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Hong Kong leader John Lee unveiled the third Policy Address of his term on Wednesday, vowing to continue his “reform mindset” with “enhanced measures” to boost the economy and improve people’s livelihoods.
The 2024 policy blueprint carried the tagline: “Reform for Enhancing Development and Building Our Future Together,” with the word “reform” appearing 43 times in the 114-page address. Areas which the chief executive sought to overhaul included finance, healthcare, trade, talent attraction, culture and sports.
Lee’s latest address received praise from lawmakers at the city’s “all-patriots” legislature, as well as from statutory bodies, professional groups and universities. The largest pro-Beijing party, the DAB, said the address fully reflected the government’s proactive approach in pushing for an advancements in economic development, maintaining Hong Kong’s status as an international financial and trade centre, whilst positioning the city as a hub for attracting “high-calibre talent” from around the world.
The New People’s Party, led by Executive Council convenor Regina Ip, also hailed the address as providing a lot of content for lawmakers to “tell a good China and Hong Kong story.”
But an annual poll conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute found that Lee’s latest Policy Address was rated lower than his previous two, with fewer people listening to it.
Residents may have felt that the government was not helping them, veteran political commentator Johnny Lau said on Thursday, even though the authorities had worked hard on livelihood policies.
HKFP zooms in on reactions from NGOs and scholars, as they assess Chief Executive John Lee’s plans for tackling housing issues and poverty, and examines what appears to be missing from his annual address.
Substandard subdivided flats
One of the highlights of the 2024 Policy Address was the proposed law to to phase out subdivided flats smaller than eight square metres (86 sq ft) and ensure they have windows and a toilet. The subdivided flats that meet the new regulations will be called “Basic Housing Units,” Lee said.
A public consultation is expected to begin in December, with the government seeking to pass the legislation next year.
However, “coffin homes” – tiny spaces measuring little larger than a single bed, also known as cage homes – will not fall under the remit of the new legislation. Instead, they will continue to be regulated by the Bedspaces Apartments Ordinance.
While the move was welcomed by NGOs and scholars, who said it demonstrated the government’s determination in tackling the issue of subdivided flats, many called on the authorities to announce more policy details, especially on resettlement arrangements and rent controls for tenants.
Oxfam’s local office said on Wednesday that the prohibition of substandard flats “must be complemented by a housing relocation plan,” including providing sufficient transitional housing or rental subsidies.
The Society for Community Organization (SoCO), a social services group that assists low-income residents, also urged the government to ensure tenants at substandard flats would not become homeless. SoCo said they should be relocated to transitional housing, light public housing or event units redeveloped by the Urban Renewal Authority.
Ruby Lai, an assistant professor at Lingnan University’s Department of Sociology and Social Policy, said on Wednesday that the government should explain whether it would impose regulations on rent, such as a set starting rent to mitigate potential rent increases resulting from the eradication of substandard housing.
Such a move will “prevent vulnerable residents from facing high rents or being forced to relocate to more remote areas,” the scholar said.
Lawmaker Michael Tien said he would raise the matter of an initial rent cap at the Legislative Council (LegCo) when the government submits its proposals. The issue of rent controls was “tricky,” said the veteran lawmaker, who in 2021 called for a cap on initial rents for subdivided housing.
“When they upgrade the quality, the rents will go up,” Tien told reporters at LegCo on Wednesday, noting that Lee did not mention rent controls in his speech.
The Lingnan University scholar added that the government should elaborate on the grace period which the chief executive said would be given to landlords to bring their subdivided flats up to standard, as well as details about prosecution and penalties.
On Thursday, Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho said subdivided flat landlords will be required to register with the government. They then need to find and pay professionals to certify that the units were up to standards, before they rent the units out.
But the official did not give information on what would happen to the tenants during the registration, certification and renovation stage. The enforcement plan would depend on the overall housing supply and other practical circumstances, she said.
“Enforcement actions should not be rushed; they must be carried out step by step to avoid causing panic among some residents or even situations of homelessness, which we do not want to see. Additionally, we will provide appropriate assistance as needed,” she said in Cantonese.
Poverty alleviation
After Lee took the helm as Hong Kong’s leader in July 2022, he announced in his first Policy Address that the government would adopt a new strategy of “targeted poverty alleviation” by directing resources to those most in need.
The strategy centred around three target groups: subdivided unit households, single-parent households and elderly households.
Lee’s administration said a new concept should be used to measure poverty, instead of relying on the official poverty line introduced in 2013 which defined any household with under 50 per cent of the median monthly household income – before tax and welfare transfers – as living in poverty.
The government also stopped publishing annual poverty reports and the associated poverty line data in 2022. Several officials have said it was not appropriate to assess poverty using a single index.
Some NGOs and scholars in Hong Kong have called for reinstating a poverty line for better understanding of the city’s situation from a macro perspective. Some suggested using new calculation methods and new indicators to address the limitations of the previous poverty line data.
Despite these calls, Chief Executive John Lee did not mention any new index for gauging the poverty situation in Hong Kong in the latest Policy Address. He said on Wednesday that the government continues to adopt the targeted poverty alleviation strategy by continuing existing initiatives.
Wong Hung, a Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) scholar who published a book on poverty eradication in Hong Kong in 2015, told HKFP on Friday that it was “appropriate” to maintain a poverty line, as the authorities currently had no clear indicator for measuring the effectiveness of its targeted poverty alleviation policies.
The 2024 Policy Address also lacked measures on tackling the “real and root causes” of poverty in Hong Kong, such as insufficient retirement protections for the elderly, Wong said. He cited the “relatively low” amount of money people may retrieve from their Mandatory Provident Fund after retirement, while the Old Age Living Allowance of HK$4,195 for elderly people with financial needs was “barely enough.”
The scholar added that the government should address the structural issues concerning the poor population in the work force by reviewing the statutory minimum wage, which is currently set at HK$40 per hour. The authorities should consider the pay standard with reference to household income, Wong said.
Au-Yeung Tat-chor, an assistant professor at Lingnan University specialising in social policy and community development, told HKFP on Friday that criticism of the poverty line was “not entirely without reason.”
But every poverty indicator had its restrictions, the scholar said, and setting a poverty line had no conflict with the approach of targeted poverty alleviation.
“The importance of adopting targeted poverty alleviation is to address the unique [needs] of certain groups. But apart from uniqueness, we also need to understand the prevalence of low income,” the Lingnan University academic, who is also a registered social worker, said.
Au-Yeung explained that the poverty line could reflect the gap between a low income family and an average family in Hong Kong, which would serve as an important reference point to evaluate poverty in the city.
“This is why some NGOs, and myself, would hope that the government may use a ‘dual-track approach’ – keeping the poverty line and doing targeted poverty alleviation at the same time,” he said.
According to Oxfam’s report earlier this month, more than 1.39 million Hongkongers were living in poverty in the first quarter of 2024, with the city’s richest earning 81 times more than its poorest.
Some NGOs – including Oxfam – suggested before Wednesday’s Policy Address that the government should encourage labour market participation, especially among able and willing elders.
Although promoting employment may not necessarily solve the city’s poverty issues, it could help ease hardships, Au-Yeung said. The government should be more proactive in linking up with companies to foster a more elderly-friendly work environment, and providing a wider selection of jobs for elders, beyond traditional options such as cleaners and security guards.
Political reform
What was lacking in Lee’s reform-centric policy blueprint was the mention of political reform, Lo Kin-hei, chairman of the Democratic Party said on Wednesday. As the leader of one of Hong Kong’s last remaining pro-democracy groups, Lo expressed regret and disappointment over Lee’s failure to mention political reforms such as revamping the election system.
If the Hong Kong government wanted residents to “feel connected” to the policies, society must have a “sense of participation,” Lo said. The party also made reference to Lee’s closing remarks on Wednesday, in which the chief executive said Hong Kong must not allow “internal and external badmouthing forces to shake our confidence and undermine our morale.”
If the Lee was referring to dissenting voices in society or criticism of the government, the government should actually “encourage” such things, Lo said.
“If the only voices left in society are those that sing praises to the government, it would certainly not be beneficial for the development of Hong Kong,” he said.
During a media briefing after the Policy Address, Lee was asked by an HKFP reporter whether universal suffrage was on the agenda for his administration following calls for democracy by the League of Social Democrats that morning.
In response, Lee said democratic reform was not on his administration’s agenda, as the issue has been settled. He cited the electoral overhaul in 2021, which tightened control over the city’s legislative race by introducing a pro-Beijing vetting panel to select candidates.
Lee also made reference to the overhaul of the District Council elections last year, also aimed at ensuring that only “patriots” were elected, following a pro-democracy landslide at the last polls in 2019.
Since the overhauls, the Democratic Party skipped the Legislative Council election for the first time in 2021, while none of its eight candidates was able to secure enough nominations to enter the District Council race last December.
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