Is the Public Assistance Programme Adequate in Hong Kong? From Value-Neutrality to Moral Engagement in the Politics of Policy Research

Abstract

This is an attempt to assess the adequacy of the views for and against the state provision of welfare by examining the system of public assistance in Hong Kong that will also open up reflections concerning the politics of policy research. In order to articulate the considerations that underlie different interpretations of the system, we shall look into a debate that the government rejected the recommendations of a research on the adequacy of public assistance rates in Hong Kong concerning reforming the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance scheme. The analysis points out that failure to articulate the normative grounds that motivate the acceptance or rejection of the reform of the public assistance scheme may be the result of (1) the adoption of the principle of objectivity and (2) the outcome of a conception of politics which puts emphasis on the principle of liberal neutrality.