Independent study finds 160,000 more needy people than identified by government

(Credit to ChinaNews)

About 20% of Hong Kong people live a poor and deprived life, a joint study by the City University of Hong Kong and the University of Bristol reveals. This is about 160,000 people more than that 1.31 million identified by the government by drawing the poverty line at half the median household income.

But lead researcher Professor David Gordon of the University of Bristol said poverty was defined as having insufficient resources over time, and that it was a dynamic and not a static concept. "To measure just income would be to ignore the dynamic changes”, said Gordon.

The study, which was conducted on about 600 households, therefore takes into account not just income but deprivation. 30 items and activities for adults and 22 for children were listed as customary in Hong Kong society, including things like being able to afford fresh fruit or vegetables or taking part in Chinese New Year celebrations.

"This report tells us a lot more about the poor than the poverty line defined by the [government-appointed] Commission on Poverty," said Professor Nelson Chow Wing-sun of the University of Hong Kong, who did not take part in the study.

The study found 21% of Hongkongers were poor, with another 20% on the edge of poverty. Figures for children were worse, with 27% deemed poor.

Revealing the official poverty statistics on September 28, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said: "Complete eradication of poverty is impossible when the concept of relative poverty is adopted."

In response to Chief Secretary Carrie Lam claim that complete eradication of poverty is impossible when the concept of relative poverty is adopted, Gordon said: "To say that you can't eradicate poverty is abusing the relative poverty concept. That is not correct."

"If the poverty line is not tied to poverty alleviation, it's then not of much use," he said.