Letters | Hong Kong’s high cost of living is behind the demand for budget sweeteners, not unwillingness to work hard

The elitism of members of the establishment in Hong Kong is evident in their failure to understand why the middle class needs help from the government

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Financial Secretary Paul Chan leaves the Legislative Council after delivering his budget speech on February 27. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 7:44am, 8 Mar 2019Updated: 7:44am, 8 Mar 2019

I am writing in response to the TVB show Straight Talk hosted by Michael Chugani on February 19, in which Marcellus Wong, former president of Hong Kong’s Tax Institute, and Simon Lee, senior lecturer at Chinese University, discussed Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s budget.

Chugani asked Wong if Hongkongers want to be spoon-fed through handouts in the budget, accurately noting that Hongkongers want more money every year from the financial secretary and cheaper medical care. We must ask ourselves why this is so. The reality is that most middle- and working-class people in Hong Kong are struggling with the high cost of living.

However, Wong’s response was that Hong Kong people are “really, really fortunate indeed” given that the government has huge fiscal reserves to provide public services, safety nets for the unemployed and “a world-class medical health care system”.

Perhaps Wong was describing Finland, Sweden or other Scandinavian countries. Hong Kong does have a world-class “private” medical health care system, which only the very rich can afford. The majority however, have to wait in long queues at government hospitals.

Wong went on to say that people need to realise that Hong Kong will have to face the problem of its ageing population and that John Tsang, our previous financial secretary, “had to save money for rainy days”.

This strategy is extremely self-serving – it protects the older generation’s future but forces austerity on the younger generation.