XN000022-1995-05-17 — Page 20

- 1

SHW on UN summit for social development

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Health and Welfare, Mrs Katherine Fok, in the Legislative Council on motion debate on declaration of World Summit for social development today (Wednesday):

Mr President,

I am grateful for the opportunity provided by this Motion Debate to draw attention to the commitments made in the Declaration agreed at the World Summit-for Social Development in March this year.

As my colleague, the Secretary for Home Affairs, has already said we are more than happy to publicise the contents of the Declaration as requested in the Motion. Let us pause and think how well we measure up against the commitments in the Declaration.

For my part, the commitments are of particular relevance with regard to the measures we take in Hong Kong to alleviate the effects of poverty and to meet our healthcare needs. Members will not be surprised to hear me say that I am wary of making commitments with regard to 'poverty'. As I explained in this Council on 22 February this year in reply to a question raised by the Hon Li Wah-ming, the Administration sees no purpose in seeking to define 'poverty'. As the Declaration itself makes clear, poverty exists in all parts of the world. However affluent a society may be, those who have the least in it are likely to be categorised as living in poverty. It is a relative and not an absolute concept and as such defies the clear definition needed if the term is to be used in setting policy goals.

While, therefore, the Administration fully supports the spirit of Mr Hui's Motion, we must place on record our reservation about some of its precise wording. It would be rash, for example, for us to commit to the elimination of poverty when we know that, for all practical intents and purposes, we have no workable definition of it.

We have a strong welfare safety net in place in Hong Kong to catch those who, for whatever reason, are unable to meet their own basic needs. Nobody in Hong Kong needs to go without food; nobody needs to go without shelter and nobody will be denied medical care or education as a result of a lack of means. This is why we believe we comply already with the main commitments in this respect in the Summit Declaration.

Page 20Page 21