Hundreds of underprivileged Hong Kong families fear they will need to cut back on essentials, including academic support for their children, when the government ends a trial handout scheme next month for those awaiting public housing, a survey has found. The Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) said on Sunday that half of the 330 poor…
The earnings of low-income immigrants from mainland China in Hong Kong fell below pre-pandemic levels last year, with the recovery of income levels disrupted by an influx of new workers and a slowdown in consumer spending, a university-led study has found. The study, led by Baptist University (HKBU), collected the employment data of 3,236 working-age…
Services and staffing levels of social welfare organisations in Hong Kong will be hit by the government plan to cut funding by as much as 7 percent in the coming three financial years, lawmakers and operators have warned. The sector raised their concerns after they were briefed on Monday by Secretary for Labour and Welfare…
Advocacy groups and tenants have urged Hong Kong authorities to adjust proposals for regulating below-standard subdivided flats, calling for bigger minimum sizes and permanent resettlement as a public consultation ended. Some tenants on Monday also said they had been evicted as their landlords had told them they needed to renovate their flats to meet the…
Cleaner Suen Wai-keung*, 57, has been waiting 16 years for a Hong Kong public housing flat, but does not expect to hear good news about his application any time soon. Earning about HK$12,000 (US$1,540) a month, he spends nearly a quarter of his income, or HK$2,900, on renting a termite-infested cubicle in Sham Shui Po,…
Hong Kong landlords who rent out low-quality subdivided homes could face up to three years in jail and HK$300,000 (US$38,550) in fines under a proposed government plan to wipe out such flats. Details of the proposal were revealed on Wednesday, a day after the housing minister urged landlords not to illegally chase out tenants for…
Hong Kong’s needy have given the current administration a lower score in an annual survey on its performance in the past year because of employment and housing struggles. The annual rating on the government’s overall performance declined for the second consecutive year, falling from 6.8 in 2022 and 6.4 in 2023. SoCO deputy director Sze…