'No need to be so stupid': Macau academic cautions Hong Kong against importing labour

Hong Kong should closely study the problems imported labour have brought to Macau before looking elsewhere to boost its workforce, an academic in the former Portuguese colony says.

Alex Choi Hang-keung, assistant professor of social science at the University of Macau, said imports of labour since the 1980s had sparked inflation and lay behind the government's decision to give residents large handouts each year.

But Tsui Wai-kwan, a well-known businessman and lawmaker, dismissed Choi's remarks and said Asia's answer to Las Vegas would not be enjoying its present boom without imported workers.

Labour imports are a hot topic in Hong Kong after the government suggested bringing in more workers when it launched a consultation on population policy in October.

"The importation will intensify the social problems in Hong Kong and the cultural conflicts between Hongkongers and mainlanders," Choi said. "I see no need for Hong Kong to do something so stupid."

Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor pointed out when launching the four-month consultation in October that imported, low-skilled workers made up just 0.1 per cent of the total workforce, as against 26 per cent in Macau and 28 per cent in Singapore.