Asylum seekers protest food shortages after change in collection service

A fresh protest outside the offices of a government contractor dealing with the welfare of asylum seekers has passed off peacefully.

More than 50 asylum seekers joined rights group Vision First to complain about a new distribution policy they say is leaving them hungry.

International Social Service Hong Kong (ISS-HK) recently increased the number of times asylum seekers can collect food from the service, from three to six times a month. But users of the service say they are not receiving any more food than they were before the increase.

One asylum seeker, who wished to be identified only as Jenat, said yesterday she could not manage to feed herself or her three children.

"It's punishing," she said. "We can't eat all the time, sometimes only once a day because we don't have enough."

"Most of the service users are satisfied with this change," said ISS-HK in response to the protest. "There are individuals who … consider it troublesome to collect their food six times a month."