China News Service, Hong Kong, October 10 (Reporter Han Xingtong) Chan Kwok-ki, Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, presided over the first press conference on measures related to the Policy Address on the 26th to introduce measures to encourage childbirth. Chan Kwok-kee said that the HKSAR Government hopes to encourage childbearing in various ways with policy orientation, create a conducive environment for child-rearing, and change the concept of child-rearing in society.
Chan Kwok-ki believes that encouraging childbearing and creating a conducive environment for child-rearing are the key areas of the Policy Address. In terms of the objective environment, Hong Kong does not have abundant natural resources, and manpower has always been the factor on which Hong Kong relies for success, and it is also the driving force for social and economic development.
Chan Kwok-ki said frankly that Hong Kong's fertility rate is very low, with the average number of children in Hong Kong couples being only 0.9 last year and 0.77 the year before that. Excluding immigration, the average number of children of Hong Kong couples would need to be increased to 2.1 in order to maintain the current population figures.
Chan Kwok-ki stressed that the implementation of the population policy requires perseverance and long-term work, and the HKSAR Government's goal is to change the concept of having children and provide assistance to working-age couples at the policy level, such as providing support for financial and housing difficulties.
He also mentioned that the measures will help to send a message from the HKSAR Government to encourage childbearing, so that large enterprises can cooperate with the policy and provide a convenient working environment for employees with children.
At the press conference, a number of HKSAR Government officials introduced the measures to implement the policy of encouraging births in terms of their respective areas of work.
Policies to support new families in the Policy Address include the Hong Kong Housing Authority's "Family-Owning Newborn Priority Scheme". The Secretary for Housing, Mr Viva Ho, said that according to current figures, families with newborn babies account for only about 4% of the current waiting list, and even if the number of newborn families applying for PRH doubles in the future, the impact on the waiting list in PRH will not be great.
The Secretary for Health, Mr Lo Chung-mau, said that the HKSAR Government attaches great importance to the health of pregnant women, and the antenatal services provided by both public and private healthcare institutions have reached the world's highest level, and the survival rate of pregnant women and babies during childbirth is leading in the world. If the number of pregnant women increases in the future, the HKSAR Government will consider deploying manpower and increasing support to ensure the highest quality of medical services for pregnant women in Hong Kong. (ENDS)