Chapter 4: Hong Kong

Abstract

The article focuses on poverty and social assistance in Hong Kong. The six million people of tiny Hong Kong have the fourth highest gross domestic product per capita in the world. But despite Hong Kong's economic achievements over the past three decades, poverty remains an important issue. Hong Kong has been transformed from a city of poor migrants in the 1960s into one of the most affluent and influential cities of the world in the 1990s. The migration of poor workers and their families is a major issue for all cities in poor countries. Hong Kong's affluence points up the severity of its poverty. The discussion in this article examines the issue from two perspectives. The first is in terms of the nature and extent of poverty in Hong Kong. The second is in relation to the government's social assistance scheme--Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA). While Hong Kong has achieved great wealth and continuing high rates of economic growth, the rights of the poorest are neglected. In recent years, the gap between the rich and the poor has grown wider, while the size of the poor population has increased rapidly.