After a life-long contribution to Hong Kong society, some elderly choose to spend their retirement years on the mainland, where the cost of living is lower. However, in recent times, these people have been affected by the inflation pressure on the mainland. The change is making their lives difficult, but they have not been able to get help from the Hong Kong government.

Yesterday, about 40 elderly Hong Kong residents who live in Shenzhen marched to the Central Government Offices, urging that they loosen the criteria required for people to apply for the Normal Old Age Allowance, HK$1,000 per month. Current regulations stipulate that to meet the application criteria for the Allowance (or "fruit pocket money", as some call it), Hong Kong residents must have lived in Hong Kong continuously for at least one year before the date of application. If, during said year, an applicant was absent from Hong Kong, his or her absence must not have exceeded 56 days.

An official from the Labour and Welfare Bureau accepted their petition letter.

"We hope the government can show justice to the elderly who want to spend the rest of their lives on the mainland," said Ng Chai-pei, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions. "The government should not set too many restrictions on this benefit (the allowance) for the elderly," Ng added.

The National Bureau of Statistics announced yesterday that the mainland's consumer price index increased by 2.7 percent in February. The inflated prices created financial pressure for the elderly Hong Kong residents who have chosen to spend their retirement years on the mainland.

Cheung Tai-hei, a 77-year-old Hong Kong resident who has been living alone in Shenzhen for six years, says he now spends more for his living expenses because of the inflation.

"In the past, I needed only a few cents to buy half a kilogram of vegetables, but now, I have to spend a few dollars for the same thing. If I got the 'fruit pocket money' from the government, my life would be easier," he says.

Ng Wai-tung, a community organizer for the Society for Community Organization, says he has noticed an increase in the number of elderly who approach him for help regarding financial problems.

Ng explained that these older people are for the most part mainlanders who came to Hong Kong during the war years. After working their entire adult lives and retiring, they return to the mainland to live their remaining days at "home" with their extended families. What's happening now is that because their life expectancy has increased, and there is inflation, they find their savings ending earlier than they had calculated. It is for this reason that they have turned to the government for help.

"It is easier to apply for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance program than the 'fruit pocket money'. It is ridiculous. I think the government has already given up on the elderly who returned to live on the mainland," Ng observed.

(HK Edition 03/12/2010 page1)