Question – Impact of shortening of requirement of residence in Hong Kong for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme (Priscilla Leung)

The Court of Final Appeal (CFA) has earlier handed down its judgment on an appeal case, declaring that the requirement of seven-year residence in Hong Kong (residence requirement) stipulated by the Government for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme was unconstitutional. As a result, the residence requirement must be restored to one year, i.e. the requirement before January 1, 2004…

Question – Welfare benefits for Hong Kong elderly people residing in Guangdong and Fujian provinces (Christopher Cheung)

The Social Welfare Department launched the “Guangdong Scheme” in October this year, under which eligible Hong Kong elderly people aged 65 or above who choose to reside in Guangdong Province may receive a monthly Old Age Allowance (OAA) and they are not required to return to Hong Kong each year. I have learnt that at present, Fujian Province is the place of origin of about 1.2 million Hong Kong permanent residents, and more and more elderly people have chosen to reside in Fujian Province in recent years. Yet, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare told the media a few months ago that at this stage, the Government had no intention of extending the coverage of the Scheme to provinces other than Guangdong Province…