Poverty top priority: CS

August 17, 2012

Alleviating poverty is one of the top priorities of the fourth-term Government, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam says, adding it will co-ordinate macro policies and concrete measures to foster economic development and strengthen employment assistance.
 
Consulting the industrial and business sectors, and employers, today, Mrs Lam said the Government wants to tackle the fundamental issues of poverty.
 
She said the Chief Executive’s guiding thoughts are developing the economy and encouraging industries to expand and thrive.
 
"Such moves in turn create more quality employment opportunities and bring about improvement to the overall structure of employment and the chances of upward mobility."
 
The consultation session was held by Mrs Lam, Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung, non-official members of the Executive Council, and members of the Preparatory Task Force on the Commission on Poverty.
 
Representatives from the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong Chinese Importers' & Exporters' Association, the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong, and other organisations attended the meeting.
 
Their suggestions for tackling poverty through promoting economic development and enhancing social mobility include promoting a diversified economy, leveraging opportunities on Mainland-Hong Kong economic co-operation and optimising the population structure, and reviewing manpower supply and demand.