'Toughest ever' budget

The budget that will be delivered on Wednesday is the toughest ever for Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.

Chan - giving a preview of his fourth budget, which has a brown cover - said with limited resources the government cannot fulfill everybody's wishes.

"During the consultation, some people said this may be the most difficult budget ever, that it has given me a tough job," he posted on his blog, along with a photo of the 2020-21 budget.

Last year Hong Kong was pounded by the Sino-US trade war and social events, Chan said, but now it is facing the coronavirus epidemic.

The economy is in the midst of a "harsh winter" over the triple threats, he added.

But Chan said the economy usually rebounds after a low tide so supporting enterprises and safeguarding jobs are the government's key goals when dealing with the downturn.

"If enterprises are supported and employment is ensured, and to maintain market confidence in the future, enterprises need to get their business back on track as soon as the economy picks up. The job market should also be stabilized," he said.

Both pro-establishment and pro-democracy camps reiterated their calls for Chan to hand HK$10,000 cash to each resident.

About 30 members of the Federation of Trade Unions protested outside the Central Government Offices in Admiralty yesterday.

FTU lawmaker Alice Mak Mei-kuen demanded the government implement an unemployment assistance program as soon as possible since the jobless rate has been going up.

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong lawmaker Holden Chow Ho-ding said the government has the responsibility to help people during a downturn.

He also criticized that the HK$30 billion virus aid package focuses on the business sector and there is no unemployment scheme.

The Labour Party and the League of Social Democrats demanded that a HK$10,000 handout should also benefit people under 18 years old and that a HK$30 billion unemployment fund be set up.

Labour Party chairman Steven Kwok Wing-kin suggested the unemployment aid could total 80 percent of a worker's regular income, with an upper limit of HK$16,000, and that they could avail of the subsidy for up to six months.

The Accounting Development Foundation, which the financial chief had cofounded, proposed 19 measures, including that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and principal officials donate two months of their salary to help the grassroots and the disadvantaged.

The foundation suggested HK$10,000 be given to each resident above 18, and that the salaries tax and tax under personal assessment be slashed by 100 percent, subject to a ceiling of HK$30,000. It suggested that employers and employees can stop making contributions to the Mandatory Provident Fund for six months.

Separately, Anthony Wu Ting-yuk, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference's National Committee, said the government has enormous financial reserves and it needs to "make special arrangements on special situations" to support corporates and maintain the employment rate.

"While some suggested offering cash coupons, stimulating the general economy is a more important issue," said Wu, who hopes the government will also focus on labor retraining.

Raymond Young Lap-moon, chief executive of the Chinese Manufacturers Association of Hong Kong, said: "The government is not facing a structural deficit, so it should utilize the reserves at this very special time."