************************************************************
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at a plenary session of the 35th Asian Racing Conference jointly organised by the Asian Racing Federation and The Hong Kong Jockey Club today (May 6):
Dr Koji Sato (Chairman of the Asian Racing Federation), Mr Brian Stevenson (Chairman, The Hong Kong Jockey Club), distinguished speakers, honourable guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to address such a high-powered audience at this important global conference jointly organised by the Asian Racing Federation and The Hong Kong Jockey Club. Let me first extend a very warm welcome to all overseas delegates.
This is the 35th Asian Racing Conference (ARC) and the third hosted by Hong Kong in ARC's 54 years of history. This is indeed a signal honour for Hong Kong.
When talking about "horse racing", people may instantly associate it with recreation, sports competition, entertainment, social events, or the more controversial element of gambling and gaming industry. It has been widely recognised that the direct economic effect generated from the horse industry including job creation can be rather significant in many places around the world. In recent years, there are also increasing awareness and structured studies on the community impact. I would like to share with you on how horse racing has brought social benefits to, and become a community investment in, Hong Kong.
The gambling policy of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is to restrict gambling opportunities to a limited number of authorised and regulated outlets. The rationale is not to encourage gambling and to contain social problems arising from illegal gambling by diverting demand into authorised and regulated outlets. At present, such authorised outlets include horse race betting, football betting and Mark Six Lottery operated by The Hong Kong Jockey Club and a few other gaming activities authorised by the Government.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a not-for-profit operator and Hong Kong's largest community benefactor. The Club's not-for-profit business model and community support role help ensure that it takes a socially responsible approach to the provision of gambling.
Today is Buddha's Birthday and a public holiday in Hong Kong. The fact that this plenary session takes place on Buddha's Birthday is most fitting as Buddhism advocates benevolence, charity and social inclusiveness. In the same vein, The Hong Kong Jockey Club has been playing a dominant role in reinforcing the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government's efforts in caring for the under-privileged and the needy and in building a socially harmonious society.
The HKSAR Government is committed to building a caring community for all. Poverty alleviation and elderly care rank highly on the current-term government's policy agenda. We are determined to promote Hong Kong's economic development, improve people's livelihood and care for the needy, whether they be the working poor, elderly, children and young people, ethnic minorities, homemakers, persons with disabilities and their caregivers.
Our investment in social welfare has been substantial and constantly rising. Recurrent expenditure on social welfare in 2014-15 will reach some HK$57 billion (US$7.3 billion), representing 18.5 per cent of the Government's total recurrent expenditure, second only to education, and up nearly 10 per cent over the previous year. If spending on education and health services are taken into account, nearly 60 per cent of recurrent government expenditure goes to these three major policy areas. Given that Hong Kong has one of the lowest and simplest tax regimes in the developed world, this testifies to the importance and priority that we attach to social services and people's livelihood in our governance.
To meet Hong Kong's fast changing social and demographic changes in a more effective, flexible and timely manner, especially in face of a fast ageing population, the Government works closely with the non-governmental sector in delivering quality welfare services. Currently, there are over 170 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) receiving government subvention, along with a variety of self-financing services offered by these NGOs.
In many ways, The Hong Kong Jockey Club serves as the Government's major social partner in bringing about a more caring and inclusive society. The Hong Kong Jockey Club is also an important benefactor in its own right.
Founded 130 years ago, The Hong Kong Jockey Club has a long tradition of helping to advance worthy social and community causes alongside its prime role of providing sporting and gaming entertainment for the local community. With its unique not-for-profit business model and clear mission to give back to the local community, The Hong Kong Jockey Club has been making immense and sterling contribution to Hong Kong not only by generating stable tax revenue for the Government, but also creating considerable job opportunities and financing many worthy community projects through donations. To all intents and purposes, it has been a win-win recipe.
Some statistics are rather telling:
* The Hong Kong Jockey Club is Hong Kong's single largest taxpayer, contributing over HK$17.6 billion (US$2.3 billion) in 2012-13 to government revenue through betting duty and profits tax, accounting for 7.3 per cent of the total tax collected by the Government for the year. This was equivalent to roughly one-third of the Government's recurrent spending on welfare for that year.
* The Hong Kong Jockey Club's total approved charitable donations in 2012-13 were close to HK$1.95 billion (US$250 million), an increase of 12.8 per cent over the previous year, benefitting 160 charities and touching the lives of about 75 per cent of Hong Kong's total population of 7.2 million.
* As a major employer outside the Government, The Hong Kong Jockey Club has a workforce of 24 000, of whom more than 5 700 are full-time employees.
In response to the pressing needs for social reconstruction arising from the massive influx of immigrants from Mainland China to Hong Kong after the Second World War, The Hong Kong Jockey Club decided to devote its annual surplus to charity and community projects in 1955. Four years later, a separate company, which eventually evolved into The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, was formed to administer donations.
Each year, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust donates an average of more than HK$1.3 billion (US$167 million) to the community, supporting projects of over 100 charitable bodies. These projects encompass initiatives on community services, education and training, health, culture and sports.
Some of Hong Kong's landmarks such as the Ocean Park, Victoria Park and Kowloon Park, just to name a few, were built with full endowment from The Hong Kong Jockey Club. Numerous academic institutions, schools, clinics, arts and cultural facilities, youth centres, elderly homes, community centres and rehabilitation complexes were built with its generous donations. It is no exaggeration to say that the logo of The Hong Kong Jockey Club is omnipresent in Hong Kong.
Indeed, over the years, The Hong Kong Jockey Club has seamlessly woven itself into the local social fabric and establishes itself as a beacon of charity and key fountain for funding worthy community projects. The range and diversity of these projects amply reflect The Hong Kong Jockey Club's commitment to contributing to this city's long-term social development.
Let me quote a specific example which touched my heart. When the Hong Kong economy underwent a tough patch back in 2009, The Hong Kong Jockey Club promptly set up a Telebet Centre cum Volunteers and Training Centre in Tin Shui Wai, a remote new town where job opportunities and community support were in great demand. Working in concert with the Government, The Hong Kong Jockey Club innovatively converted part of an under-utilised public housing car park building into a major Telebet Centre and created 2 500 much-needed jobs for the area and injected vitality, momentum and hope into a district once described by the local media as a place of doom and gloom. Today it is a town of sunshine, care and energy. The Centre also provides training for its employees to enhance their working and interpersonal skills as a way of empowerment. To further promote the spirit of self-help and mutual assistance, a volunteer base has since been established at the Centre to enable The Hong Kong Jockey Club's 1 000-strong volunteer team to reach out to the disadvantaged and needy in local community. The volunteers lend a gentle human touch to The Hong Kong Jockey Club's operation.
I have been deeply impressed by this project as I was heavily involved in bringing it to fruition. It is a shining example of cross-sectoral and tripartite collaboration amongst the Government, NGOs and business sectors. It also demonstrates in full measure The Hong Kong Jockey Club's strong sense of corporate social responsibility.
On a strategic level, The Hong Kong Jockey Club joins hands with the Government and various community partners, including the academia and NGOs, in devising effective and long-term solutions to meet Hong Kong's growing and evolving social welfare needs.
Every year, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust Fund provides resources for the HKSAR Chief Executive's Community Project List to fund worthwhile projects undertaken by NGOs and quasi-public bodies. Last year, about HK$105 million (US$13.5 million) was allocated to six projects on poverty alleviation, youth development, special education, and enhancement of medical services and hospital facilities.
Whilst about 65 per cent of Hong Kong Jockey Club's total revenue of HK$27 billion (US$3.5 billion) in 2012-13 went to public coffers in the form of betting duty and profits tax, an additional 4.2 per cent was channelled to the Lotteries Fund administered by the Social Welfare Department. And about 70 per cent of the Lotteries Fund comes from proceeds of the Mark Six Lottery operated by The Hong Kong Jockey Club. The Lotteries Fund serves to support worthy capital projects and pilot schemes in the welfare sector.
Last year, about half of the projects supported by the Lotteries Fund focused on elderly services (49.9 per cent), followed by rehabilitation (about 12 per cent) and youth services (10 per cent). These reflected our policy priorities and community needs.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club also assists the Government in providing emergency relief for the unfortunate. The Jockey Club Emergency Relief Fund, which offers rapid relief to victims of natural disasters, accidents, epidemics and the like, enables the Club to respond swiftly and flexibly to those urgently in need. It is noteworthy that The Hong Kong Jockey Club's benevolence goes well beyond Hong Kong. It has made substantial donations for disaster relief on Mainland China.
I have cited a lot of facts and statistics not to bore you but to illustrate the point that the community impact of horse racing in Hong Kong has been generally positive and favourable, especially from the angle of community investment, societal engagement and helping the needy.
Through active participation in community building, close collaboration with the Government and the NGO sector, plus mobilisation of its workforce to engage in voluntary services, The Hong Kong Jockey Club has made its presence clearly felt across the full spectrum of the Hong Kong community, especially the needy, under-privileged and disadvantaged. It is instrumental in augmenting, supplementing and complementing the Government's efforts in building a more caring, compassionate and cohesive society. In short, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is far more than a powerhouse of horse racing of international standing. It is also an important social engine generating immense horse power to propel the long-term social development of Hong Kong.
On this note, I wish this conference every success and all overseas delegates a rewarding and pleasant stay in this vibrant city.
Thank you.
Ends/Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:33
NNNN
