One in seven Hongkongers are deprived, study finds, but only a third of these are poor under official guidelines
Chinese University professor says the findings expose failings in the government’s classification of poverty based on income
Only a third of Hongkongers classified as deprived in a new study are considered poor under the government’s official poverty line, which is based on income levels.
Chinese University professor Wong Hung, who was commissioned to conduct the research by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, based his calculations on access to 14 essential items. Those who could not afford two or more were considered deprived.
The items include being able to afford three meals a day, one or two new items of clothing a year, having an air conditioner and being able to buy Chinese medicine.
Of the 14.5 per cent, or one in seven, considered deprived, only a third fall under the official poverty line, which means the other two-thirds would not be considered poor despite lacking basic necessities.
The government’s poverty line is drawn at half the median household income and is adjusted by household size. In 2014, some 960,000 people were classified as living under the poverty line.
“The figures show us that there are people who are really struggling in life, but according to government statistics, aren’t considered ‘poor’,” Wong said.
Hongkongers are most deprived when it comes to medical services, with 34 per cent of the surveyed unable to pay for regular dental inspections, and close to 13 per cent unable to pay for a private doctor when they are ill.
“Compared to before, the level of deprivation in terms of medical services has not improved, but may be worsening,” Wong said, despite the government pushing out policies such as the elderly health care voucher. This small allowance allows the elderly a little extra money to spend in the private sector instead of queueing hours for overstretched public medical services.
The most deprived group in society are the single elderly, with almost 40 per cent of them living in deprivation.
“The government has often said there are asset-rich elderly who aren’t really poor. Well this tells us that in fact, many of them are poor,” Wong said.
The report recommended that the government incorporate calculations on deprivation and social exclusion when measuring poverty in Hong Kong as this would help in pinpointing groups who need support.
In April the government was accused of doing a U-turn after shelving a plan to redraw the poverty line by including subsidised housing in its calculations, a move that would have cut the number of those classified as poor to about 640,000.
