Hello and welcome to The Pulse. The ramifications of last week’s budget are still being assessed. It came after months of protests, and the Covid-19 outbreak, which have delivered a body blow to Hong Kong’s economy. To soften the blow, the government dished out a number of sweeteners, the most headline grabbing being the cash handout of HK$10,000 to all citizens. Mind you even this proposal is causing controversy both of who will qualify to receive it and the length of time it’s going to take before the money is dished out, which looks like being just before the September Legco elections. This Budget is also the first in 15 years to predict a deficit, a massive HK$139.1 billion. And the government expects recurring deficits for the next five years. With me to talk about some of the most sensitive areas of the budget and government forecasts is Law Chi-kwong, Secretary for Labour and Welfare.
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