Pay cut for officials shows we care: Tsang

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's top government official, who earns almost $50,000 a month, will take a 5.4 percent pay cut, along with other senior government officials, to show support for the public during the recession.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang said yesterday he and his senior officials wanted to show they stood "shoulder-to-shoulder" with the people during difficult times.

The amount shaved off Tsang's salary is about the same as the average household income in Hong Kong, which has been hit hard by the global downturn because of its reliance on world trade.