Sports Institute head defends athlete sponsorship
Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) chief executive Tony Choi says the institute provides the city's athletes with an overall package, which includes some financial sponsorship, but athletes are not its employees. His comments come after Edgar Yang, the honorary secretary general of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, said local athletes didn't have a need to spend much as they were allocated with accommodation, training, and medical support. But online criticism continued following the SAR's success at the Paris Olympics, with athletes chiming in and saying they had to do part-time jobs to make ends meet. Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Choi said entry-level full-time athletes get around HK$7,000 a month, so they could focus on training.  "The HKSI and the athlete are not employer and employee," he said. "But also we are including overseas training, local training, coaching support, accommodation, meals, and also education support. It's an overall package for the elite athletes... They are not our staff." Choi denied that the limited subsidy provided had led to potential athletes dropping out. "We don't see many athletes dropping out... We tried our best to help, in terms of other expenses, which included study, career planning. We hope to give athletes motivation... If many potential athletes dropped out, Hong Kong wouldn't have achieved good results," he said. Choi added that "only the fittest will survive", and resources given to athletes were inevitably hinged on their achievements. Meanwhile, the vice-chairman of the HKSI, Vincent Cheng, said a review on a direct subsidy scheme for local athletes will be conducted. "We do have to review every four years. We're going to have this review starting from September and October, and hopefully we can finish it earlier next year. We will review... especially on their subsidy support," he said.