession, he said. In his 2011-12 policy address, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen proposed unrestricted HK$2 one-way fares for the disabled and people aged 65 and over on general MTR lines and franchised bus and ferry routes.

Domestic helpers' pay has fallen, group says

Wages for domestic helpers has decreased from HK$3,860 in 1997 to HK$3,740 now, not counting inflation, the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions told a media briefing. The federation, which is fighting for the right of abode for domestic helpers, said it had made 10 requests for meetings with the Labour Commission, but all had been rejected. It said the first observance in Hong Kong of International Domestic Workers' Day would be held on June 16.