Think out of the box Be bold and pragmatic
20 October 2019
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Last Wednesday, the Chief Executive (CE) announced her third Policy Address entitled “Treasure Hong Kong: Our Home”. Together with its Supplement, the Policy Address contains over 220 new measures which cover four major aspects: housing, land supply, improving people’s livelihood and economic development. Focusing on improving people’s livelihood, these measures aim to continue to propel Hong Kong forward steadily.
The preparation of the Policy Address is no easy task amidst the stormy times and overwhelming difficulties that Hong Kong is experiencing. Despite the circumstances, the Government, with greater determination, courage and strength, has endeavoured to address the long-standing problems that have been plaguing the community.
As a bold move against traditional bureaucratic thinking, the CE has adopted policy initiatives with which the Government had reservations in the past, being aware that they are actually welcomed by many people. With a strong sense of commitment and an enterprising spirit, the Government has presented a bold and caring Policy Address, seeking to find a way out for Hong Kong with new thinking and pragmatic actions.
Break out of traditional mindsets Take bold steps to address demands
First of all, housing and land supply are the most challenging, formidable and complex problems and are also a source of public grievances. The Government is determined to resolve the problems with innovative solutions and has made bold decisions in identifying land to increase housing supply, putting forth a number of short- to medium-term initiatives to address people’s housing needs.
Our policy measures on land supply include invoking the Lands Resumption Ordinance to resume privately-owned land with development potential in the New Territories wholly for providing public housing (including public rental housing (PRH), Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme and Home Ownership Scheme) and Starter Homes. This is a breakthrough on the part of the Government, which was previously wary of possible legal challenges to such a measure.
Besides, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has been required to bear more social responsibilities by providing eligible persons with more subsidised sale flats in its redevelopment projects. It is a breakthrough on the part of the URA which has been operating on a self-financing basis in accordance with prudent commercial principles.
In addition, the Government will conduct a study on the introduction of a recurrent cash scheme to help low-income persons waiting for PRH and living in unpleasant conditions. Meanwhile, the Government will invite the Community Care Fund to provide a “one-off living subsidy” for low-income households not living in PRH and not receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) (i.e. “N have-nots”). This will allow the Government time to complete the study towards the end of 2020.
The Government will also waive the tolls of the road connections for Lantau (i.e. the Lantau Link and the soon-to-be-completed Tuen Mun – Chek Lap Kok Link (TM – CLKL) Subsea Tunnel), the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel and the soon-to-be-completed Tseung Kwan O – Lam Tin Tunnel (TKO – LTT), having regard to the traffic conditions upon the commissioning of the new tunnels. This is a move away from the old thinking of safeguarding the revenue of the Treasury. With a view to relieving the burden of the tolls on road users, the tolls of the Lantau Link will be waived upon the commissioning of the TM – CLKL Subsea Tunnel (i.e. by the end of 2020), and the tolls of the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel will be waived upon the commissioning of the TKO – LTT (i.e. by the end of 2021).
As a general practice, the Government will not use public funds to subsidise enterprises operating on a commercial basis. That said, in consideration of the affordability of ferry services for residents of outlying islands, the Government has proposed to subsidise 14 outlying island ferry routes to relieve their fare increase pressure, while funding 11 of them to replace their entire fleets and introduce greener vessels.
Improve livelihood Relieve people’s burden Support the disadvantaged Care for children
The Government will not turn a blind eye to the hardships faced by the people. We care about their daily needs and persevere with providing support for the disadvantaged.
On poverty alleviation, apart from the cash scheme mentioned above, the Government has proposed to improve the CSSA Scheme to encourage employment, including raising the maximum amount of disregarded earnings from $2,500 to $4,000 per month (representing an increase of 60%); disregarding the first two months’ income earned from a new job (on condition that the recipient has not benefited from this provision during the past two years); enhancing employment support services; extending a range of supplements and special grants to eligible non-elderly able-bodied recipients; and increasing the maximum rent allowance for CSSA families. Moreover, the Government has proposed to increase the subsidy rate of the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme to one-third of the monthly public transport expenses in excess of $400, while raising the subsidy cap to $400 per month.
On elderly services, an additional 1 000 service vouchers, bringing the total to 8 000, will be provided under the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly, and an additional 3 000 service quota will be provided under the Integrated Home Care Services (Frail Cases).
A number of measures have been proposed in the Policy Address to support children with different needs, including increasing the number of places for On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services for children with special needs by 1 000 each year over the next three school years, with a view to achieving “zero-waiting time”; and implementing a 20-month pilot scheme in kindergartens or kindergarten-cum-child care centres early next year, under which children with signs of special needs will be given early intervention services.
From the next school year onwards, the Government will regularise the provision of a student grant of $2,500 per year per student, benefiting about 900 000 secondary day school, primary school and kindergarten students in Hong Kong. Besides, the Government will strengthen the after-school care programme, including adding 2 500 full fee-waiving places, relaxing application eligibility, increasing subsidy level, providing extra subsidy for children with special education needs, streamlining means-test procedures, etc. More than 5 700 students and their families are expected to benefit from these measures.
Moreover, the Government will raise the payment rates of the Working Family Allowance (WFA) to further support working families with lower incomes to achieve self-reliance and alleviate inter-generational poverty. There will be a 16.7% to 25% increase in the working-hour linked household allowance under the WFA Scheme, while the Child Allowance will be raised substantially by 40%. For a four-person household with two eligible children, the maximum level of allowance will increase by over 30% from the existing $3,200 per month to $4,200 per month.
The Government attaches great importance to the physical and psychological wellness of children. Playing games and having fun should constitute part of the children’s learning journey. In this connection, the Government will modify more than 170 public play spaces managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department over the next five years, and will encourage and promote community participation and public engagement in the process.
The Policy Address Supplement, which is a new document produced this year, highlights the beliefs of the Chief Executive, outlines the progress made by the current-term Government, and presents the challenges faced by Hong Kong. It covers a number of important topics, namely good governance, housing and land supply, diversified economy, nurturing talent, improving people’s livelihood, liveable city and connecting with young people.
Although the Policy Address cannot satisfy all needs, we will navigate through this very difficult moment with strong determination, taking one step at a time to move forward.
For some proposed measures, we have only set out the policy directions or viable options in the Policy Address. The Government is ready to listen and welcomes views from the public to augment or refine its policies. The CE will also invite community leaders, professionals and academics to independently examine and review the deep-seated problems of society and to advise the Government on finding solutions. At the same time, the accountable officials will continue to reach out to the community to engage the people in dialogue, thereby ensuring that the Government’s future work will respond more closely to the aspirations, sentiments and opinions of the community and enhancing public engagement in policy-making.
Amidst the tense social atmosphere, the CE delivered her Policy Address through video as her speech was interrupted by some Members of the Legislative Council (LegCo). On the following day, the CE’s Question and Answer Session on the Policy Address was also disrupted repeatedly. I wish to point out that the support of the LegCo is vitally essential for many of the initiatives proposed in the Policy Address. I hope that all LegCo Members will safeguard the interests of the public by enabling the smooth running of the LegCo.
Effective governance and the people’s well-being are underpinned by a safe environment and the rule of law. Unless Hong Kong can get out of the impasse of political disputes and violent vandalism, it will be difficult for the Government to implement any policy measure. Worse still, Hong Kong may be driven to the brink of incessant violence and a deficient legal system. Therefore, stopping violence is not only Hong Kong’s most pressing task, but also the premise of its social and economic development. Hong Kong is our home and everyone should sever ties with violence. As the theme of the Policy Address reminds us, let us treasure Hong Kong, our home, and join hands to make it a better place for all.
