Cheuk Wary of Reviving HK$2,500 Student Grant
Bastillepost · 2 SOURCES1 day ago4 MIN
Summary
At a Wednesday meeting of the Legislative Council Panel on Manpower, lawmakers reviewed 11 pro-birth measures proposed for this year’s Policy Address and pressed for additional support for families. Deputy Chief Secretary Cheuk Wing-hing said the government was cautious about restoring the HK$2,500 student grant because it is not means-tested and public finances require more targeted assistance.
Key Points
- The Legislative Council Panel on Manpower met on Wednesday to discuss 11 measures in this year’s Policy Address aimed at encouraging childbirth.
- Roundtable lawmaker Michael Chong Ho-fung (莊豪鋒) said the HK$2,500 grant for kindergarten, primary and secondary students was scrapped in last year’s Budget and should be revived.
- Chong argued that restoring the subsidy could help parents feel the government is accompanying their children as they grow up, supporting the wider birth-promotion agenda.
- Cheuk Wing-hing said the student grant involves no means test and the amount is substantial, so the government has reservations under current fiscal conditions.
- Lawmakers also proposed softer family-values education for young people and a tax deduction for employing foreign domestic helpers to care for babies; Cheuk said both ideas could be considered, subject in the latter case to an overall fiscal review.
Why It Matters
The exchange shows that debate over birth incentives is shifting from whether support is needed to how broadly it should be distributed, especially when universal subsidies compete with targeted relief. For Hong Kong families, any expansion of childcare-related tax relief or education messaging may be easier to advance than reinstating a flat cash grant for all students.