- Most agree the current crisis rocking the city is a political issue, with young people - who form the bulk of protesters - mostly left out of sweeteners
- Measures not seen as much of a boost to pro-establishment bloc
The extra-budget sweeteners announced on Thursday will do little to soothe Hong Kong's ongoing political crisis, lawmakers from both camps, protesters and commentators uniformly agreed, even as the pro-establishment bloc said the measures reflected the administration's commitment.
The announcement by the embattled government included goodies for students and low-income households, as well as subsidies for small businesses, as the city wrestled with the most serious political deadlock since the 1997 handover.
However, different sectors found them underwhelming, arguing that they would not address the fallout of the now-abandoned extradition bill.
This is a political issue, not an economic issue, stupidLam Cheuk-ting, lawmaker
"This is a political issue, not an economic issue, stupid," Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said. "You have to resolve the political crisis, so public opinion can be stabilised and the economy can recover."
Yet, Lam said his party did not object to any sweeteners given to the people. Fellow Democrat Helena Wong Pik-wan said she expected the public to continue with their demonstrations, as people were still upset with police's treatment of protesters.
"Pocket the money and continue to scold the government," Wong said, urging authorities to respond to the demands by protesters for a true resolution. The crisis is now into its third month and growing increasingly violent, pitting protesters against police and the government.
Like the pan-democrats, pro-establishment lawmakers too did not have high expectations of the measures winning over public support.
"We should not expect that these can calm down society. The grievances are about political demands, and livelihood measures do little," lawmaker Kwok Wai-keung of the Federation of Trade Unions said.
But he, along with colleague Ben Chan Han-pan of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, still welcomed the measures which they said, were aimed at coping with the strong economic headwinds.
"This shows the government has been proactive and committed to responding to public calls," Chan said.
Political commentator Ivan Choy Chi-keung from Chinese University said although Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po had downplayed the influence of recent protests when making his announcement, they were surely attempts to cool political tensions.
"Beijing has expressed hope that the protests can be over before National Day on October 1, so it would be too late for the government to announce measures in the policy address," Choy said. The address, an occasion when the chief executive announces her plans for the year, is set for mid-October.
"But the measures provide little help, as youngsters " who are playing a major role in the movement " enjoy few sweeteners and they are fighting about values," he said.
"However, the government's hands are tied when it comes to addressing the political demands of protesters."
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Choy also predicted that the goodies would fail to boost the election chances of the pro-establishment camp in the district council elections in November. But he added that it was still better than nothing, especially for those unhappy with the help they received in the last budget.
Two frontline protesters, Tommy Wong, 17, and Alan Wong, 18, both said the measures would not affect their participation in future protests at all. Tommy, who will become a Form Six student in September, is set to benefit from a HK$2,500 subsidy, but Alan, a fresh high school graduate who is about to join a diploma course, was left out of the sweeteners.
Several other Hongkongers interviewed found the goodies underwhelming but admitted they were better than nothing.
Windy Fung, a freelance make-up artist and event entertainer, considered the measures "bonuses" as she had not expected the government to help her. The 34-year-old said she had fewer gigs in the past two months because of the protests.
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Instead of offering one-off sweeteners, she said the government could cool public discontent better if officials were to announce long-term policies such as better medical welfare for citizens.
Theo Fung, manager of a logistics company, said the economic measures would not calm public anger because the city was facing a political, not economic crisis. Fung will benefit from the tax relief and electricity subsidy.
"The tax reduction is not really that huge. Of course, it's nice to have something than to have nothing," the 31-year-old said. "But these are one-off measures. I am not particularly excited about it."
Additional reporting by Sum Lok-kei and Phila Siu
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