Hong Kong is seeing a growing gap between rich and poor as welfare groups warn increased numbers of people are living below the poverty line, reports showed Monday.
"I'm worried the situation will worsen," as the recovery of the global economy has been set back by the terrorist attacks in the United States, said Li Kin-wah, spokesman for the Livelihood 21, an alliance comprising more than 20 welfare groups.
Li called on the government to set up an "anti-poverty" committee and use financial reserves to create more jobs.
The alliance in its latest survey found some 1.24 million people, out of Hong Kong's 6.7 million population, were living below the poverty line last year with an average income of less than 2,250 Hong Kong dollars (289 US) per month.
A total of 1.23 million were living below the poverty line in 1999.
The alliance sets the poverty line at 2,550 dollars a month per household, calculated as half of the average household's monthly income of 5,100 dollars.
It said children under 15 living in poor households topped the poverty population list at 29.2 percent, followed by people over 65 at 26.9 percent.
There is no official poverty line in Hong Kong because officials say poor families can apply for comprehensive social security assistance, while heavily subsidised public housing, medicine and education are available to the majority of Hong Kong's residents.
But the economy is weakening as Hong Kong's unemployment rate rose to a year high of 4.9 percent in the three months to August amid sluggish growth.
The government has slashed its economic growth forecast for this year to 1.0 percent last month from 3.0 percent earlier. Second quarter growth slowed to 0.5 percent from a year earlier due to weak exports and investment. |
