Call for policy bureau

“The government should formulate a high-level mechanism such as a dedicated working group or a new policy bureau to examine various aspects such as boosting the fertility rate, enhancing active aging, bolstering elder and female worker participation, and even developing a silver economy, which are part and parcel of a population policy,” asserts Legislative Council member Eunice Yung.

There is no centralized, coherent government unit, to articulate and implement a population policy, with the Labour and Welfare Bureau shouldering the major responsibility in areas related to local human resource development.

“The proposed working group or a policy bureau should examine the strengths and weaknesses of current policies, as well as provide policy quantification for the relationship between fertility rate and population aging, and the effectiveness of reversing the aging population trend in boosting labor supply and labor quality,” adds Yung.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s 2023 Policy Address produced a slew of financial measures, including an unprecedented one-off cash incentive of HK$20,000 ($2,552) for each child born in Hong Kong in the next 3 years to a parent who is a permanent resident. The policy address also unveiled other measures, such as raising the tax deduction ceiling for housing, giving priority to parents in purchasing subsidized flats, or in the allocation of public rental units, and raising the household and child allowances for working families in child-rearing.

Tang Hei-wai, a Victor and William Fung economics professor at the HKU Business School, highlights the importance of engaging in long-term population planning. Boosting the fertility rate is the first policy dimension.