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The Government today (November 28) announced the membership of the second-term Commission on Poverty (CoP). Appointed by the Chief Executive, the CoP comprises 21 non-official members and four ex-officio members. The second term of the CoP will run from December 1, 2014, to June 30, 2017, which is co-terminous with the current-term Government.
Among the non-official members of the new term, four are newly appointed members. They are Mr Lau Ming-wai, Mr Clarence Leung Wang-ching, Professor Francis Lui Ting-ming and Ms Yvonne Sin. The other 17 are re-appointed members.
Mr Lau Ming-wai is the Chairman of Chinese Estates Holdings Limited and is dedicated to community service. In addition to being the Vice Chairman of the Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre, he is also serving on the Societal Engagement Task Force and the Community Care Fund Task Force under the current-term CoP as a co-opted member.
Mr Clarence Leung Wang-ching is the Director of Sun Hing Knitting Factory Ltd. Mr Leung is also the Chairman of the Y. Elites Association Limited, which brings together young people in Hong Kong to advise on government policies.
Professor Francis Lui Ting-ming is a Professor of Economics and Director of the Centre for Economic Development at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is also a member of the Working Group on Long-Term Fiscal Planning under the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau.
Ms Yvonne Sin is the Chairman of the Hong Kong Retirement Schemes Association. As the former head of the Global Pensions Practice under the Social Protection Department of the World Bank, Ms Sin is well versed in retirement protection. She is also a co-opted member of the Social Security and Retirement Protection Task Force under the current-term CoP.
In making the above appointments, the Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, fully endorsed the accomplishments of the CoP led by the Chief Secretary for Administration in the past two years, including providing invaluable comments on the setting of the first official poverty line and the formulation of the Government's poverty alleviation blueprint, which underpin the current-term Government's policy objectives in alleviating poverty and helping the underprivileged. The Chief Executive thanked all the incumbent members who will be re-appointed. He has full confidence that their continued participation is useful in maintaining continuity in the CoP. In addition, Mr Leung welcomed the four new members who come from various sectors with diverse backgrounds. Their participation in the CoP will further enhance the representativeness of the CoP. He also expressed his appreciation to Dr Rosanna Wong Yick-ming, who will not be serving on the new-term CoP, for her active participation in the CoP and invaluable advice on poverty alleviation work.
The CoP is a major policy platform for gauging views and building consensus to help the Government in taking forward poverty alleviation work.
To deal with various issues more effectively, four Task Forces will be set up under the CoP in the coming term to conduct in-depth study and deliberate on specific areas. The four Task Forces are:
(1) Special Needs Groups Task Force;
(2) Youth Education, Employment and Training Task Force;
(3) Community Care Fund Task Force; and
(4) Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund Task Force.
Apart from the aforementioned Task Forces, the CoP may also set up working groups to pursue specific topics and projects. The membership of various Task Forces will be announced in another press release today.
Major tasks for the new term of the CoP include updating the poverty line analysis on a yearly basis to review the poverty situation in Hong Kong and the effectiveness of poverty alleviation policies, reviewing existing policies and formulating new measures to achieve the objectives of preventing and alleviating poverty, and exploring options for enhancing retirement protection.
The membership of the second term of the CoP is as follows:
Chairperson
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Chief Secretary for Administration
Non-official Members
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Ms Amy Chan Lim-chee
Ms Sylvia Chan May-kuen
Ms May Chan Suk-mei
Mr Clement Chen Cheng-jen (Chairperson of the Youth Education, Employment and Training Task Force)
Dr Henry Cheng Kar-shun
Mr Cheung Kwok-che
Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung (Chairperson of the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund Task Force)
Mr Chua Hoi-wai (Chairperson of the Special Needs Groups Task Force)
Dr Stephen Frederick Fisher
Mr Frederick Fung Kin-kee
Mr Ho Hei-wah
Ms Lam Shuk-yee
Mr Lau Ming-wai
Dr Law Chi-kwong (Chairperson of the Community Care Fund Task Force)
Mr Leung Che-cheung
Mr Clarence Leung Wang-ching
Ms Li Fung-ying
Professor Francis Lui Ting-ming
Ms Yvonne Sin
Mr Michael Tien Puk-sun
Dr David Wong Yau-kar
Ex-officio Members
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Secretary for Home Affairs
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Secretary for Education
Secretary for Food and Health
In addition, the Chief Executive also appointed Vice-chairpersons of the four Task Forces as follows:
Dr Bunny Chan Chung-bun (Vice-chairperson of the Community Care Fund Task Force)
Mr Cheung Kin-fai (Vice-chairperson of the Special Needs Groups Task Force)
Dr Philemon Choi Yuen-wan (Vice-chairperson of the Youth Education, Employment and Training Task Force)
Dr Joseph Lee (Vice-chairperson of the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund Task Force)
The terms of reference of the second term CoP are available at the CoP website (www.povertyrelief.gov.hk).
Ends/Friday, November 28, 2014
Issued at HKT 18:41
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