Hong Kong passed a minimum wage law yesterday, a rare departure from the wealthy Chinese financial hub's free-market philosophy that union leaders hailed as a victory for the territory's underpaid working class.
Hong Kong legislator and union organizer Lee Cheuk-yan (李卓人) called the vote a historic moment requiring the Hong Kong government to set a minimum wage for the first time in the city's history.
“This symbolizes that Hong Kong has said goodbye to shameful wages and embraced social justice for workers. This means goodbye to unfettered capitalism,” Lee said.
However, the law does not cover the nearly 280,000 mostly Filipino and Indonesian domestic workers who work as live-in help for Hong Kong families. They are currently promised a monthly minimum wage of HK$3,580 (US$450).
China decided to preserve Hong Kong's capitalist system when Britain returned the territory in 1997. The Beijing-appointed government continued to resist a minimum wage in the name of keeping labor markets free.
Under pressure to address the city’s widening rich-poor gap after a voluntary wage protection initiative failed, Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) in 2008 reversed government policy and started efforts to introduce a minimum wage, culminating in yesterday's law.
Although Lee praised the law backed by pro-business legislators, he said it was highly limited, leaving much discretion in the hands of the territory's chief executive, who is traditionally allied with the business community.
The Hong Kong chief executive is empowered to recommend a minimum wage level, which the legislature can approve or reject but can't amend.
Once the level is set, the law requires the wage level to be reviewed every two years — instead of the annual review demanded by unionists.
The Hong Kong administration excluded the nearly 280,000 mostly Filipino and Indonesian domestic workers on the grounds that it is difficult to calculate their work hours given the round-the-clock nature of their jobs, also noting that they are promised benefits like housing, food, medical care and free travel to their home countries.
Any minimum wage law “must balance the interests of every party,” Hong Kong Secretary for Labor and Welfare Matthew Cheung (張建宗) told legislators yesterday.
Tsang will propose the first minimum wage level in November, Cheung said. The current consensus ranges from the HK$24 (US$3) an hour backed by business interests to the HK$33 (US$4) demanded by local unions — about the average price of a fast-food meal and still low in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
The minimum wage in the US is US$7.25; in Britain, it's £5.80 (US$9); in Canada, it ranges from C$8 to C$10.25 (US$7.60 to US$9.70) depending on province; in New Zealand, it is NZ$12.75 (US$9).
Hong Kong is one of the world's richest territories with a 2008 per capita GDP of US$30,863, but is also among the most stratified economies. It came last in income equality among 38 countries and territories in last year's UN Development Programme’s Human Development Report.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —