Hot Topics: Scalpers take a bite out of ‘Happy Hong Kong’ campaign’s gourmet food fair

The “Happy Hong Kong” campaign and spending vouchers handed out to residents are set to strengthen the city’s economic recovery in the second quarter of this year, the finance chief has said. The programmes aim to create a boom in domestic consumption

Citing the citywide campaign and the release of the consumption vouchers in April, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po wrote in his blog: “[The two programmes] can help consolidate the economic recovery of the second quarter as well as the positive expectations of the market.”

The “Happy Hong Kong” campaign includes a series of activities in the coming 10 months to boost morale and to increase local consumption and the economy.

Among the highlights are a series of Gourmet Marketplaces showcasing local, Chinese and international delicacies. The first of the series was held last month at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Tickets were distributed to residents for free on a first-come, first-served basis. But the Post found some traders on Carousell, a Singapore-based online marketplace, were selling passes to the event for around HK$10 each.

Harshil Bhasin is director of operations at Silver Oak Hospitality Group, which owns the long-established Indian restaurant Gaylord in Tsim Sha Tsui. Bhasin said they had sold more than 2,400 rolls, 900 portions of biryani and 2,000 samosas during the two-day event.

“Give the public some vouchers, they will go and spend, and the government’s aim is definitely coming through,” he added. Bhasin noted the e-vouchers and the “Happy Hong Kong” initiative boosted consumption. About 30 per cent of sales at the fair were made by Octopus cards, one of the options for receiving the government handout.

Johnson Ho, a 50-year-old massage therapist, spent HK$500 to HK$600 on soup packets, condiments and dried seafood. He said he was willing to buy expensive items with the first tranche of consumption vouchers.

Staff writers

Question prompts:

• Identify TWO groups of people that benefit from the latest consumption voucher handouts and the series of Gourmet Marketplace events.

• Based on your answers above and Glossary, explain how the two initiatives can work together to help the government achieve its goals.

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• What is the individual in the illustration doing? How is this related to the information provided in Context?

• List TWO actions the event organisers could take to minimise such actions.

How to take advantage of the ‘Happy Hong Kong’ campaign

• Post finds traders offering tickets to HK$20 million campaign’s Gourmet Marketplace event on online sales platform Carousell

• Some 100,000 free tickets to weekend food fair were up for grabs before the event

Authorities issued a warning last month that anyone found selling free tickets to an international gourmet food fair would be referred to law enforcement. The warning came after scalpers appeared on online platforms ahead of a food fair held under the “Happy Hong Kong” campaign aimed at boosting the economy.

Tickets to the Gourmet Marketplace event were among 100,000 up for grabs at the city’s 18 district offices on April 26. Residents were capped at two tickets each, with the passes being handed out on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Post found some traders on Carousell, a Singapore-based online marketplace, were offering the passes for around HK$10 each.

A spokesman for the Home Affairs Department said tickets for the fair were not intended for sale, resale or other commercial use, adding cases of suspected violations would be referred to the police. “Members of the public are advised to stay vigilant against any solicitation inconsistent with the nature of free admission tickets,” he said.

One seller offered two Saturday tickets for a total price of HK$22, including postage, while another advertised four for Sunday at HK$30 and requested a face-to-face pickup at Central’s IFC Mall.

Thousands of people queued outside district offices to get their hands on tickets for the event at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. The Post observed one man joining the queue in Wan Chai eight times without government employees intervening. He came away with 16 free tickets.

The department said 85,000 passes were snapped up that day and distribution had been completed, with a small number of the remaining passes reserved for handing out at the venue.

The rules and regulations printed on the tickets do not include any clauses about selling or trading the passes.

Staff writer

Question prompts:

• Why do you think the government decided to hand out tickets to the event instead of making it open to the public?

• Alice Wu, a columnist, wrote: “Not anticipating scalping speaks to the unpreparedness of the government.” To what extent do you agree with her statement? Explain using information from News.

Will the ‘Hello Hong Kong’ campaign help revive tourism?

• Posts featuring cash-in opportunities rampant on platforms such as Carousell and Facebook

• Government spokesman says operators of stored value services had frozen or cancelled accounts of 50 sellers due to suspected illegal activity related to encashment

Offers to trade consumption vouchers for cash have continued to appear on online platforms, even after the Hong Kong government warned of potential legal consequences for those engaging in such exchanges.

Listings featuring encashment opportunities to shoppers were rampant on services such as Carousell and Facebook Marketplace after the first round of the HK$5,000 e-vouchers was handed out on April 16.

Many of the posts could still be seen on April 18, a day after the government cautioned sellers and customers against “colluding” to “encash consumption vouchers through unlawful means”.

A government spokesman said the operators of stored value services had frozen or cancelled the accounts of 50 sellers due to suspected illegal activity related to encashment since authorities introduced the consumption voucher scheme in 2021. Some of these cases were passed on to law enforcement agencies for further investigation, he added.

A Carousell spokeswoman said listings offering opportunities to cash in on vouchers were removed and the company had taken action to filter out such posts. “We take a serious view on the sale of prohibited items, which includes reselling or encashment of government-issued consumption vouchers,” she said.

WeChat Pay HK said vouchers on its platform could only be used at local retail, catering and service outlets. “We have an existing mechanism to issue warnings to merchants involved, and reserve the right to terminate related payment services to merchants for repeated malpractice,” the company said.

According to lawyer Joshua Allen Chu Kiu-wah, anyone who accepted the government’s consumption vouchers automatically entered into a contract to spend them according to the terms and conditions listed.

“The original intention of these vouchers is to stimulate the local economy,” he said. “Any activity that is out of its intended scope can be considered illegal, and cashing out in such a way, especially if people end up spending the money abroad, for example, is not what these vouchers are meant for.”

Staff writer

Question prompts:

• Provide ONE explanation as to why people may want to encash their consumption vouchers.

• Some have suggested that the government should give cash instead of vouchers. To what extent do you agree with them and why?

Hot Topics: Officials hope ‘Hello Hong Kong’ can revive city’s tourism

consumption vouchers: introduced in 2021 in a bid to boost the city’s economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the latest round of handouts, eligible permanent residents and new arrivals received HK$3,000, while international students and professionals who came to the city through various admission schemes were given HK$1,500. The next round will be distributed from July 16 onwards. Recipients can use the vouchers on public transport, at restaurants, retail shops or supermarkets, or at online stores that accept payments by any of the six service providers. The consumption voucher cannot be cashed or used for person-to-person payments. It also cannot be used for purchases from merchants located outside Hong Kong. Education expenses, donations or payments to the government such as taxes, licence fees and tunnel fees are also excluded. While the vouchers can be used to book air tickets and hotel rooms from local travel agencies and online platforms, the handouts cannot be spent overseas.

“Happy Hong Kong” campaign: a HK$20 million campaign which consists of 12 major events held throughout 2023. Three gourmet events will account for most of the campaign’s budget. Launched over the Labour Day weekend, the initiative aims to increase residents’ morale and bring back “more smiling faces”, as well as boost the local economy.

ticket scalpers: people who buy tickets to an event for the purpose of reselling them at higher prices

Scalpers list HK$200 tickets to free open day at Hong Kong primary school

Context:

• Identify TWO groups of people that benefit from the latest consumption voucher handouts and the series of Gourmet Marketplace events. Residents and retailers in the food industry.

• Based on your answers above and Glossary, explain how the two initiatives can work together to help the government achieve its goals. Residents will be keen to spend more on non-essential items with the consumption vouchers. By organising events such as the Gourmet Marketplaces that accept the vouchers, residents are encouraged to use them, benefitting retailers in the food industry.

Illustration:

• What is the individual in the illustration doing? How is it related to the information provided in Context? The individual is selling tickets to an event for a much higher price. This is related to the scalpers who were selling tickets to the Gourmet Marketplace.

• List TWO things event organisers can do to minimise such actions. They can clearly indicate that tickets cannot be transferred to another ticker holder and ban suspected scalpers from being able to purchase tickets in future. (accept other reasonable answers)

News:

• Why do you think the government decided to hand out tickets to the event instead of making it open to the public? It is most likely to prevent overcrowding and avoid the risk of another Covid-19 wave.

• Alice Wu, a columnist, wrote: “Not anticipating scalping speaks to the unpreparedness of the government.” To what extent do you agree with her statement? Explain using information from News. I agree that the government was unprepared for scalpers. They didn’t even write that the tickets were not meant to be re-sold.

Issue:

• Provide ONE explanation as to why people may want to encash their consumption vouchers. They may prefer to use the money received from selling their consumption vouchers and spend it overseas or on rent. (accept other reasonable answers)

• Some have suggested that the government should give cash instead of vouchers. To what extent do you agree with them and why? While handing out cash gives residents flexibility in terms of what they want to spend on, I do not think this is a good idea given that the government’s intention is to stimulate the local economy.