Hong Kong government told to expand welfare system as residents look to officials to close wealth gap
- Officials should look at policies such as increasing the minimum wage to lift the incomes of Hong Kong’s low paid, Anti Poverty Alliance says
- Nearly 90 per cent tell survey that fixing the gap is the responsibility of the Hong Kong government
Hong Kong poverty campaigners have called on ministers to expand the welfare system and introduce tax reforms after a survey revealed the vast majority of residents hold the government responsible for closing the city’s wealth gap.
Low-income Hongkongers reported they were less happy than their better off peers in the Anti Poverty Alliance poll, which found a quarter of respondents put themselves in the lowest category when asked to rank their social status.
Nearly 90 per cent agreed the government should fix wealth disparity in Hong Kong, as the alliance urged officials to boost the income of the city’s lowest earners through policies such as increasing the minimum wage.
The survey of 1,342 people conducted between December and January asked respondents to self-grade their standing in society from one to five, with five the highest.
Of the quarter or so who categorised themselves in the lowest class, most of them earned less than HK$10,000 a month.
Close to 40 per cent of respondents, mostly earning between HK$10,000 and HK$30,000 a month, put themselves in the second class.
Nearly a third told the survey they were in the middle category, with 2.6 per cent in group four. Only 0.23 per cent said they enjoyed the highest social status, most of whom earned more than HK$50,000 a month.
On life satisfaction, the average rating among those in the lowest class was 4.61, compared with 7.17 for group four.