Hong Kong lawmakers question need for 3 new roles in Chief Executive's Office
Lawmakers have questioned the need to create three more positions in the office of Hong Kong's leader amid the budget deficit, but an official has stressed the roles will support a 'new culture' of better informing the public about policies.
Advertisement
The planned recruitment involved two information officers and a driver, who will cost taxpayers HK$2.66 million (US$342,120) annually in total. The budget for the Chief Executive's Office reached HK$130 million this year, after increasing by 7.8 per cent, or HK$9.2 million, over the previous year, surpassing the average spending hike of other government departments.
'Is [the hire] in line with the financial secretary's call for everyone to endure the difficult time together?' lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen said during a Legislative Council finance committee meeting on Monday.
'Shouldn't the Chief Executive's Office set an example? Which department doesn't have more work to do? ... They all reduced manpower.'
Tik was referring to finance chief Paul Chan Mo-po's budget address delivered in February, in which the minister said 10,000 civil service jobs would be axed by 2027 and the government would cut spending by 7 per cent over the coming three years to help reduce the HK$87.2 billion deficit.
Advertisement
But Kevin Choi, permanent secretary from the Chief Executive's Office, sought to justify the new positions by noting the operation was relatively small with about 100 staff members.
'The work [to be performed by the new hires] could support the chief executive under the new culture and try to make the public and citizens directly informed of the policy,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
9 hours ago
- RTHK
Lawmaker calls for loan limits for domestic workers
Lawmaker calls for loan limits for domestic workers Edward Leung (centre) said the government will conduct a public consultation at the end of the month to address over-borrowing issues. Photo: RTHK DAB lawmaker Edward Leung on Sunday urged the government to establish lending limits and interest rate ceilings to prevent over-borrowing by foreign domestic workers. Leung said there is a concern about excessive borrowing and allegedly unethical practices of financial institutions pursuing debts from helpers using illegal methods. "We advocate that the amount that [financial institutions] could lend to the domestic helpers depends on, first of all, the remaining contract months that they have, and the amount that they could pay back each month will be 30 percent of their monthly income," he said. "For example, they have six more months left in their contract, and their monthly income is HK$5,000, then HK$1,500 times six months will be the total amount that they could borrow. "This is the limit that we advocate, and this is agreed by many employers and also many agents that we have talked to." He said the government should also step up publicity and education to better protect the interests of foreign domestic helpers and their employers. "The government [should] provide seminars for them regarding their rights and also the laws in Hong Kong [other] foreign workers in Hong Kong, they have to attend a seminar organised by the government within eight months that they have arrived in Hong Kong," he said. "However, for domestic workers, they do not have such kind of seminars, and that could cause problems such as the over-borrowing and borrowing money from non-licensed financial institutions. "That's why we advocate that the government should offer seminars for domestic workers within eight weeks after they have arrived in Hong Kong." Leung said the government will conduct a public consultation at the end of the month to address over-borrowing issues.
RTHK
12 hours ago
- RTHK
HK has growth potential in digital finance: FS
HK has growth potential in digital finance: FS Paul Chan said a policy statement for digital asset development will be issued soon. File photo: RTHK Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Sunday that digital finance is among the areas Hong Kong can develop in the long run, adding that the government will issue its second policy statement on digital asset development by the end of the month. Chan said the statement is needed in light of "the latest developments and a change in situations". The minister said officials will announce the government's vision and policy directions on how they will help combine digital asset innovations with traditional financial services. Writing on his weekly blog, Chan said the policy statement will also touch on raising the flexibility and safety of digital assets in real economic activities. He noted that in August, the SAR will implement a licensing regime for stablecoins, which are virtual assets meant to maintain a stable value relative to assets such as actual currencies. The secretary said many market participants are interested in this and the Monetary Authority will handle licence applications as quickly as possible. "It is estimated that the total market value of global stablecoins is about US$240 billion, and the global stablecoin trading volume exceeded US$20 trillion last year," Chan said. "With the booming development of the digital asset market, the market demand for stablecoins is expected to increase further." Chan went on to say that while the global equity market has faced a lot of uncertainties so far this year, Hong Kong stood out being as the local bourse was robust and rose by around 20 percent. He said there have been funds from places such as the US, Europe and the Middle East flowing into the Hong Kong market, for initial public offerings as well as refinancing.
South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
No way should Hong Kong bail out taxi licence holders
What do you get when you mix outdated regulation, asset bubbles and an on-demand economy? In Hong Kong's case, a taxi system on life support – clinging to the hope of million-dollar medallions (taxi licences) while app-based ride-hailing services quietly reshape the market. The government has finally committed to regulating these ride-hailing platforms, promising a legal framework within the year. It has also launched a premium taxi fleet scheme , granting permission for a handful of operators to modernise and professionalise the industry. These are welcome steps. But looming over the debate is a question no official wants to face head-on: what should Hong Kong do about its taxi licences – some of which were sold for more than HK$7 million (US$891,800) but are worth much less now? Unsurprisingly, some licence holders are calling for a government buy-back. Proposals in the past have included rebuying taxi licences at auction prices, but there are more ambitious demands, and one estimate puts the cost of buying back all 18,000 licences at tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars. One recent proposal is for the government to repurchase the licences at HK$5 million each, despite market resale prices having fallen below HK$2 million. The answer? Absolutely not.
