Assurance on poverty fight as chief talks business

南華早報 2007-06-02

Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen believes the next administration will put its efforts into alleviating poverty despite the dissolution of the Poverty Commission.

Mr Tang, who heads the commission, was speaking yesterday as the chief executive rallied support for the development of social enterprises - an approach to poverty alleviation he put forward in his re-election campaign.

The commission was set up by the administration under Tung Chee-hwa just over two years ago as pressure mounted for his government to do more to help the poor.

Wrapping up the last meeting of the commission, Mr Tang would not yield to a request for the creation of a high-level body to take forward initiatives to address poverty. The move was proposed by Democratic Party vice-chairman Tik Chi-yuen, who said more than half the commission's 24 members backed him.

Mr Tang said: "Many members considered that, as the commission had made a good start on poverty alleviation, such work should be continued. I have expressed to them Mr Tsang's emphasis on the work and I believe [Hong Kong's] third post-handover government will continue with the task."

At a symposium on social enterprises, the chief executive described them as a key initiative for tackling poverty.

Mr Tsang said a social enterprise was a business with primarily social objectives, most of whose profits were reinvested in the business or invested in the community in pursuance of those objectives. It was not driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners.

Such enterprises were a way to create jobs for people who found it hard to get work with other employers and to help the disadvantaged re-enter the job market, he said.

Co-operation between the community, the business sector and government was crucial to promoting their development, he said.

Hong Kong had about 200 social enterprises, which needed more support from the business sector, Mr Tsang said.

"Aside from financial support, it is more important to help them enhance their competitiveness, like providing them with business instruction and training."

David Chiu, acting chief operations officer of the Salvation Army, which has been running social enterprises in Hong Kong since the 1960s, said high rents remained a problem.
"We are calling for property owners who have a strong sense of social responsibility to lease their places to us at lower rents," he said.