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The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, chaired the 16th meeting of the Commission on Poverty (CoP) in its second term this afternoon (December 18). The analysis of the poverty situation of ethnic minorities (EMs) in Hong Kong in 2014 was discussed in the meeting.
Adopting the analytical framework of the poverty line, the Government Economist and the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) conducted a detailed analysis on the poverty situation of EMs in Hong Kong in 2014, based on the data of the 2011 Population Census and the data collected from a thematic survey on households with EM students by the C&SD in 2014. Members took note of the findings. The Government Economist and the C&SD will publish the report on the 2014 poverty situation of EMs in Hong Kong shortly.
At today's meeting, the Chairman briefed members on research on the status of EMs in Hong Kong from 1997 to 2014, and spoke with members about her discussion with representatives of the research team. The Special Needs Groups Task Force under the CoP will follow up and explore the recommendations put forward in the research and members' views on supporting measures for EMs in need. The Task Force will report to the CoP on its deliberations in due course.
In addition, members were briefed on the detailed arrangements of the public engagement exercise on retirement protection. The consultation will commence in late December and will last for a period of six months ending in June 2016. The Labour and Welfare Bureau will publicise the consultation through various channels to enhance public understanding on the issue of retirement protection. Arrangements will be made for members and relevant government officials to attend public forums and to meet with different stakeholders during the consultation period to listen to public views, in order to facilitate the building of public consensus on retirement protection.
Ends/Friday, December 18, 2015
Issued at HKT 19:29
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