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Coronavirus: Extension of HK$10,000 cash handout expected to benefit 200,000, though not helpers, expats on special talent schemes

South China Morning Post

發布於 2020年03月27日13:03 • Victor Ting victor.ting@scmp.com
  • Residents targeted for the expanded handout will be subject to age, income requirements
  • Extension of the handout scheme beyond permanent residents came on the heels of public backlash
About 200,000 non-permanent residents are expected to benefit from the extension of the cash handout scheme. Photo: Sam Tsang
About 200,000 non-permanent residents are expected to benefit from the extension of the cash handout scheme. Photo: Sam Tsang

A HK$10,000 (US$1,300) handout for Hongkongers who recently moved to the city will benefit about 200,000 low-income residents, though not foreign domestic workers or those admitted through special talent schemes, according to the latest government proposal.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po last month announced a HK$10,000 handout for permanent residents, a move designed to ease economic hardship during the Covid-19 epidemic. The scheme was later extended to cover new arrivals after backlash from the community.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan's planned handout for permanent residents received public resistance over its exclusion of recent low-income arrivals. Photo: Winson Wong
Financial Secretary Paul Chan's planned handout for permanent residents received public resistance over its exclusion of recent low-income arrivals. Photo: Winson Wong

The Community Care Fund, a government trust fund designed to plug gaps in the social security safety net, has been tasked with administering the policy and was due to hammer out the details in a meeting this afternoon, the Post was told.

To "better target resources to those in need", applicants must be 18 years old or above by March 31, 2021, part of a low-income household, and have lived in Hong Kong for fewer than seven years, an insider with knowledge of the plan said.

People who arrived on one-way permits from the mainland and dependants of permanent residents will also be among those eligible for the subsidy.

Hong Kong extends HK$10,000 handout scheme to new arrivals on low incomes

However, foreign domestic workers, those in the city on working holidays, and people admitted under various special talents schemes operated by the government, such as the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, Technology Talent Admission Scheme and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals, will be excluded.

The income threshold, meanwhile, is expected to be modelled on another Community Care Fund scheme, the benefit payment to so-called "N-nothing" households, a low-income group who earn slightly too much to qualify for public housing and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance.

The monthly income cap for an applicant in a one-person household is set to be HK$14,325, while the ceiling will range from HK$21,750 to HK$38,810 for two to six person households.

According to Immigration Department figures, about 307,000 people had arrived to live in Hong Kong from mainland China since 2013.

The source said the government expected the scheme to benefit about 200,000 people and cost around HK$2.13 billion, some HK$100 million of which will go towards administrative expenses. The scheme will be open for applications by September at the earliest.

Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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