Mortgage your homes, financial chief tells jobless middle class

The financial secretary said yesterday that middle-class people who had lost their jobs because of the financial crisis could borrow from banks, as they could mortgage their properties.

John Tsang Chun-wah also said the government had no intention of creating a loan scheme to help the unemployed, and urged people not to be 'fussy' about the pay levels offered in many of the short-term jobs he would provide.

His remarks, made a day after he announced in the budget that nearly 62,000 mostly frontline jobs would be provided, outraged lawmakers who demanded cash help for the jobless.

During a briefing in the legislature, Mr Tsang said: 'Some of these people may have their own properties, and they are capable of seeking loans from banks.' He was replying to a question from Democrat Fred Li Wah-ming on why he had not created a loan scheme for middle-class people who had lost their jobs.

On Wednesday, he said 'many white-collar workers may have savings and can help themselves' when responding to criticism that his budget had failed to help this group.

He also called on the public to be 'rational' after some lawmakers challenged him on whether he had considered the possibility that the lack of relief measures would result in people joining the July 1 march.