On 13 Dec, Oxfam’s Hong Kong team, including Kalina Tsang (the second from the left), who is in charge of Oxfam’s Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Programme; as well as managers Wong Shek Hung (the first from the right) and Alfred Choy (the first from the left), met with Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr. Matthew Cheung.

While speaking to Mr. Cheung, we urged the government to address the ever worsening problem of poverty and inequality, presented our recently published Hong Kong Inequality Report and Report on Hong Kong Living Wage Research, and explained our policy calls.

In the meeting, Mr. Cheung agreed that poverty in Hong Kong is worrying, and that the government will do more to address these problems. Regarding the poverty problem many ethnic minorities face, he supports the “Start from the beginning – Chinese Supporting Scheme for Non-Chinese Speaking Students in Kindergartens” by Oxfam. He also shared that the government has been reviewing its outsourcing system. He believes researching on living wage is a step in the right direction, and agrees with Oxfam Hong Kong’s efforts to drive cultural change among corporates and to care for low-income workers. He also encouraged capable employers to take the extra step to make Hong Kong a more equitable society. He said that the government will look into Oxfam’s policy calls, while taking Hong Kong’s social situation into account.

Oxfam Hong Kong will continue to call on the government to fight poverty and inequality, and urge it to answer our policy calls.