President, the middle-class people have all along paid large amounts of tax but enjoyed few welfare benefits and they are facing heavy pressure. I believe most Honourable colleagues feel the same way. Even so, in times of economic prosperity and when everyone receives high pay, most of the middle-class people are still willing to take on more responsibilities and contribute to our society. However, given the economic instability and rising inflation in recent years, the middle-class people are in hardship and they often have nowhere to turn for help. 

According to a social service agency, the number of middle-class people who need to receive emotional support has increased from some 1 000 to 2 000 in the past two years, and the emotional control index of the middle class is very close to that of the grassroots. This shows that both the middle class and the grassroots have pressures of life; while the grassroots are in need of social assistance, the middle class also needs government support.

The housing problem is accorded the top priority by the current-term Government, and housing expenses are the highest expenditure item of the middle class. Property prices have been soaring in recent years; the grassroots receive housing benefits from the Government but the middle class are helpless and they have to bear the brunt. Government figures reflect that the mortgage payments in the third quarter of last year accounted for up to 50% of the household incomes; this reflects the suffering of the middle class in paying rents or making mortgage payment. 

Inadequate supply is the root cause of the high property price problem. More than one fifth of the contents of the Policy Address recently published by the Government are about the future housing and land supply, and this direction is desirable. Nevertheless, "distant water cannot put out a fire nearby". In order to immediately relieve the mortgage payment burden of the middle class, I hope the Chief Executive would honour the promises in his election manifesto to extend the period for entitlement period for deduction of home loan interest from the present 10 years to 20 years, and raise the maximum interest allowance from $100,000 to $150,000 a year. 

In addition to becoming "property slaves", the majority of middle-class families have to take care of their parents and children. Supporting one's parents has always been a filial duty. As people from the previous generation did not have high incomes, many middle-class people have to take care of their elderly parents. On the other hand, quite a number of middle-class families readily spend large amount of money on the cultivation of their children, hoping that they can win at the starting point. According to a survey last year, the parents interviewed spent 20% of their total household income on their children's living and learning expenses. For example, a middle-class family with an average  monthly income of $40,000 does not have much money left after deducting all these expenses. Middle-class people can be described as "poor" despite their rich outlook. 

President, early last year, a group of middle-class people drove slowly to the Central Government Offices to make a number of appeals, such as increasing the dependant parent allowance. It was a rare move of the middle class to express their difficulties to the Government. In the last Budget subsequently announced, various allowances including dependent parent and dependent child allowances had been increased. Yet, the additional amounts ranged between $2,000 and $3,000, and families that benefited most could at most have $100 more each month, hardly sufficient to fight against inflation. 

As the Chief Executive has stated in the Policy Address, some finance-related policies would be contained in the Budget to be delivered next month. I expect the Government to respond to the appeals of the middle class and relieve their tax burdens. For instance, it can substantially increase the dependent parent and child allowances, and consider introducing tax deduction for education expenses of children and tax deduction for the purchase of retirement products for parents (such as services for the elderly and health insurances), so as to demonstrate the Government's concern for the livelihood pressures of the middle class.

In recent years, the Government has advocated the development of primary healthcare by encouraging people to use private healthcare services and taking out health insurance, in order to relieve the increasing burdens on public healthcare expenses. As expected, the middle class is most affected. There are views that the Government should introduce tax deduction for expenses on health insurance, or tax concession for accountable extra medical charges that are not covered by insurance. The Government should actively consider these proposals so as to provide greater medical protection to the middle class. 

Retirement protection is another major issue that troubled the middle class. At an earlier motion debate related to a review of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Scheme, Honourable colleagues had analysed from different angles the deficiencies of the MPF Scheme, and I am not going to dwell on the matter. I just wish to restate that the Chief Executive had stated in his election manifesto that the Government would set aside adequate money in a special Fund to meet the extra expenditure that will be needed by our ageing population. I hope the Government would draw reference on the Social Security Fund of the Mainland in conducting the relevant studies. 

President, I support the spirit of the original motion in providing assistance to the middle class in various areas. Nevertheless, the proposals in some amendments to expeditiously set standard working hours are open to question. I am worried that some enterprises may ask lower-pay employees rather than higher-pay employees to work overtime because of additional costs; the mid-level employees may earn less as a result, and this issue warrants our concern. 

I so submit, President.