CHINA: Hong Kong Government could face serious problems related to ageing if they don't change their population policy soon

Record ID: 613750

  • Title: CHINA: Hong Kong Government could face serious problems related to ageing if they don't change their population policy soon
  • Date: 19th August 2006
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF MADAM NGAI PREPARING DINNER AT HOME
  • Embargoed: 3rd September 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Population
  • Reuters ID: LVA3C0JJGIRZRQ80C51K2H2WYK2K
  • Story Text: The Hong Kong Government could face serious problems related to ageing in the near future if they don't change their population policy soon, experts say.
    A recent survey conducted by Sarah Harper of Oxford University's Institute of Ageing shows that a quarter of Hong Kong's population will be over 60 by 2030. If it is not tackled, Hong Kong could loose its competitiveness in the region and this could undermine its strength as an international financial centre, the study says.
    "Asia is now ageing, and if we look at it not in terms of percentages but in terms of numbers, we'll have two billion older people in the world by 2050. And three quarters of those will be living here in Asia. So, if you want to talk about ageing and all the impact that ageing will have, it's an Asian not a European story," Harper said.
    Harper says government revenue will be weighed down by an increasing number of retirees who are dependent on a shrinking number of young tax payers.
    In July, the Hong Kong government proposed the controversial good and services tax (GST) to the Legislative Council aiming to widen the tax base and stabilise the government revenue.
    But changes in values mean young people nowadays focus more on financial security and lifestyle before marriage and children. The trend has caused a rapid decline in fertility rates and a mushrooming ageing population, which is unprecedented in Hong Kong.
    Hong Kong's birth rate in 2005 was 0.9 per woman, compared with nearly three per woman in 1980 - far short of the 2.1 needed to maintain the population level.
    The demographic shift has been causing social problems and the government is under pressure to response to the challenges.
    The problem has reached ground level as Hong Kong is running out of burial space due to land shortage in the tiny island with sky high property prices.
    According to Ng Yiu-tong, chairman of the Funeral Business Association, there are around thirty thousand deaths each year and the government needs to build new cemeteries and crematorium services to meet the increasing demand.
    Ng says existing space for burials could run out by 2007 and new facilities needed to be built urgently.
    "Our industry people can make many suggestions to the government. For example, the new columbaria for can be a multi-storey building design because there is not enough land for new cemeteries. The area can be designed to contain the ashes of 6 to 8 family members, " Ng said.
    83-year-old Madam Ngai who is living with her relative in a small public housing apartment has asked social workers to help organise her own funeral when she dies because she can't afford to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for burial space.
    St. James' Settlement is a charity organisation that holds seminars to help the elderly understand what kind of funeral and crematorium services are available to them.
    "I used to live in very poor conditions, and I am now very happy that this organisation can help me," Madam ngai said.
    Madam Ngai, a former garment factory worker, who did not have a retirement scheme is now receiving 9 US dollars a day from the government's Central Social Security Allowance. The amount is only just enough for her daily needs in a high-cost city like Hong Kong.
    It is a common case for lots of the senior citizens who used to work for small companies without a retirement scheme.
    The situation has improved after the implementation of the mandatory retirement fund scheme introduced by the government in 2000.
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