Government refuses to cross poverty line
Updated at 6.28pm: Happiness can be as important to poor people as money, the Government's top welfare official said on Friday as the administration again refused to set a poverty line to identify the needy.
''Poverty is not defined only in monetary terms. In Western nations happiness and feeling of personal well-being is part of wealth assessment. So the issue is quite relative,'' said Secretary for Health and Welfare Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong.
The level of assistance given for health and housing had to be assessed before deeming someone poor just because they did not have money, he said.
Poor families had 98 per cent of their medical fees covered by the Government and in extreme cases the whole bills were paid, he said.
Dr Yeoh claimed not all poor people were equal.
''Low income families with high capabilities can rise above poverty on their own without assistance,'' he said in a briefing to flesh out parts of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's policy speech earlier this week.
He said Mr Tung was more concerned that everyone has the chance to participate in economic development rather than labelling a certain sector as disadvantaged.
Increasing confidence among the poor and upgrading their skills was the right way to target the root of the problem, according to Dr Yeoh.
But he said if others considered it vital, the standards set for people to get the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance could be regarded as the poverty line.
