Grass roots got more this year, Hong Kong finance chief says in defence of budget
Calls for cash handouts continue, but lawmakers deny these are aimed at winning votes ahead of the March 11 by-election
Lawmakers across the political divide ramped up demands on Friday for cash handouts two days after the budget was unveiled, with a member of the chief executive’s cabinet suggesting ways in which Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po could be more generous.
Around 1.1 million to 1.9 million residents would benefit, her party estimated.
How the Hong Kong budget affects you
“Other pro-establishment parties are also very disappointed that the budget failed to benefit all citizens. They got complaints from the district level,” Ip said, noting that many low-income young people had not received any “goodies” from the basket of sweeteners that Chan laid out in his spending blueprint.
The pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions, which had lobbied Chan to share the wealth through cash handouts from a record surplus of HK$138 billion, said it was open to Ip’s proposal. But it suggested that giving out money to all might no longer be pragmatic in light of the other relief measures Chan had announced.
Instead, the federation said, the government should do more to help workers earning between HK$10,000 to HK$30,000 a month.