Welfare Development in Hong Kong - Social Welfare Systems and Social Policy - Lecture Slides, Slides of Social Welfare

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Welfare Development in Hong Kong

Policy Areas UK HK Social Security

1601/1834 Poor Law 1908 – Old Age Pension Act (Non-contributory, means tested) 1911 National Insurance Act (contributory, against sickness and unemployment)

1971 – Public Assistance Scheme (1966, Professor, Gertrude Williams, London U, recommend social insurance, but not followed)

Education 1880 (Schooling compulsory for children between the ages of five and ten)

1971 Compulsory primary education/ 1978 – 9 years compulsory education Housing 1919 ( Housing and Town Planning Act (Addison Act), state built low-rent houses (council houses)

1954 (Shek KipMe i) 1972 (10 Years Building Prog. ) Health 1946 NHS (hospitals, family or primary-care practitioners, community-based services)

1963 – Ten year plan for the expansion of medical services (The development of medical services in Hong Kong) “providing low cost or free medical and personal health services to that large section of the community which is unable to seek medical attention from other sources” Retirement 1946 National Security Act 2000 MPF

Colonial system and minimal policy / The

Golden Age of Voluntarism

 1907 – Hong Kong College of Medicine, later became HKU in 1911

 1872 – Tung Wah by local business, followed by Po Leung Kuk in 1882 (protect women and children from kidnapping)

 After WWI, SA,YMCA,YWCA started their operations in HK

 1945 Colonial Office - „Social Welfare in the Colonies‟

 Little was done - 1) fear/uncertain of its future, 2) population - mobile and transient

 1947/48 – Establishment of Social Welfare Office (SWO) under the Secretary of Chinese Affairs (華民政務司)

 1948 – Housing Society

 1958 Social Welfare Department

 1964 – Housing White Paper

 responsibility of the government in the housing of the squatter population, setting up of Housing Board

 1965 – White Paper on Social Welfare Aims and Policy

 promote independent living , „positive rehabilitation as opposed to the establishment of the soup kitchen‟, preserve, support and reinforce the family – thus family service

 Expenditure was to be met by economic growth, not through new taxes

 No contributory scheme

 Not social rights

 1971 Public Assistance Scheme (CSSA in 1993), followed by OAA & DA (1973)

 1972 Universal Free Primary Education

 1973 A While Paper on Social Welfare in Hong Kong: The Way Ahead

Incremental Social Policy, 1978 - 1997

 Generally, more conservative (Planning philosophy of disjointed incrementalism in public policy  1980 Social Welfare into the 1980's (White Paper)  HK – growth in government expenditure are rather in line with the economic growth  1991 White Paper on Social Welfare – “while there will always be room for greater contribution from public funds, it is not desirable to move towards providing a western-style welfare state … It is also accepted that increased public contributions should allow for expansion and improvement of services rather than to justifying a reduction in Government‟s commitment of resources”..

 Hong Kong style of welfarism

 “The challenge for Hong Kong is to improve services without creating the sort of dependency culture… that removes the incentive to work….” (Social Welfare White Paper, chapter 3, para 5)

 "Full employment should be the government's single most important welfare objective.” Chris Patten

 “要緩減貧富懸殊，最佳方法是增加就業…基層市 民未能受惠於經濟復蘇…至於具體緩減貧富懸殊的 措施，要從就業方面著手，要創造職位，使經濟更 暢旺，提高香港的競爭力。” 曾蔭權

What accounts for welfare in Hong

Kong?

 Colonial legacy (migrants, geo-politics, different priorities)  Political doctrine (law and order+free market + family responsibilities)  Cultural factors or persuasion? (White Paper (welfare would erode the traditional functions of the family)  Political realities and rising expectations  Weak Labor movement, little bargaining power and weak social democratic agenda  1966/67 political turmoil  Prosperity and de-colonization/democratization  Anti-welfare persuasion (“we are all aware of demagogues and their gospel of “free lunches” and the possibility of turn Hong Kong into a welfare state. These people do not hesitate to bribe the masses rather than to build for our future‟ )