Several political groups petition for Hong Konger benefiting measures in upcoming budget

The new budget will be released at the end of this month, and several groups petitioned outside the government headquarters on Monday morning to express their demands for the budget.

Federation of Public Housing Estates representatives who came to petition at the headquarters this morning said there are high chances of rent increases for public housing this year, and they hope that the authorities will pay one month's rent for the more than 800,000 public housing tenants.

Federation Chairman Man Yu-ming said that the Housing Authority's annual accounts have suffered losses mainly due to decreased public housing units sold in recent years.

With the increase in the sale of public housing in the next two years, the Housing Authority's finances are likely to be comfortable, and the authorities should introduce measures to relieve the public's difficulties.

The federation also recommended that the government continue to distribute consumption vouchers to boost the economy and announce the use of idle community isolation facilities as soon as possible.

They added that the Kai Tak location is precious and should not be left unused.

In addition, many representatives of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) also urged the budget to introduce more measures to benefit the people, including the complete elimination of spicy measures in the property market, the payment of an extra half month of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, allowances for the elderly, etc.

They also suggested the establishment of a tax deduction for hiring foreign domestic helpers and avoiding government fees related to people's livelihoods.