HKU POP SITE releases a column article criticizing the government for always ignoring the middle class, and calling for appropriate cultural policiesBack


Press Release on February 20, 2003
 

The "HKU POP SITE" (http://hkupop.pori.hk) of the Public Opinion Programme (POP) at the University of Hong Kong today releases in its "POP Column" an article entitled "Middle Class Ignored". Written by Jennifer So-Kuen Chan, Lecturer in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at HKU, the article pointed out that the middle class has long been ignored by the government, their quality of life crumbling, and their dissatisfaction with the government ever on the rise. The article proposed that, under such adverse conditions, the government should pursue appropriate cultural policies to boost people's spiritual life.

 

Chan believed that, not only had the government failed to respond to the grievances of the middle class, rapacious extortions were made from them instead. Volatile and unfocused policies, on the other hand, have made them confused. According to Chan, the middle class "only wishes the government to give credit to their contributions, rather than turning to the capitalists whenever new measures are introduced". The article also criticized this year's Policy Address for its lack of substance, and incapable of answering the needs of the general public: "apart from the many already-expected measures to plug the deficit, we find very few sincere and soothing words". Chan reminded the government that adverse economic conditions could also become an opportunity for setting out appropriate cultural policies to boost the quality of people's spiritual life.

 

The copyright of the column article is entirely open, and anyone can re-print it in whole or in part. Please note that everything carried in the POP Site does not represent the stand of the University of Hong Kong. Dr Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of Public Opinion Programme, is responsible for everything posted in the POP Site, except for column articles which represent the stand of their authors. The authors of the column articles are responsible for their own writings, while the translators are responsible for their own translations.