Grassroots pain

Secretary for Finance John Tsang Chun-wah emphasized in his official blog published on Sunday that it is unacceptable to the SAR government as well as the public if the Legislative Council (LegCo) fails to pass the 2013-14 Budget. Most of the government departments will be short of funds sometime in June if the budget gets stuck in LegCo, affecting healthcare, education, people's well-being, law enforcement and judicial services among other things. Some welfare allowances due in early July may be in doubt as well.

The danger of a "financial cliff" is real and present. It could deny some 110,000 recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and Old Age Allowance ("fruit money") a significant portion of monthly stipend. They are the most underprivileged members of society and need the allowances to survive, but a "financial cliff" will make them the first and foremost victims of the ongoing filibuster farce in LegCo.

The Budget Plan includes HK$356.1 billion for public services that concern more than a million legitimate recipients, over 500,000 employees of publicly-funded institutions, about 160,000 civil servants and thousands of service providers and their employees. The lawmakers blocking the plan with filibuster, supposedly in the underprivileged residents' interest, are in fact sacrificing them for their own political profit.

Not only will the 110,000 or so recipients of welfare allowances see their regular cash handout cut off in June or July, more than 60 government departments may be financially "dried up" next month as well.

In addition to all these immediate damages the filibuster will also hurt Hong Kong's long-term competitiveness and the improvement in people's livelihood if it leads to a "fiscal cliff". That is why it must be stopped immediately.

This is an excerpted translation of a Wen Wei Po editorial published on May 13.

(HK Edition 05/14/2013 page1)