Finance chief issues Hong Kong budget warning over ‘finite’ resources as lawmakers call for cash handout
- Pro-establishment lawmaker Holden Chow wants every resident to be given HK$10,000
- But Financial Secretary Paul Chan says it will be impossible to satisfy everyone’s demands
Hong Kong’s finance minister said not all wishes would be granted in his upcoming budget, as pro-establishment lawmaker maintained calls for a universal cash handout amid increased unemployment rates and the coronavirus epidemic.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said he had finalised the government’s latest budget plan, which is to be delivered in the Legislative Council next Wednesday.
“The government’s resources are finite, it is impossible for this budget to completely satisfy demands from everyone,” Chan said in a blog post released on Sunday morning.
Chan said some had described the upcoming budget as one of the hardest to compile yet.
He is expected to reveal the extent of the city’s first deficit in 15 years, after the economy suffered blows from the US-China trade war, anti-government protests, and an epidemic that has killed more than 2,000 people worldwide.
