Exclusive | Hong Kong poverty not just about income, but quality of life, welfare chief says

Hong Kong’s welfare minister has dismissed concerns over the government’s new targeted approach to tackling poverty, which in effect reduces the poor population to less than a million.

Instead of using income as the sole indicator of poverty, it will focus on the needs and quality of life of those living in subdivided flats, single-parent families and elderly people living alone or in pairs.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han told the Post such an approach was better to identify those in need.

“The poverty line is simply a statistical concept, it does not tell you who has the needs,” he said. “Our consensus is to focus on the three target groups, which cover more than 900,000 people, and see what can be done to address their specific needs, apart from the regular social welfare.”

Since 2013, Hong Kong has used the poverty line – set at 50 per cent of median household income – to assess the poverty situation, with a detailed report released every year.

When the current administration took office in 2022, it stopped using the poverty line and updating the report. Instead, it identified the three most vulnerable groups and rolled out projects to address their specific needs.