Recently some people debated the existing method of selecting the chief executive (CE) again, claiming that election is the only way to prove the “legitimacy” of the CE, or the government for that matter. However, it has long been shown through international as well as Hong Kong’s own experience that election is not a reliable way to prove a government or its leader’s popularity, which is different from legitimacy. How a government is formed is more about where its power comes from than anything else; whereas the popularity of a government depends on how it uses its power to serve the public with good policies. That is why, instead of debating over the method of selecting the CE, the government should focus much more on how best to help people out of their current plight.
Economic recovery and improving people’s livelihood remain a major task for the government, which must put itself in its citizens’ shoes and help them to the best of its abilities. Hong Kong’s economy recorded negative growth in the past two years, with growth rate of 2020 at negative 6.1 percent. Although this year’s forecast is slightly better than last year, the real challenge for the SAR government will be giving people the relief they urgently need. Last year, the SAR government carried out the “Employment Support Scheme” (ESS) in several rounds as the first line of defense against the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; and must maintain such efforts this year and make upgrades where necessary.
For starters, the ESS should be aimed mainly at meeting the needs of grassroots workers. Since the beginning of 2020, the government has set aside HK$311.5 billion ($40.2 billion) to subsidize businesses and individuals who are affected by the pandemic. The ESS, which draws from the Anti-epidemic Fund, is open to all industries and provides a time-limited allowance for employers to make salary payments and retain workers who may be laid off otherwise. Although the scheme is intended to help curtail unemployment, labor unions have reported that such financial relief has gone directly into employers’ pockets instead of workers’ paychecks, and many odd-job workers have little if any idea how they can benefit from the ESS. Many of them are told to remain on unpaid leave. To address this problem, the SAR government should enhance the supervision mechanism of the ESS fund distribution, focusing more attention to the employees, increasing the transparency of the process and inviting labor unions to assist in overseeing its implementation. This will ensure the effectiveness of the fund in securing employment.
Furthermore, while subsidizing employers badly hit by the pandemic through the ESS, the government should also provide relief for those who are already unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently the government relies mainly on the age-old Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) scheme to meet the basic needs of the jobless people. Sadly, the CSSA scheme has long been criticized for impossible red tape and stigmatizing effect on the recipients, resulting in many people choosing not to apply for the CSSA benefit. In this regard, the government should set up a temporary fund specifically designed to help those newly unemployed or on unpaid leave, with simplified application procedures for jobless benefit in cash on a term of 3-6 months.
In addition, the SAR government should promote re-employment and create new jobs in the labor market. Some practices in many countries provide good reference for Hong Kong. The Singapore Business Federation has launched a “ManpowerConnect” Redeployment Scheme for local workers in the severely affected aviation industry. More than 500 civilian flight crew members, for example, were trained to work as “care ambassadors” in hospitals. In Sweden, relevant authorities provided short-term medical training to former employees of the aviation industry and arranged for those who completed the training to apply their newly acquired skills in local hospitals. The Irish government, meanwhile, has set up a free online job matching platform to help job hunters hook up with hiring employers in suitable industries. All these are valuable experiences that the SAR government can look at as inspiration for similar employment assistance measures in Hong Kong.
The SAR government, sitting on public coffers that are the envy of countless municipal authorities around the world, must enhance public support with efficient care and assistance for the people when they need government help to tide over the most trying time of their lives. This year will no doubt be another colossal test for the SAR government in many ways, not the least its popularity.
The author is senior research officer of the One Country Two Systems Research Institute.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.