Hong Kong children caught in “hunger trap” in the midst of plenty
Friday, 19 August 2011.
One in six children from low-income families often without enough to eat because parents cannot afford food, says Oxfam survey
Dikang, Socialist Action in Hong Kong
A new study commissioned by Oxfam has found that tens of thousands of children in Hong Kong are caught in a “hunger trap” and regularly going hungry. This is happening in Asia’s second wealthiest city, with per capita GDP higher than Switzerland, the Netherlands and Australia (IMF, 2010). Not surprisingly an Oxfam spokeswoman described the statistics as ‘staggering’ and warned the problem could get worse in the near future.
The survey, conducted by a unit of the University of Hong Kong, found children go hungry in one-sixth of families living below the poverty line. That includes more than 140,000 families in the city of 7 million people. It found 16 percent of children in families living on less than HK$13,500 per month were in a state of “high food insecurity”. This meant they frequently experienced hunger because their parents had too little money. The report said the situation has been aggravated by rising world food prices and is expected to get worse in coming months.
These shocking findings come during the high-profile visit to Hong Kong of China’s vice premier Li Keqiang, who is tipped to take over from Wen Jiabao as China’s premier in 2013. There has been rising anger in Hong Kong over the growing disparity between the very rich and the poor. The wealth gap is, according to the United Nations, the most extreme in any advanced capitalist economy. Over a million people live below the poverty line in a city with 95,000 US dollar millionaires (i.e. with liquid assets of at least HK$7.8 million). Hong Kong boasts corporate taxes that are among the world’s lowest – 16 percent – and an emaciated welfare system with poor provision of old age pensions and other social insurance.
According to the families included in the survey, food now costs 25 percent more than a year ago. The situation is clearly worst in households hit by unemployment – with 82 percent of children in these households eating leftovers nearly four times a week on average. Among these, 6 percent said they had suffered bouts of food poisoning, vomiting or diarrhea as a result of consuming leftovers or discounted food past its “sell-by” date.
Oxfam said a majority of low-income families have reduced the frequency of dining out, and some ate one less meal a day. The charity called on the government to increase funding support to food banks, and for higher meal allowances for children aided under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and the Community Care Fund. The existing student meal allowance under the CSSA scheme is HK$225, which is just HK$16 per meal for 24 school days per month.
Socialists would support these proposals and especially an immediate doubling of the CSSA student meal allowance, but limited measures of this type are not enough – the system must be changed. Powerful private monopolies like Li Ka Shing’s PARKnSHOP supermarket chain, with over 200 stores across the territory, and its main competitor Wellcome, with which it is accused of operating a price cartel, should be brought under democratic public ownership and control and run in the public interest.
Oxfam’s survey is an indictment of the capitalist system, of which Hong Kong is globally hailed as a ‘model’. This system cannot even provide the minimum of enough to eat for the younger generation – underscoring the need for a socialist alternative and mass struggle to change the system.
Dikang, Socialist Action in Hong Kong
A new study commissioned by Oxfam has found that tens of thousands of children in Hong Kong are caught in a “hunger trap” and regularly going hungry. This is happening in Asia’s second wealthiest city, with per capita GDP higher than Switzerland, the Netherlands and Australia (IMF, 2010). Not surprisingly an Oxfam spokeswoman described the statistics as ‘staggering’ and warned the problem could get worse in the near future.
The survey, conducted by a unit of the University of Hong Kong, found children go hungry in one-sixth of families living below the poverty line. That includes more than 140,000 families in the city of 7 million people. It found 16 percent of children in families living on less than HK$13,500 per month were in a state of “high food insecurity”. This meant they frequently experienced hunger because their parents had too little money. The report said the situation has been aggravated by rising world food prices and is expected to get worse in coming months.
These shocking findings come during the high-profile visit to Hong Kong of China’s vice premier Li Keqiang, who is tipped to take over from Wen Jiabao as China’s premier in 2013. There has been rising anger in Hong Kong over the growing disparity between the very rich and the poor. The wealth gap is, according to the United Nations, the most extreme in any advanced capitalist economy. Over a million people live below the poverty line in a city with 95,000 US dollar millionaires (i.e. with liquid assets of at least HK$7.8 million). Hong Kong boasts corporate taxes that are among the world’s lowest – 16 percent – and an emaciated welfare system with poor provision of old age pensions and other social insurance.
According to the families included in the survey, food now costs 25 percent more than a year ago. The situation is clearly worst in households hit by unemployment – with 82 percent of children in these households eating leftovers nearly four times a week on average. Among these, 6 percent said they had suffered bouts of food poisoning, vomiting or diarrhea as a result of consuming leftovers or discounted food past its “sell-by” date.
Oxfam said a majority of low-income families have reduced the frequency of dining out, and some ate one less meal a day. The charity called on the government to increase funding support to food banks, and for higher meal allowances for children aided under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and the Community Care Fund. The existing student meal allowance under the CSSA scheme is HK$225, which is just HK$16 per meal for 24 school days per month.
Socialists would support these proposals and especially an immediate doubling of the CSSA student meal allowance, but limited measures of this type are not enough – the system must be changed. Powerful private monopolies like Li Ka Shing’s PARKnSHOP supermarket chain, with over 200 stores across the territory, and its main competitor Wellcome, with which it is accused of operating a price cartel, should be brought under democratic public ownership and control and run in the public interest.
Oxfam’s survey is an indictment of the capitalist system, of which Hong Kong is globally hailed as a ‘model’. This system cannot even provide the minimum of enough to eat for the younger generation – underscoring the need for a socialist alternative and mass struggle to change the system.
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