The gap between the rich and the poor in Hong Kong widens to 57 times, with 1.36 million people living in poverty.
A report has pointed out that the problem of disparity between the rich and the poor in Hong Kong has worsened, and in the first quarter of last year, the gap between the two had reached 57 times, with more than 1.36 million people living in poverty.
Hong Kong’s overall poverty rate reached 20 percent in the first quarter of last year, with more than 1.36 million people estimated to be in poverty; comparing the median monthly incomes of some of the poorest and richest households, the gap between the rich and the poor widened to 57.7 times, from 34.3 times in 2019, Oxfam Hong Kong’s report released on Monday said.
According to the report, this figure reflects the polarized progress of economic recovery for low-income and high-income households in Hong Kong, even after the epidemic has passed.
Oxfam Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Tsang Ka Wai, told the media that the disparity between the rich and the poor has sounded an alarm for Hong Kong’s society as a whole, and called on the Government to take measures to improve the situation, especially grassroots employment, even under financial pressure.
She also suggested that the statutory minimum wage should be adjusted annually to keep up with inflation, and called for more innovative poverty alleviation projects with social impact through government-business-community collaboration, in order to make a greater contribution to society.
