81-year-old Uncle Wong lives in a remote village in Shenzhen. He expects the allowance under "Gunagdong Scheme" to take effect as soon as possible, so that he can visit his grandsons in Hong Kong more often. Michelle Fei / China Daily

There's been a surge among elderly people in Hong Kong to return home to their roots in Guangdong province after retirement. Economic circumstances however are squeezing that trend as inflation drives mainland prices out of reach of many retirees. That has led to many urging the SAR government to speed up implementation of the "Guangdong Scheme". Michelle Fei reports.

Uncle Wong sat motionless, on the couch, in the corner of the living room of his dimly lit apartment in northeast Shenzhen. He might have been a figure cast in bronze. Wong, now 81, moved to Shenzhen and has lived alone, in his fourth floor flat, since he retired from his job at a plastics manufacturing factory in Hong Kong some 14 years ago.

Much has changed since then. Living conditions aren't the same as when Wong first came here.

"When I first arrived at Shenzhen, the cost of living was not as high as it is nowadays. Everything is much more expensive these days," said Uncle Wong. The elderly retiree speaks no Mandarin at all, though he has lived on the mainland for over a decade.

"I'm running out of money, but I don't want to go back to Hong Kong to live with my children. They all have their own families. I don't want to squeeze into their tiny apartments and disturb their lives," said Uncle Wong.

Wong grew up in a Shenzhen Reservoir New Village in Luohu District, before fleeing to Hong Kong during the 1960s. He went to work in the construction industry before going to work for the plastics factory.

"Life was hard on the mainland during the 1960s. That's why I left my home town to seek a better life in Hong Kong. I spent the next 30 years there, the most precious 30 years in my life," he recalled with fondness.

An estimated 46,000 Hong Kong residents, aged 65 or above, either live in Guangdong province or have stayed there for a substantial period of time, according to a survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department in early 2011.

Among these elderly residents, some 9,500 of them, or 20.7 percent, live in Zhongshan city. Next, in terms of population, come Guangzhou (7,300, 15.9 percent), Dongguan (6,600, 14.3 percent) and Shenzhen (6,100, 13.2 percent), according to the department.

When Uncle Wong retired in 1997, he came to Shenzhen with his entire retirement allowance from the plastics factory, a grand total of HK$30,000.

Wong's nest egg was no fortune by anyone's standards, but it was enough to support him in an average lifestyle in the special economic zone. His middle-class lifestyle didn't last long.

In 1997, HK$100 could be exchanged for 106 yuan, not to mention the fact that the cost of living on the mainland was only about a fifth of what it was in Hong Kong during the 1990s. Nowadays HK$100 is worth roughly only 81.4 yuan.

"I'm running short of money, and I don't have any allowances from the Hong Kong government at this moment. I'm really not sure how long I can hang on there," said Uncle Wong. His voice took on a helpless tone.

Sometimes, elderly residents of Shenzhen take a bus to a remote farmers' market out in the country, where they can buy necessities more cheaply. Wong sometimes travels to Hong Kong to see his grandson and granddaughter. He visits once a month. That's not as often as he used to make the journey, but then, inflation has also increased the cost of travel.

After running out of savings, Uncle Wong depends on the 1,400 yuan monthly rent paid by two young men who rent the lower floor apartment of Wong's home.

Uncle Wong's situation is certainly not the worst among Hong Kong retirees who have crossed the border.

Many retired people in their 60s went back to Shenzhen. It was a reversal of an earlier trend, between the 1950s and 1980s, when a great exodus of an estimated 1 million refugees, most in their 20s, fled across the border to Hong Kong, concludes Wong Sui-ling, a staff member of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions' (HKFTU) Shenzhen office.

"The majority of those who came in the exodus were refugees, thus they were not from rich families, and most of them still remained in the grassroots when they are retired from Hong Kong," said Wong.

"For many elderly, choosing to live in Shenzhen was not only for economic consideration; another important reason is that they are originally from the mainland and would love to rest in their hometown," Wong added.

"Chinese people all have the tradition of growing old in their hometowns. It is actually a reasonable choice that they could reunite with their families, childhood friends and live a cheaper life," said Wong.

Wong added that, during the 1980s, when people returned to the mainland with some HK$200,000 allowances, they could still lead a comfortable life, buy their own property and keep an average living standard. However, in recent years, HK$200,000 will purchase only eight square meters, "too small for a living room, but big enough for a coffin", as people often joke.

After the economy of Shenzhen experienced great and rapid growing and the rate of inflation soaring to historic highs, living in Shenzhen gradually lost its economic attraction for retirees.

The new trend is that the Hong Kong elderly either want to return to Hong Kong or are forced to do so by their limited budgets. They can receive allowances from the government and find care in a nursing home.

From Jan 2, Hong Kong residents aged 65 or above became eligible to receive a monthly allowance of HK1,035. To do so, however, they were required to pass a government means test, according to the Social Welfare Department.

Many elderly have turned to the HKFTU, seeking help to return to Hong Kong to apply for the old-age allowance. These people can't keep up with the rising costs, fueled by inflation in Shenzhen.

Another HKFTU worker, Leung Kit Yung, said he's not sure whether sending the elderly back to Hong Kong is the right thing to do.

"Once we helped an elderly get back to a Hong Kong nursing home, because he could no longer afford to live in Shenzhen. However, a few months later, he died from depression. He was too lonely there," said Leung.

"Sometimes I really don't know if am helping them or 'killing' them," added Leung.

The good news is that, under the newly unveiled "Guangdong Scheme" in the 2011-2012 Policy Address, elderly people aged 65 or above, living in Guangdong province, are entitled to the same HK$1,035 old-age allowance as their Hong Kong age peers.

However, the "Guangdong Scheme" does not take effect until 2013.

"I'm not sure I can live for that long. I appreciate the government finally treating us like Hong Kong residents, however, they should do what they have said right now!" said Uncle Wong, beginning to become emotional.

As baby-boomers age during the coming decade, the median age of the population will rise quickly in Hong Kong.

The proportion of the population aged 65 and over is projected to increase to 28 percent by 2039, the Census and Statistics Department predicted in 2010.

Victor Wong, a professor of social work at the Baptist University, agrees that the "Guangdong Scheme" should be implemented during the next budget year. Wong noted that requests for the concession have already been ignored for a decade, when a large group of seniors went to live across the border.

"Once the scheme is made known to the elderly, they will definitely hope to receive the welfare sooner," said Wong. "The sense of urgency is normal because they don't even know how long they are going to live."

Cheung Kwok-che, a lawmaker representing the social welfare field, said it should not require two years to implement the concession for cross-border retirees, though he believed the administration may encounter technical problems with the Guangdong government.

"Besides liaison work with the Guangdong government, the Hong Kong government still needs time to invite suitable NGOs to carry out the scheme," Cheung said.

The legislator said he will continue to push the government to speed up implementation of the scheme.

Wong added the number of seniors choosing to reside in Guangdong province has been stable over the past few years and there is unlikely to be a sudden boom in the near future.

The government wants more time for the scheme, saying it takes time to map out the details for the Legislative Council's Financial Committee as well as to set up a database.

"If the scheme can only be carried out in 2013, the government should at least approve back pay to eligible elders counting from 2012. By doing this, the elders will certainly feel better," Wong suggested.

Ming Yeung contributed to this story.

(HK Edition 11/29/2011 page4)