Over 60 Percent Believe Wealth Inequality is Severe in Hong Kong
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Majority thinks the Hong Kong government should do more in resolving rich-poor gap
According to a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), more than 60 percent of the interviewees believed that the disparity between the rich and the poor in Hong Kong is critical. Nearly 30 percent predicted the gap would worsen in the next five years, while 80 percent believed that the Hong Kong government (HKgov) should do more to alleviate the alarming situation.
The survey was conducted from May 27 to June 14 and successfully interviewed 710 people aged 18 or above by telephone. The research revealed that 67.1 percent of the respondents believed that the current disparity between the rich and the poor in Hong Kong was severe; 26.3 percent said not too severe, and only 4.4 percent thought it was not severe.
Compared to the same survey conducted five years ago, 51.6 percent of the current respondents believed that the current wealth gap had become more severe, and 37.0 percent thought it was somewhat similar. Only 7.2 percent thought it had improved.
Looking ahead, 28.5 percent of those surveyed predicted that the rich-poor gap would become more severe in the next five years; 37.4 percent believed it would be more or less the same. This reflected that most of the Hong Kong respondents were not optimistic about wealth equality in the future, in contrast to 19.2 percent who believed the margin would likely improve by then.
When asked about the cause of Hong Kong’s poverty, 42.9 percent of the interviewed locals thought it was mainly due to social elements. Of the 700 participants, 21.6 percent thought it was mainly due to individual factors. 26.2 percent thought both social elements and individual factors caused it.
The survey showed that 80.1 percent of respondents believed that the government should proactively resolve the gap between the rich and the poor.
Only 12.9 percent believed that HKgov doesn’t have to do anything to lessen the extreme disparity between the rich and the poor.
The survey showed that 11.1 percent of the respondents said their household income was never enough to cover their daily expenditures, as opposed to 83.2 percent who said it was sufficient.
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