Time HK had a minimum wage law

The Olympics that exemplifies fair play is a perfect backdrop for the Hong Kong government to set in motion the long-overdue process of legislating a minimum wage.

When we take time to reflect on this galling social issue in the spirit of the Olympics, even the most hard-nosed of Scrooges among us should feel a tinge of embarrassment that a large portion of our fellow citizens are shut out from sharing the benefits of Hong Kong's economic prosperity that is the source of our pride.

In fact, there really isn't much to be proud of after the plight of the under-class was forcefully brought to the open in a series of industrial strikes by low-paying workers in some of the most venerated enterprises. The strikers have put a face on poverty that was, to many Hong Kong people, nothing more than an academic notion based largely on published figures that had very little real-life meaning.