A scholar has asserted that the primary focus of developing a silver economy should not be to encourage local consumption among the elderly but rather to attract senior citizens from other regions to visit Hong Kong for consumption purposes.
This followed the government's proposal of 30 measures aimed at promoting the city's silver economy last month.
Speaking on a radio program on Sunday, professor Lam Yat-sing from the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong said that Hong Kong's economy is fundamentally export-oriented, while the elderly typically exhibit inward-oriented consumption patterns.
He claimed that the proposed measures lack clarity concerning their intended objectives despite encompassing a broad range of areas.
Lam emphasized that if the city's development of the silver economy is aimed at improving the quality of life of the elderly – as seen in the European Union's related policies – then the measures would have taken a different form.
Moreover, he pointed out that the elderly population's reluctance to engage in local consumption might hinder the potential benefits of the silver economy for Hong Kong's overall economic development if the measures are carried in such a direction.
Separately, the government has expanded the Mainland Residential Care Home Scheme in recent years to allow elderly people waiting for subsidized places to choose to live in mainland nursing homes voluntarily.
Lam said that the government's measure provides more choices for the elderly rather than to absolve its caregiving responsibilities.
He remarked that the participating mainland institutions are of exceptionally high quality, with features such as the ability for couples to reside in the same room.
Additionally, the government is actively working to eliminate barriers to cross-border elderly care, including authorizing mainland organizations to conduct assessments for seniors, thereby negating the necessity for them to return to Hong Kong.
Lam expressed optimism that the process may become more streamlined within the next one to two years.
