Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s ethnic minority communities, ex-offenders say they need HK$10,000 e-vouchers too
- Rigid eligibility rules for scheme go against spirit of helping needy, Society for Community Organisation says
- Families, individuals struggling to make ends meet say e-vouchers will make a big difference
More than 50 struggling Hong Kong residents including members of ethnic minority communities and former offenders are appealing to the government to include them in a HK$10,000 e-voucher scheme.
The Society for Community Organisation (SoCO), which is behind the appeal, said the rigid rules over the handout went against the spirit of providing financial aid to residents facing hardship amid the city’s fifth coronavirus wave.
“To some people, the consumption vouchers are a lifesaver,” SoCO community organiser Ng Wai-tung told the Post.
The NGO, which supports the city’s poorest residents, said ethnic minority communities and former offenders were two groups struggling through the outbreak and deserved help.
Both groups would benefit greatly from the e-voucher scheme, he said, which provides recipients digital vouchers worth HK$10,000 to spend at restaurants, shops and on public transport.
About 6.6 million people are eligible for the scheme, including permanent residents aged 18 and above and new immigrants from mainland China. The e-vouchers are distributed in two rounds, with the first in April and the second in the summer.
