Hundreds of hygiene blackspots across HK: Warner Cheuk
Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk on Wednesday said the authorities must act fast to clean up hygiene "blackspots", as some 700 places with serious problems have been identified over the past one and a half years.  These are on top of another 4,000 locations in need of further cleaning, Cheuk said. On an RTHK programme, Cheuk said progress was being made and people are telling him that the streets look cleaner, while most shops now follow the rules.  Cheuk said one focus had been on parts of town frequented by so-called parallel traders, who buy goods in Hong Kong to resell across the border. "And honestly speaking, we did not wish to see anyone provoking conflicts between Hong Kong and the mainland through such issues. So we conducted intensive supervision work at several locations when the border opened up last February, until the end of the Mid-Autumn Festival and Golden Week holidays, when we saw the situation had improved,” Cheuk said. Separately, Cheuk said it will be some time before the effect of government policies to encourage childbirth begin to show.  He said a persistent low birth rate would mean fewer taxpayers would be left supporting an ageing population, and that's why the administration went further than expected when it announced a handout for new parents last year. “During our consultation period, some raised the issue of baby subsidies, and most of them thought we should give out HK$10,000. Only a small group of people suggested HK$20,000, and we thought, if we can give a bit more, let's give more.” Writing in his social media post later in the day, Cheuk said the government has received 4,682 eligible applications for the newborn handout as of January 8.  If all goes smoothly, he said the money can be distributed in late February. _____________________________
Last updated: 2023-01-10 HKT 18:30 