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Poverty figures in Hong Kong not as high as official report shows, welfare chief Law Chi-kwong says, as allowances not taken into account
- Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong argues the number of people living below the poverty line is about half a million less than reported
- He says it will be hard to eliminate poverty completely unless the government charges high taxes, which is unlikely to happen
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Measures to tackle poverty in Hong Kong have been effective, the city’s welfare chief says, contradicting new official figures that showed the number of people living below the poverty line had hit a 10-year high.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong on Saturday argued the number should be 910,000 once the effects of government policies, such as cash allowances, were taken into account, half a million lower than reported.
The Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report, released by the government on Friday, showed more than 1.4 million people were living below the poverty line in 2018, or one in five Hongkongers, a rise of 0.3 percentage points to 20.4 per cent from the previous year. The figure was the second highest since records began in 2009, when the rate was 20.6 per cent, prompting critics to say the government had not done enough to solve the problem.
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Law said a wealth gap could create instability in society and affect public opinion, but it would be hard to eliminate poverty completely unless the government charged high taxes.
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“Theoretically, the poverty situation won’t get worse while there are efforts to alleviate it,” Law said on a radio programme.
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