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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, at a media session on the 2014 Policy Address at the Legislative Council Complex today (January 15):
Reporter: Mrs Lam, how do you feel on the overall Policy Address, and particularly about the poverty alleviating measures?
Chief Secretary for Administration: I think this Policy Address has set out a very comprehensive blueprint in poverty alleviation, because you will recall that in late September we announced the setting up, for the first time, of an official poverty line for Hong Kong. So there is a lot of expectation that we will follow up with concrete measures to help the disadvantaged families, and we have identified in this Policy Address that the working poor, especially families with young children, is a target group for us to offer more help. So we have announced the introduction of a low-income working family supplement (allowance), which is going to help some 200,000 families, and is going to cost the Government recurrent expenditure of $3 billion every year. But of course, we need to listen to the community and members of the Legislative Council on the details regarding this allowance scheme, and I hope very much that we will be able to get the support of the Legislative Council members and introduce the scheme as early as possible.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:31
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