Consumption Vouchers Barely Make Dent in Sales

Consumption vouchers aren't benefiting small businesses

The HK$5,000 e-vouchers are supposed to inject a whopping HK$30 billion into Hong Kong's economy and aimed at benefiting small retailers, but some report only a small uptick in business.

In Kennedy Town, a small fashion boutique owner reported no difference in revenue, even though she signed up to use Octopus cards in her shop, as installation and transaction fees would be waived for the first six months. She plans to return the card terminal when the period waived is up.

People buy expensive items without voucher

"About 10 percent of my clients started using electronic payment methods, but revenue didn't actually increase," she said.

Another shop selling imported frozen food also in Kennedy Town saw a slight increase in sales when the e-vouchers first came out in August that later died down, and no increase in the second installment. 

"I didn't see them spend more than usual or buy more expensive things because of the consumption vouchers," Jimmy Tsoi said. "Younger people may save up [the installments] to buy something more expensive at once. It would feel better than using it to buy small items, or something for daily use."

But according to the Census and Statistics Department, overall sales jumped 11.9 percent in August compared to the same time last year. However August 2020 was before Hong Kong had vaccines and there were strict social-distancing measures in place at the time, thus sales were low then too, points out Annie Tse, chairperson of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association.

Sales in footwear saw a big increase year-on-year

Retailers selling footwear and clothing saw the biggest rebound compared to other types of businesses, recording a 62.3 percent year-on-year increase in August, while optical shops saw a 60.4 percent rise compared to the same period last year according to government statistics.

Nevertheless, restaurants in general are doing a healthy trade, though it doesn't have much to do with consumption vouchers, as it is the high-end restaurants that are busy these days with wealthy customers splashing out on fine dining meals that they would have spent on trips.

So while the Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po intended the e-vouchers to help small businesses, his elaborate and grand plan barely made a dent.

Inching Closer to $5K Handout

Chan warns people to use the handout only for local spending

 

The countdown begins to register for the HK$5,000 handout on July 4, but Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po warns people not to try to find ways to put that money into their bank accounts, that the money is specifically for local spending.

Permanent residents over 18 years of age can choose to have the money that is distributed in installments to be deposited into one of four payment platforms: Octopus, AliPay HK, WeChat Pay HK, and Tap & Go. 

Money will be deposited in 4 payment platforms

Those opting for Octopus will have their money given out in three payments of HK$2,000, HK$2,000 and HK$1,000, while the other three will have two installments of HK$2,000 and then HK$3,000.

Chan warned if merchants were found to conspire with consumers to cash in the vouchers would be blacklisted and dealt with by the relevant authorities.

"If a merchant that used to have small-sum transactions is found to have large-sum and unusual transactions, we may blacklist them if appropriate so they can no longer join this scheme," Chan said. "If there are elements of conspiracy and fraud, we won't rule out taking law enforcement action."

The HK$5,000 is meant to be used within a five-month period for shopping, dining and transport.

It won't be difficult for the average Hongkonger to use this money for everyday spending. This is HK$5,000 less they need to spend of their own savings for necessities. Instead it will be the credit cards and banks that will be hurting for a few months as people won't be using credit cards and cash as much. 

Registration begins on July 4 for Aug 1 payment

And HK$5,000 to be used within five months isn't a gob of money. For Chan to warn people to only use it for personal spending is ludicrous. What else are they going to use it for, since you must use up the money before getting the next installment.

Kiss those HK$5,000 Gucci sneakers goodbye.

It's not like Chan has given everyone HK$10,000 like last year. 

So while the intention is to encourage people to spend in local shops, it will only be those merchants who accept electronic payments that will win out. And for sure the supermarket chains will benefit the most. 

Can you imagine going to a fine dining restaurant to doot your bill?

Carrie Announces More Relief Measures

Carrie Lam announced more relief measures for businesses to stay afloat

So many things to write about today, but perhaps most importantly a belated response from the government for more bailout measures to keep Hong Kong's economy going.

It is spending HK$137.5 billion (US$18 billion) on a raft of measures, including helping employers pay their employees HK$9,000 (US$1,160) of their monthly wages for six months. Only those companies that contribute to the Mandatory Provident Fund are eligible and they must promise not to lay off any workers.

There were questions from the media about possible loopholes, but Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said if the list of employers was made public then employees could expect that money. This means 1.5 million workers would benefit from this scheme.

1.5 million workers could get HK$9,000 from the government

She stressed this was the third time the government was making an effort to buoy the economy, though it will cause the budget deficit to surge to HK$276.6 billion, equivalent to 9.6 percent of  gross domestic product.

"We have to try our best to prevent the closure of businesses or large-scale job cuts," Lam said as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases reached 960.

"In these unprecedented circumstances, the government must have some unprecedented responses -- to help businesses to survive, safeguard employment, and minimize the burden on businesses and citizens."

And about that controversial pay raise? Lam announced she and her senior ministers would take a 10 percent paycut for a year, which means she will be making HK$390,000 per month, or HK$4.68 million a year.

It took her long enough to decide to do that, but perhaps better late than never?

Almost 450 police officers quit last year, up 38.5 percent

Another interesting piece of news was reported that is protest related: Almost 450 officer quit during the eight months of unrest, while new hires fell short of targets.

The police force claimed it was not surprised by the large number, and added it still received some 10,000 applications.

In his budget announced in February, the financial secretary approved a 7 percent budget increase in police manpower for the next financial year, including an extra 2,543 posts created.

The Security Bureau defended the proposed budget increase, explaining that 446 officers not expected to leave the service had quit between June and February this year, an increase of 38.5 percent from the same period last year.

"For these officers, their reasons for leaving include resignation during training, early retirement, family and personal reasons," the bureau said in reply.

Were some of those "personal reasons" related to the protests?

And finally, today the lockdown on Wuhan was lifted, and as expected, some 55,000 people left the city by train, and on 100 commercial flights. People were definitely fleeing Wuhan after being shut at home since January 23.

Lots of people fled Wuhan today with the lockdown lifted

However... where are they going? There are a lot of fears many of them to show up in Hong Kong and the media pressed health officials about why they let passengers from Wuhan go home with a plastic bottle to collect the saliva sample and not have them stay at AsiaWorld-Expo to conduct the saliva test and wait for the results.

But health officials insisted that the risk assessment was low.

"Among the first batch of returnees from Wuhan earlier, only one person tested positive among some 400," Dr Chui Tak-yi, Undersecretary for Food and Health said.

However reporters in the press conference were not impressed, as anyone from anywhere could have the virus; perhaps health officials will change their mind tomorrow?

Government Bureaucracy that Helps No One

Waiting 30 years for government housing! Most people will be retired by then

My hairdresser is a no-nonsense woman in her mid thirties, lives in Yuen Long with her parents, works in a small hair salon in Central, but obviously would prefer to live on her own.

She can't begin to afford buying her own flat, so she applied for government housing. At first she and her older sister were going to apply together, but her older sister was born across the border and in a small village, where no birth certificate was issued and so they couldn't prove they were sisters.

A typical government-housing flat... quite cosy, no?

They asked the housing office if they could do a DNA test and the Housing Department said no. The government won't even let them prove through DNA that they are sisters. Strange bureaucratic reply. No birth certificate, no talk.

As a result they have had to apply separately and I asked my hairdresser how long she would have to wait. "Probably 30 years," she said, not really joking.

Thirty years? She'll be retired by the time she gets government housing!

It's extraordinary how the Hong Kong government doesn't make housing a much bigger priority. Which also explains why young people feel they have no hope in this city when the government doesn't care to help them when housing costs are one of the most expensive in the world.

Meanwhile earlier today the government is bemoaning the fact that income tax paid by 1.9 million residents will be paid late because of the protests. Doesn't the government have a trillion dollars in reserves?

It's not like the government will cease to function without that tax income coming in.

Paul Chan wondering how he can get tax income faster...

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also bemoaned the fact that the government has made many concessions which will mean a few billion dollars less in the public coffers. 

We should have received our tax bill in September or October, but now it won't be until January or even April till we get those dreaded green envelopes.

But also the government is giving people more time to settle their tax bills too -- up to a year.

Once again may we remind the government why this crisis -- which is far from over by the way -- was started by its leader? If Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor hadn't proposed the extradition bill in the first place, the government would right now be busy counting its tax income and gleefully wondering what to do with it all...

Government Doles out Carrots... then the Sticks

Financial Secretary Paul Chan doles out sweetners, but hardly substantial

This afternoon Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced a raft of economic measures worth HK$19.1 billion (US$2.4 billion) in what he claims are meant to prepare for the possibility of a technical recession (two successive quarters of negative growth) in Hong Kong.

The relief package includes a reduction in the salaries tax, extra allowance for social security, old age, disability and working family allowance recipients, students from kindergarten to secondary school will get subsidies, and low-income tenants will get one month of free rent.

The announced sweetners won't benefit protesters much

Perhaps even more interesting is that Chan can't even bear to say the word "protests" and instead says "recent social incidents".

It's just as well Chan is talking in euphemisms because he can't even face the reality that Hong Kong is in the midst of 10 consecutive weeks of serious government discontent.

But sorry Mr Chan -- the protests aren't about the economy.

And if the government doesn't get that, or doesn't want to recognize that fact, then we continue to exist in parallel universes.

The one bright spot today was the release on bail of 2014 Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting.

Will Sunday's rally be as big as this congregation?

He was given a break from jail by the appeal court after serving three months in jail.

"I am very proud that I can stand with you all together at this very moment. So many people love Hong Kong so much. But, the road ahead is very unclear and very tough," Tai said outside the court.

"But I am still confident that Hong Kong's future is bright. The golden era of our city is yet to come. And I believe that time is not too far away."

Tai and another Occupy co-founder, sociologist Chan Kin-man were both sentenced to 16 months in jail after they were convicted for the unprecedented civil disobedience movement five years ago when several areas of Hong Kong were occupied for 79 days.

Benny Tai fresh out of jail earlier today

During his time in jail, Tai said he was particularly touched reading the news about the protesters who came into the Legislative Council at the last minute to collect their four die-hard comrades out before the police cleared the complex on July 1.

"I cried when I read the news," he said.

While there are several marches planned for this weekend, the police have again refused to give them the green light, restricting them to only rallies. In the case of a march that was planned from Victoria Park to Chater Garden, how is the park going to be able to hold so many people at once?

More frustration is just going to build...

More Benefits for the Rich

Some of the top landlords own thousands of properties in Hong Kong

In this year's budget Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po tried to give more benefits to the middle class, and for the most part they were little concessions here and there, like waiving government rates that are paid quarterly.

He raised the waiver from a maximum of HK$1,000 per quarter in the last financial year to HK$2,500 per quarter for a full year.

Property owners can save up to HK$10,000 a year (whoo hoo!) on each flat, but it looks like the uber rich will have the last laugh because they not only own hundreds of properties, but thousands of them, saving millions of dollars from paying these government rates.

Paul Chan thought taxpayers would like the rates waivers

The top 10 landlords in Hong Kong own over 40,000 properties among them and so they will benefit from waivers worth HK$256 million (US$32.8 million) this financial year.

According to figures from the Financial Service and the Treasury Bureau on Monday, the top ratepayer alone was expected to receive a concession of HK$102. 6 million from the 15,645 rateable properties owned.

Can you imagine owning that many properties? You and your extended family never have to work, just collect rent and live very well for the rest of your lives.

Then the next nine ratepayers will save between HK$8.9 million to HK$23.3 million for the 1,258 to 5,038 properties they hold.

Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun believes the landlords are property developers, and the government is just helping them become even more rich.

But James To believes it's the developers who benefit the most

"It is utterly inappropriate to offer over HK$102 million to someone who owns over 15,000 units," he said. "That's returning the wealth to the wealthy."

He said properties owned by companies should be considered as investments and so they should not benefit from these rates concessions.

"These investors do not need help from the government... Why should the government benefit these big conglomerates," he said.

"Even if middle-class citizens use a company [they set up] to buy a flat for self-occupation, the rates waivers should only be limited to one unit."

Also, most tenants don't benefit from the rates waivers as their landlords usually paid them, which means these properties are for commercial use, not for private use.

So once again the government hasn't clearly thought out this rates waiver and done enough research to realize that the biggest benefactor are those who own thousands of flats, while those who are only allowed to own one (or can only afford one), the benefit is a small gesture.

The ones who really need help -- renters and first-time home buyers -- are shut out.

Where is the love?

Cries for Sympathy Leave Bad Taste

This year there weren't fireworks to mark the start of the Year of the Dog

The Year of the Dog wasn't as boisterous this time with the cancellation of the fireworks on the second day of the new year.

It was the seventh day after 19 people died and 66 injured in a horrific bus crash in Tai Po and in Chinese tradition it is believed on that day the souls of the dead visit their loved ones for one last time.

Many restaurants like this one capitalize on the fireworks

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor made the right decision out of respect for the victims and their families, but that decision wasn't easy to make -- as expected local businesses were financially hit by the fireworks cancellation.

"On the surface, it seems like it would not be a big deal to cancel [the fireworks], but there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that travel agencies have to take care of... there are bound to be losses," tourism sector legislator Yiu Si-wing said on a radio show on Saturday.

Yiu added restaurants with a view of Victoria Harbour, where the fireworks are usually held, would be affected the most. "According to my understanding, one-third of the customers had backed out of their reservations," he said.

During the same radio program, Travel Industry Council chairman Jason Wong Chun-tat suggested the government should give priority to the affected industries if the government was going to organise any activities in the future.

Jason Wong hopes travel and restaurants get help in the future

Yes fireworks are a big deal in the city -- hundreds of thousands of people turn up on both sides of Victoria Harbour to get a good spot to watch them. Some make reservations at restaurants with a view, prepared to pay a bomb for their vantage point.

However with the cancellation of the pyrotechnic show, restaurants probably lost out the most, having ordered a lot of fresh (and expensive) ingredients beforehand and with many customers cancelling -- perhaps a bit to easily -- they took a big hit.

But these businesses were capitalizing on an event they didn't have to pay for in the first place. They would still have business (probably not at prices as jacked up) anyway because of the view.

Yiu says there are losses in the restaurant industry

More importantly, can we have some respect for the dead? For these legislators to hint there should be sympathy for the tourism and restaurant sectors is too much. Lives were lost -- can you put a price on that?

This also demonstrates how tough things are in the restaurant and tourism sectors to make a buck -- with rents sky high, customers are really paying the rent than enjoying good food and service at a decent price.

Many establishments are just trying to keep their heads above water these days as 2018 is going to be another challenging financial year.

The legislators were also probably hoping they could get the sympathy of Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po ahead of the upcoming budget speech at the end of the month. But he seems pretty tight lipped -- about everything.

Paul Chan's Crocodile Tears

Does Chan seriously think we believe he's losing sleep over young people?

Our Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po is so concerned about young people in Hong Kong that he's losing sleep over it.

In a Christmas Eve post on his blog, Chan said ever-increasing rents and property prices had imposed a heavy burden on Hongkongers and stunted the development of start-ups and entire industries. "It gives me sleepless nights and a low appetite," he said.

Recounting previous conversations with grassroots families and other locals, Chan said many residents, especially the young were under immense pressure due to stagnating salaries and long working hours despite Hong Kong having robust economic growth at 3.7 percent this year.

The youth feel left out in the city's economic development

Chan also noted there was a shortage of land for housing, offices, creative spaces and nursing homes.

"The government is making an effort to find land and explore solutions from every possible angle," he wrote.

But some of the suggestions have been controversial, such as developing some parts of the country parks which is currently illegal, and also making a 1,000-hectare artificial island east of Lantau.

Stop with the crocodile tears, Mr Chan.

If you were a rookie in Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's administration, then maybe we would have a bit of sympathy for you, but you were previously Secretary for Development in Leung Chun-ying's cabinet AND you were discovered for owning several properties that had sub-divided flats and had land in your name in the New Territories where the government was planning to develop near there.

Housing is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed

And how can it only be now that he realizes how challenging it is for young people to establish their careers in Hong Kong if they don't have good connections or a lot of capital to start with?

If he isn't sleeping well then he should come up with some decent solutions to help young people get jobs that will move them up the economic ladder instead of being stuck in service positions, and find more land -- brown sites is something we have repeated constantly in this blog -- or the government should develop low-cost housing of its own so that there will be options other than luxury flats or micro flats less than 300 square feet.

This is the best financial secretary Lam could come up with?

Hardly Bridging Hong Kong's Priorities

What the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge will look like, when it's done

Following yesterday's blog post about how the Hong Kong government isn't doing enough for its own poverty-stricken residents, it will have to spend another HK$11.8 billion on the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge.

The main section of the project, a 22.9km bridge and 6.7km undersea tunnel is situated in mainland waters. The Hong Kong government has to ask the Legislative Council for more money because a 2008 document says Hong Kong would pay for 50.2 percent of the 31 billion yuan cost of the main bridge, while the mainland would shell out 35.1 percent, and Macau 14.7 percent.

A map detailing where the bridge and tunnel are situated

How it got to those uneven percentages is strange, but there you have it, and Hong Kong has to bear the vast majority of the cost. Will we be using it 50.1 percent of the time too?

Lawmakers have told the government to give a detailed explanation and be prepared for lots of questions.

In February and October the Transport and Housing Bureau told lawmakers that the bridge would cost more than expected due to an "increase in labour and material costs as well as the refinement of the design and construction schemes".

However an exact amount -- HK$11.8 billion -- wasn't disclosed until yesterday.

Frankie Yick Chi-ming, chairman of Legco's transport panel, said there would be "lots of questions" from legislators when the government applies for more funding for the bridge.

Construction of the bridge's border crossing facility

"The key question I have is if 10 billion [yuan] is the final number," he said.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po is in Beijing and he admitted he didn't know yet how much of the budget overrun Hong Kong had to bear, but would be calculated according to "an established mechanism" as agreed by all sides when the agreement was signed.

So a huge infrastructure project that gives Hong Kong an opportunity to kowtow to Beijing that is costing billions in extra cost is worth more than trying to help the poor get a leg-up in society.

It's a sad state of affairs really. We need more resources to help our own residents live better lives than splashing out on white elephant infrastructure projects...

John Tsang Reveals Small Details

John Tsang reveals why he quit his job as Finance Secretary under CY Leung

Now we know why John Tsang Chun-wah quit his job as Financial Secretary to run for the next Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

He finally revealed that he quit in December after he had a row with Leung Chun-ying over the government budget. Tsang said Leung wanted to multiply the amount of new money earmarked for the next few years which would result in a deficit.

Tsang had told Sing Tao Daily on Thursday that he quit because he was unhappy but did not elaborate, and that he only thought of running for CE after he quit the job.

Today he was asked again by the media why he quit, and Tsang replied: It's not about one single incident. It's accumulated over time."

Since Paul Chan Mo-po has taken over the finance post, his first budget reveals there will be a deficit thanks to many infrastructure projects. Chan also decided not to put money into the Future Fund that Tsang had set up in 2015 for rainy days, instead spending it on welfare and sports.

Interesting that Tsang gives this curious bit of information that reveals more about himself and his ex-boss. While Tsang is right to be as fiscally prudent as possible, he was quite extreme about this -- Hong Kong is much wealthier than many cities, let alone countries!

So we can expect Tsang to be fiscally conservative if he wins as the next Chief Executive?

Leung Crying for Sympathy

Leung finds it hard to write his policy address without Tsang's help

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying hasn't been a happy camper since Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah suddenly resigned last Monday, fueling speculation he was keen on running for his boss' job next March.

Leung said he and his team were busy preparing for the policy address and without Tsang there, Leung had to stay up until 3am looking over a draft of the speech.

How come Tsang can leave his job as soon as he resigns?

"The measures in the address would need financial support, and involves the work of the financial secretary's office. So traditionally, December to February are the busiest times for the chief executive and financial departments," said Leung.

In that case, why doesn't Tsang's undersecretary have the info, along with others working in the fiance department? Or did his entire team leave en masse too?

And isn't it strange that he can just resign and leave the job just like that? The rest of us have to give a minimum of a month's notice, while for those in senior positions, it's three months.

What is also interesting is that Beijing hasn't yet approved Tsang's resignation... or does he need to work on this policy address first?

Regardless, Leung isn't getting any brownie points from anyone -- everyone's more interested in who's replacing him...

Brexit Fallout Continues

Strange times in Britain these days with Brexit a hard reality to get used to

Friends and colleagues are still processing their shock and disappointment over Brexit that left us all floored on Friday morning Hong Kong time.

One colleague who is British, and has lived in Hong Kong for over 20 years, and her son was born here, is devastated that her son's job opportunities have virtually evaporated.

"Before he had 28 countries [in the European Union] to be able to work in, and now it's only one!" she exclaimed. She is angry that her older relatives voted Brexit, who wanted to keep Britain the way they remembered it from before than realize the world has since globalized at such a fast rate that no country can survive by isolating itself.

However not all of the Brexit voters were old -- even her younger friend who is an expat in Hong Kong preferred to leave the EU so that Britain could retain its "Britishness", whatever that means.

Jeremy Corbyn put himself in an awkward position politically

Another colleague is very curious about the geo-political fall out, with Prime Minister David Cameron betting his job on the line to remain, and has no choice but to resign.

It seems the referendum was an emotional issue and the remain side didn't do enough to reassure people that there wouldn't be immigrants flooding in, that even though Britain sends 350 million pounds a week to the EU, it got back much more in terms of subsidies and other benefits. It also didn't try to tell the skeptics that the Brexit campaign was wrong in saying that big chunk of money would go to health care.

Then there's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn who was in a bizarre position. Labour is all for remaining in the EU, yet he himself is a Euro-skeptic, and so he was very low-key about campaigning to remain. He sacked one person who questioned his leadership, which led to many of his shadow cabinet members resigning.

And then there's Boris Johnson. He didn't really want Brexit... did he? He jumped on a cause to get on the political stage again, and he did it, but now he's quiet. No one wants to take on the challenge of putting Brexit in to motion now.

Will Boris Johnson continue his path to become PM?

Oh and Scotland is hinting it wants out of the UK...

Meanwhile the EU is outraged this is what the Brits really think of the union, and would rather kick Britain out sooner rather than later. The remain side is naive to think the EU will still continue to do business with them like before, though things might be cheaper now that the pound has fallen.

However the reality is that all those countries need Britain, and Britain needs the access to such a huge market to keep its economy going. Or maybe it doesn't need Britain?

The news hit Hong Kong hard of course, as the city was formerly a British colony, and many have business interests, children studying there, and so on.

Amusingly Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying stated that Hong Kong was prepared to deal with the outcome, but Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah and Hong Kong Monetary Authority Norman Chan Tak-lam both admitted they were caught off guard.

It's a real mess and it's going to take a long time for it to be sorted out. But it's a new reality everyone has to get used to. Everyone.

Tip of the Day: Avoid Tax, Buy the Company

Now we know how to avoid paying stamp duty, but where to get HK$2 billion?

So it turns out the billionaire who bought the home on The Peak the other day for HK$2.1 billion as saved himself from paying the stamp duty.

Any home worth more than HK$21.7 million is subject to a levy of 8.5 percent.

But Chen Hongtian avoided paying around HK$170 million by buying the company that owns the property.

That way the buyer and seller only pay 0.2 percent levy on the share transfer.

It's a very smart deal, but why does the Hong Kong government allow such loopholes to exist?

That's almost HK$18 million that could have gone to public coffers to help the poor, disabled, elderly and so on.

Oh wait a minute -- the financial secretary would just squirrel all that money for a rainy day.

Just as well these billionaires spared us the extra money...

HK Financial Secretary Promotes Tourism

John Tsang (right) with some fencing students at La Salle College

Tourism is down in Hong Kong, with hotels offering cut rates on rooms -- even Disneyland is slashing its room rates in half -- and there are lots of shopping incentives -- if you have the money to spend.

To pitch in and do his part, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah is starring in a new mildly amusing video encouraging people to visit the city.

It starts off in his alma mater La Salle College where he is a fencing coach -- who knew Tsang was a fencer! -- and then he asks a group of students if they are talking about him.

They reply they talking about Hong Kong and one asks the senior official in a Cantonese pun, "Sir, would you tai sou?" which means "shave", referring to his moustache.

He doesn't miss a beat and instead says, "No, but I'll definitely tai show", or "watch a show".

Groan.

Then the video continues much like any other tourism video with flashy nightlife scenes, mouthwatering food, verdant hills, famous landmarks and so on.

Should we be impressed? Amused? Proud?

Just seems weird the Financial Secretary would do this, but then again practically everyone else in the administration is mired in mini scandals (Paul Chan Mo-po, Gregory So Kam-yuen), or burned out (Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor).

Then again Tsang is the one trying to promote his food truck idea too which is somewhat touristy...

John Tsang's "Localist" Budget

Financial Secretary John Tsang had some breaks for people this year

Today Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah got some rare praise today for his ninth budget that seemed to be more sympathetic with Hong Kong people who have been and will be struggling because of the sluggish economy.

In his speech that took an hour and 25 minutes to read out, Tsang began with giving his take on recent events in the city, describing the Mongkok riots as having turned Hong Kong into a "strange and alien place".

Will Cantonese films like Ten Years get more funding?

"I believe many people share my feelings towards the incident. Distressed and angry, I was perplexed as to why violence had flared in Hong Kong," he said.

"I was shocked that our city could have turned overnight into such a strange and alien place that I hardly recognized. I was troubled why the core values that we long cherished had been devoured by violence and hatred."

He added: "Acute social conflicts will add uncertainties to the already adverse economic environment."

Then he went onto the task at hand, saying Hong Kong's economy grew 2.4 percent last year, but only expects it to expand 1-2 percent this year. Some of his main budget relief measures include reducing salaries taxes by 75 percent to up to HK$20,000, while government rates will be waived up to HK$1,000 per quarter, so homeowners can save up to HK$4,000 a year.

There will be extra allowances for those with social security, old age allowance, or disability allowance, but no rent reductions for those in public housing -- an area that even pro-Beijing lawmakers were not pleased about.

The government will spend more for more beds in hospitals

Spending on health care has almost doubled compared to 10 years ago to HK$57 billion, making up 16.5 percent of the government's expenditure. Most of the money goes to more hospital beds, more operating theatres and specialist outpatient services.

Either the government is not catching up with what public hospitals need, or way more people are getting ill -- which one is it?

Why not spend on trying to encourage people to live healthier so that healthcare spending can go down? In the long run it's better for everyone. The government is trying to get people to eat less, but it doesn't seem to be working when a good amount of space in supermarkets and convenient stores sell junk food...

Tsang is encouraging more companies to invest in research and development, and noted there are 1,600 startups in the city. That doesn't mean all 1,600 of them will succeed, I hope he understands, and many of them want to get to Silicon Valley and not necessarily stay here...

Interestingly, following the runaway success of local indie film Ten Years, Tsang has earmarked HK$20 million into the Film Development Fund to subsidize expenses incurred by locally-produced Cantonese films in distribution and publicity work on the mainland. Funding per film will double to HK$500,000.

Does this mean he will fund more films like Ten Years? Or just sappy Canto romantic comedies or martial arts flicks?

Commerce Secretary Gregory So selling the food truck idea

He is still keen on his pet project of food trucks in the city. Instead of 12 food trucks in six tourist spots, Tsang says the spots will increase to 16 due to "wild interest". However he didn't mention anything about hawkers, which was the cause of the Mongkok riots on February 8...

Perhaps most telling was Tsang's take on the "One Road, One Belt" policy that his boss Leung Chun-ying mentioned 44 times in his policy speech. Instead the Financial Secretary only mentioned it four or five times according to Civic Party leader Allan Leong Kah-kit.

"That has already highlighted their differences. I guess that is also what Tsang wants to highlight," said the lawmaker.

So while Tsang didn't please everyone, most were relieved he was thinking of those who need a few breaks, though they are only short-term measures. He is waiting to see how this year pans out before seeing if more tax breaks are needed, but really, does anyone see a bright spot in Hong Kong's economy anytime soon?

Quote of the Day: Tung Chee-hwa

Tung Chee-hwa was "shocked" to hear a woman's housing plight - really?

Hong Kong elites are really out of touch with reality.

We have the Financial Secretary claiming that paying HK$12,000 a month for a dishwasher is outrageous, when in reality no one is willing to do this tough job and so the wage has to be that high or even higher.

And now we have our former chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa very surprised at how expensive housing is in Hong Kong.

Hello? Do we not live in the same city?

Grandpa Tung now runs Our Hong Kong Foundation, a think tank. And he said he was "shocked" when a woman told him she planned to buy a 170-square foot home for more than HK$3 million for her family of three.

"It was shocking to me -- a small flat to live in does have a negative effect on a person's dignity," he said, recalling the encounter with her when he was strolling around The Peak.

"I think people in Hong Kong are facing a difficult choice," he said. "Should we make sacrifices to have a more decent life?"

Uh yeah, but that's the reality of the situation.

These government officials (and former ones) are working for us, the taxpayers, and yet these bureaucrats are completely clueless about how difficult it is to buy a decent-sized flat.

They obviously don't visit the everyday man to see what challenges they are going through, let alone care.

And they wonder why the Umbrella Movement exploded impromptu last October?

Instead they are condescending towards young Hong Kong people, telling them to temper their rebelliousness, and that more Communist doctrine will keep them in line.

Being completely out of touch with what's really going on is going to be the Hong Kong government's downfall -- its arrogance and preference for the rich and powerful will further increase the wealth gap.

The government can very easily impose regulations on the minimum size of flats, or that developers must build a certain number of low-income flats, but it doesn't, citing Hong Kong is a capitalist society.

But we need more low-income housing for people. They need decent places to live in. Cramped quarters like what Tung said, is a detriment to one's psychological outlook.

For Tung to realize this now is sad and pathetic.

We need help now and fast.

Hong Kong's "McSleepers"

An elderly woman sleeps at a branch of McDonald's

Last month, a woman in her 50s or 60s was found dead in a McDonald's in Ping Shek Estate, in Kowloon Bay, 24 hours after she entered the fast-food restaurant.

The shock of the discovery has sparked renewed calls to help these so-called "McRefugees", or "McSleepers", because they have no place to go, and the 24-hours McDonald's restaurants are a good option because they are warm and clean.

Social workers have been trying to bring attention of these homeless people to the Hong Kong government, but it still refuses to acknowledge these people need help because they consider them to have roofs over their heads -- albeit temporary ones.

As a result the government says it only has some 800 homeless people in the city, whereas social workers believe it's at least double that.

A woman was found dead in a McDonald's in Kowloon Bay

These homeless people have little or no income, and are forced between choosing to pay for expensive rents but starve, or live on the streets and have some food, and many pick the latter option.

"A subdivided flat of just 30 sq ft in Sham Shui Po would cost you HK$2,000 ($258) a month to rent these days," says Lee Tai-shing, chief community organizer for the Concerning Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and Low Income Alliance.

The Social Welfare Department offers short-term hostel placement, employment guidance, and emergency funds to cover short-term rent payments and other living expenses.

While it's nice to know the department will help out financially in a pinch, temporary housing is not the answer for these homeless people.

And so social workers are calling on the government to impose rent controls so landlords cannot sharply raise the rent every year.

When interviewed, one "McSleeper" said he used to live in a sub-divided flat in Sham Shui Po for HK$1,000, but then it became too expensive and dirty, whereas coming to McDonald's was at least "clean and nice".

The 48-year-old is a cleaner who also gets partial Comprehensive Social Security Assistance for low-income adults, and so he can have a monthly income of HK$6,000 to HK$10,000 depending on how many hours of work he can get.

Subdivided flats are expensive and cramped, dirty too

He has slept in a Sham Shui Po McDonald's for four years now and finds the location convenient, as his job is unstable and where he gets assigned to work changes frequently.

Although he has been offered public rental housing three times, he has refused each time, as the location is in an inaccessible area that transportation costs would be high.

While Sham Shui Po and Tai Kok Tsui have been areas with cheap housing, the government has been gentrifying these areas, making housing more expensive for people who are scraping a living.

A bed space costs HK$1,800 to over HK$2,000, while a sub-divided room can cost HK$3,000.

Social workers have lobbied the government to set aside social housing and communal areas for these low-income people, but people have the "not in my backyard" mentality.

However, when people are given a place to sleep and keep their possessions, earn a living and be able to maintain a sense of dignity, it gives these people hope, and helps them not only to socialize with others, but also makes them feel a part of the community.

Isolation, says social workers, is the real root of the homelessness problem.

"It's okay in the first year or two of rough sleeping, but stepping into the fourth and fifth year, it's hard not to have some sort of mental issues as well as other illnesses," says Wong Hung, associate professor in social work at Chinese University.

We go back to what Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah said earlier, that HK12,000 was too much to pay for a dishwasher.

Has he and his colleagues visited these "McSleepers" and asked them how much they need to live a dignified life? The minimum would probably be HK$12,000 if not more.

And why is he sitting on trillions of dollars in reserves when we have at least 1,500 homeless people who need shelter, and over a million others who cannot afford to buy enough food to eat each day?

We pay taxes for a good reason -- to help those in need.

We are a rich city, and yet the buck stops with Tsang, for no good reason.

We ask again -- why is he our Financial Secretary?

Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Still out of Touch

John Tsang and Gregory So (right) attending the Wine and Dine Festival

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah is at it again.

On his latest government blog post, he wrote in Chinese despairing that entrepreneurs in Hong Kong were hamstrung from making profits because they had to pay more money for low-skilled labour.

He wrote that workers like dishwashers were making HK$12,000 ($1,548) a month, but that put pressure on small and medium-sized businesses.

Tsang came up with this latest notion after visiting the Wine and Dine Festival which closes tonight at the Central harbourfront.

While he observed the city's low unemployment rate at 3.3 percent this quarter, and for all of last year at 3.4 percent indicated stable employment, but he expressed concern for small and medium-sized businesses in the dining, retail and recycling sectors.

"Hiring staff was their greatest difficulty," Tsang wrote. "A restaurant owner said he couldn't find anyone to do a dishwashing job in the city centre even if he offered HK$12,000 a month.

"The market has a huge demand for such low-skilled labour, causing a continuous rise in salaries for these jobs, and increasing the burden on entrepreneurs."

He warned that businesses could not survive the rising labour costs and the adverse economic situation could collapse, which would lead to an increase in unemployment and less spending power.

Uh, excuse me -- how about telling greedy landlords that they are charging so much rent that they are the ones who are killing these businesses?

It's not the labour costs -- this is the market rate for dishwashers because no one wants to do this job. It's hard work, having to stand in a hot room, cleaning dishes non stop. Oh maybe Tsang has never had to do the dishes in his life and doesn't understand how laborious it is.

Can he blame people for wanting to find less back-breaking work for almost the same salary?

Perhaps Tsang should wash dishes for that restaurant owner for a day to see what it's like, and maybe he'll appreciate why dishwashers have to be paid at least HK$12,000 a month.

Does he not understand that as Hong Kong becomes more of a service industry, particularly in hospitality, that we will need low-skilled workers in restaurants, hotels and retail outlets who can serve guests, prepare food, open doors, and clean up after them?

He is only hearing one side of the story, and not bothering to hear what workers in retail, hospitality and recycling have to say about the long hours they have to work and at times how tedious their job nature can be for little pay.

Can someone explain to me again why Tsang is our financial secretary?

Paul Chan: Earnest or Full of Hot Air?

Does Development Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po really mean what he says?

We like rags-to-riches stories, and Hong Kong Development Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po is no exception.

Yesterday he told secondary students near Shek Kip Mei about his impoverished life growing up in a squatter camp.

"Not only did we have to share a kitchen, but we didn't have our own toilets either," he recalled. "We had to walk quite the distance to use a public toilet. I still remember that when I first saw toilets with seats... I couldn't get used to them. I remember that if you looked down into the public toilets, you could see insects crawling around. To this day, thinking about those toilets makes me shudder."

Hmmm, too much detail!

While gambling and drugs were rife, he said he had to work after school and struggled to keep up in university because he had not been taught in English before. His family also lost their home in one of many fires that affected the camps.

"Because I come from a poor family, my parents couldn't give me much of a leg up in my career," he said. "But it doesn't matter, because we have friends: in secondary school, we studied in groups; at university, we collaborated on student organizations. People you meet outside work... these people are your assets."

Chan became an accountant and lawmaker before joining government.

But as a government official he has faced a number of scandals, including ties to a firm that owned subdivided flats; conflict-of-interest accusations over farmland that would rise in value due to a scheme his bureau was pushing through, and last year he and his wife were defeated in a libel trial after he and his wife accused their daughter's classmates of cheating.

When he was challenged about the farmland, Chan quoted the Bible to defend his record of public service. And as he ended his speech to the students, he quoted evangelist Rick Warren.

"If we come into money, it's not meant for us or our family. We should share it with those in need," he said. "We should share our blessings with other people... If we get into positions of power, we shouldn't forget that that power should be used to help the least privileged."

Oh really? Are you going to share what you've made? Or how about getting Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah to loosen the public purse strings?

While Chan had it tough going to school in the 1960s, things in Hong Kong were still relatively egalitarian. These days students that don't have laptops and know how to use the internet, are completely left behind in the digital divide.

We wonder if he realizes this, but perhaps he's been too busy claiming his daughter's classmates were cheating...

Chan seems to prefer sending out trial balloons of policy ideas on his blog than have discussions with the public, and then gets into trouble with possibly benefiting handsomely from his own department's policies.

Many don't believe he's the right person for the job.

But we're wondering that if he believes "we shouldn't forget that power should be used to help the least privileged", then how about giving us a leg-up on democracy and granting us true universal suffrage?

Quote of the Day: John Tsang

People have to save up even more to be able to buy a shoebox in the sky

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah really thinks he's a middle-class kind of guy. He makes over HK$300,000 ($38,680) a month and believes middle-class people like to drink coffee and watch French movies.

And now with property prices rising even higher, his advice is, "If it is not affordable, then don't buy a property".

He said this after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Norman Chan Tak-lam announced new mortgage-tightening measures, which means buyers will have to put down an even higher down payment for flats that are HK$7 million and less.

This has a knock-on effect as people who may have had enough for a down payment, will have to save even more now, and are stuck in rental purgatory longer. As a result, demand for rental properties will increase, and thus rental prices too.

It's an ugly situation that hardly solves the problem for home buyers, particularly those trying to purchase their first home.

Tsang wasted an opportunity in his budget address earlier this week to help first-time buyers, particularly young people, with a loan or subsidy to help them with the down payment.

But instead he says if it's too expensive, then don't buy.

He's just adding fuel to the fire to get people annoyed again to protest. So much for watching French movies and drinking coffee because the struggling middle class really can't afford them!