The Public's Changing Perceptions of the Condition of Social Welfare in Hong Kong: Lessons for Social Development

Abstract

In the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, the Hong Kong government introduced welfare reforms to ease the pressure from fiscal challenges and swelling welfare rolls; at the same time, to maintain its development credentials, it made an effort to adhere to its colonial tradition on the provision of welfare. The government adopted various strategies to garner popular support for promoting economic development as the primary goal and for promoting social harmony under the concept of 'helping people to help themselves'. This article examines Hong Kong people's changing perceptions of the condition of social welfare in the past decade. Using a multidimensional developmental welfare approach and data from two opinion surveys conducted in 1997 and 2008, the study finds that Hong Kong people expressed a relatively high level of satisfaction about their own lives, but varying degrees of reservation about the problem of poverty, government provision of social welfare, and opportunities for social mobility. As a result of the sectorally unbalanced welfare reforms, which are biased against the disadvantaged, some of these perceptions have become more negative in recent years. Socially vulnerable people, especially the lower classes, are now more critical of the condition of social welfare, and such feelings seem to be intensifying. It is thus suggested that special attention to the issue of class should be paid in social development programmes to ensure social equality and social justice.

Financial crisis and the developmental states: A case study ofHongKong

“…Even though the economy appeared to be recovering by 2010, criticism against the government from the democratic fronts and the pro‐poor pressure groups remained strong ( Ta Kung Pao , ). Studies exploring public attitudes towards the government have testified to a high level of discontent (Wong, Wan, & Law, ).…”

Widening of a Poverty Gap: A Condition of Governance Crisis in Hong Kong

“…Wong, Wan and Law (2010) as well as Ma (2011) have echoed that Hong Kong has continued the welfare regime of its colonial master even after the return of sovereignty to China in 1997. Cohorts of poor from older generation usually are quite contented with this "safety net" but the "new poor" may not be the same.…”

“…Cohorts of poor from older generation usually are quite contented with this "safety net" but the "new poor" may not be the same. In fact, the Asia Financial Crisis in 1997 had ceased the ideal social condition of full employment, that the problem of poverty and income inequality had been increasingly felt by the citizens (Wong, Wan, & Law, 2010). The voice for a greater magnitude of government intervention through public welfare had emerged (Kwon, 2009).…”

“…Furthermore, the government continues to publicize the acute situation of the rapid growth of welfare expenditure that expanding public welfare will induce more able-bodied to rely on the social security system with cases of fraud and abuse (Wong, Wan, & Law, 2010). To the government, the culprit to the soaring demands of welfare is the "culture of poverty", that it is the attitude and behavior of the poor which restrict them from accessing to economic viability and success (Jordan, 2004).…”

“…Widening gap means a slotting of social resources skewed towards the wealthier group. In a governance mode where citizen's participation is openly encouraged yet capitalistic market economy is at the same time promoted (Wong, Wan, & Law, 2010), government has a key role to maintain a balance distribution of social resources; and if that role fails, citizens' grievances (e.g. demonstrations against the State and its policies, citizens' demands for more services and citizen's taking antagonistic actions against government, are indicative of governance in crisis) would rise as the poverty gap widens.…”