The response to the policy address from Kwok Chih-yin, 75, after a hoped-for increase in the old-age allowance failed to materialise, was short and precise.
'Medical vouchers can't fill my empty stomach,' he said.
'I was hoping the government would increase the allowance to about HK$1,000 so that I can have meat for my meals once in a while,' said Mr Kwok, who exists mainly on a diet of ginger egg soup. 'But all I get are medical vouchers.' The HK$705-a-month allowance, commonly known as 'fruit money', is the only income for Mr Kwok, who lives alone in a shabby private flat in Sham Shui Po and cannot claim public assistance, because he owns the apartment.
Under a trial scheme announced in the policy address, people aged 70 and over will be given five health-care vouchers with a total value of $250 a year for private clinic services.
'It is like me seeking help, telling them that I am hungry and I am given a jacket,' Mr Kwok said. 'How can I fill my empty stomach with a jacket? Can I buy food with the medical vouchers or use them to pay bills? Can I eat the medical vouchers?'
He accused the government of playing tricks when tackling the problem of poverty among the elderly. 'Maybe the government thinks it will spend more if it gives us money. So, it gives us medical vouchers, which might cost less. The government can still say it has helped the poor elderly,' he said.
