Last year, Cable TV news and Sing Tao Daily jointly ran a series of reports, 'Middle Class Beaten, Still Alive', to help raise the morale of people who have suffered badly since the 1997 economic downturn.
Middle-income earners talked about how they cope with the shock and aftershock in their lives such as the loss of a job, drop in income and livelihood problems such as negative equity and marriage troubles.
Last week, a senior Cable TV executive jokingly said the network would perhaps compile part II of the series this year under a new title: 'Middle Class Beaten to Death'. He was among the many middle-income earners who feel frustrated and dispirited by signs that they will be victimised in the government's all-out drive to slash the budget deficit.
As he spoke on Friday, the mass-circulation Apple Daily carried a front-page story hinting that Financial Secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung might consider a levy on savings. Its headline read: 'Ah Chung Communalises Your Asset'.
As exaggerated and sensationalised as the story might have been, it did reflect the mood and sentiments of the middle class, who fear the SAR government is planning to dip into their shrinking bank accounts to cut the deficit.
On Friday morning, Mr Leung denied he had said a tax on interest or savings would be introduced. Nevertheless, both Mr Leung and his boss, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, gave clear signals in their post-policy address remarks that middle-class people would have to pay more to help solve the deficit problem.
Mr Tung has indicated tax concessions on salaries given in the 1998-99 Budget might be abolished. Separately, Secretary for Education and Manpower Arthur Li Kwok-cheung suggested at the weekend that tuition fees for Form Four students or above might go up, pending an overall review.