Leung Chun-ying has highlighted Hong Kong's poverty challenges, but offered no new policy initiatives or targets. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
C.Y. 'not afraid to take tough decisions' after government recognises poverty levels for the first time, but no new initiatives announced
Hong Kong - one of the wealthiest places in the world - has acknowledged for the first time that it has a sizeable poverty problem by declaring that 1.31 million of its citizens are officially poor.
The number of people who fall below the new government-set poverty line falls to 1.01 million after welfare payments such as Comprehensive Social Security Assistance are factored in.