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On the other hand, the recent China Motor Bus incident again reveals the loopholes in the present retirement system in Hong Kong. Workers who have worked hard for the company for thirty years can only receive a 'nominal' pension on retirement. As the pension is absolutely insufficient to support their living after retirement, they will undoubtedly feel helpless and insecure about their future when they grow old.
At present, many firms have adopted the provident fund scheme but employees still face hardship when changing their jobs because different firms employ different schemes. For instance, a group of welfare workers working in the government once petitioned the authority for the abolition of the regulation stipulating that their accumulated years of service can only be counted when the provident fund scheme of their new employer is compatible with that of the government. Since the pension scheme of the government is different from that of other voluntary organizations, government welfare workers fail to enjoy the benefit of their accumulated years of service, which they should deserve when changing their jobs.
The livelihood of the people is even more important than infrastructure in Hong Kong. Therefore, I think there is a need to bring up the issue of the 'Central Provident Fund' again. With the Central Provident Fund, people can be protected when they shift their occupation or retire from work. I hope the Government will review the social welfare policy and consider an early implementation of the Central Provident Fund Scheme.
As the achievement of Hong Kong today is attributable to the efforts of all the people of Hong Kong, we should not let those respectable old people who have contributed much to the prosperity and progress of Hong Kong live without the concern and care of society when they become old. The Government should pay attention to the increase in aging population, and the formulation of a proper policy for the old people is of great urgency.
The role and function of the Urban Council. The Urban Council and the Regional Council which provide cultural and recreational services for the promotion of the physical and mental health of the people of Hong Kong should also pay attention to the aging trend by providing more cultural and recreational services suitable for the aged. Working groups dealing with specified targets have to be set up to study the relevant problems and make the necessary recommendations so that the services provided by the two municipal councils can best suit the actual situation and future development of Hong Kong.
(Miss Victoria Y. CHAN left the meeting at 3.17 p.m.)
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MR. DANIEL WONG KWOK-TUNG (in English):- Mr. Chairman, in the past few months, while the hottest issue debated or discussed in Hong Kong is Hong Kong's future. Hong Kong now faces a historical moment. Never before has Hong Kong been so pressed to think about her problems and the direction she should be going.
Indeed, we are confronted with problems of unprecedented magnitudes. We have the Basic Law to ponder upon. We have the UK Right of Abode Campaign. We have to resolve the Vietnamese Boat People issue and also we have to deal with the future political structure.
In the midst of all these difficult problems, we have heard a lot of criticisms and comments from various sectors of the society. With some regret, certain of these criticisms or comments do not present themselves as constructive or positive observations. On the contrary, they appear to me to be more damaging to the confidence of the Hong Kong people, which is already badly shaken by what happened on Tiananmen Square.
Let me elaborate, Sir. A lot of people, after the announcement of UK's policy on the right of abode by the British Foreign Minister, heavily criticized the policy. The Hong Kong people are urged to fight for full right of abode for all British Dependent Territory citizens, numbering in total over 3 million. The criticisms state that if such demands are not met, UK fails to honour its obligations as the sovereign state towards Hong Kong. If the present policy is insisted, the Hong Kong society will be disunited and the present Government will not be able to function.
However, we have to face the reality of politics. The opposition party in UK has made it more than clear in the parliament that any policy granting right of abode to Hong Kong citizens, even the present one which to most people in Hong Kong is unsatisfactory, will be overthrown. It is pretty clear and obvious that the present UK government has done all it can in the present political climate in the UK. So we ought to ask, should we then put our efforts on a losing battle and not use it more constructively?
I also feel that such campaign, if pursued, puts us in an embarrassing dilemma. On the one hand, people in Hong Kong welcome the idea that Hong Kong is finally liberated from the colonial yoke. On the other hand, when our sensitivity is badly affected, we turn to our colonial master for comfort and asylum, praying upon 'its moral duties towards its colony. If we truly feel for the statement 'Hong Kong is our Home', we should stay put and fight for the better future of our home.
Millions of people in China who are our brothers and sisters, fought for a better China, fought for their ideas based on democracy and freedom, without any insurance in their pockets. They fought where they have nowhere to turn back to and so thousands of the Chinese people gave their lives in Beijing and other cities. Democracy does come with a price, sometimes it is a very bitter
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