Negative public perception on welfare recipients and its implications for social security in Hong Kong

Abstract

The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) scheme is the core part of Hong Kong's social security system. This simple system retains most of its early characteristics as a temporal, transitional and minimal assistance scheme aiming at helping those ‘least able to help themselves’. Over the years, the basic philosophy of the system has remained largely unchanged, while Hong Kong has rapidly transformed socially and economically. Increasingly, CSSA has shown itself incapable of meeting social needs, especially with the increasing number of ‘working poor’. Based on a study examining people's perception of CSSA, this article argues that negative views about CSSA and its recipients make the working poor more vulnerable to social and economic transformations. It concludes that value rebuilding in the society is a vital component of the future development of social security in Hong Kong.

Keywords:

• social assistance
• social security
• public perception
• working poor