Disability-Sensitive Policy Design And Evaluation For
Sustainable Livelihoods For All In The Twenty-First Century: Hong Kong Experience in a
Changing Regional Context
Joseph Kwok
Part 5 of 6 | Previous | Next
Go to other parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6
SECTION FIVE
NEW INITIATIVES AND EMERGING CRITICAL CHALLENGES:
HONG KONG AND THE ASIA AND PACIFIC REGION
EMERGING CRITICAL CHALLENGES IN HONG KONG
The Hong Kong economy, like similar economies in the Region, has encountered critical
hardships, including accelerated economic downturn, a rise in unemployment, an increase in
the fiscal deficit and a delayed recovery. All these have happened since the Asian
financial crisis which started in May 1997 from Thailand, deflated the bubble economy, and
has changed the way people spend and invest their money. The terrorist attacks on
the United States on 11 September 2001 have further dampened export markets and consumer
spending. The situation has become even more complex because of the transformations
happening in both the world’s and Hong Kong’s economy. The world is rapidly
transforming from an industrial economy to a knowledge-based economy. Globalisation has
also brought about tremendous challenges and opportunities.
NEW INITIATIVES
Strengthening policy commitments at times of economic uncertainty
In order to deal with the emerging critical challenges, Hong Kong Government has
strengthened its policy commitments to enable socially disadvantaged groups to access
opportunities for economic and social participation. For 2001 budget, Government proposed
to spend HK$30.2 billion on recurrent welfare services, which is 13.8% of total recurrent
public expenditure, and in real terms, a 9.3% increase over 2000 budget. Against a
background of tight government spending, rehabilitation services on the other hand have
received considerable attention in the Budget. To provide greater support for people with
disabilities, Government has earmarked HK$219 million in 2001/2 to implement a package of
measures to address their day-care, residential and employment needs. Taken with new
resources already earmarked, an additional 5,100 day and residential places will be
provided over the next 5 years. In addition, innovative employment assistance packages
including on-the-job training programmes and seed money for NGOs to create new employment
opportunities will be funded (Tsang, 2001).
A seed fund to create employment opportunities for PWD
The 2001 Budget has a one-off provision of HK$50 million for non-government
organisations to create employment opportunities for the disabled. NGOs for and of PWD
have submitted quite a range of proposals before the deadline of December 2001 for
implementation by mid 2002.
Special Fund to support disabled athletes
The 2001 Budget created a special grant of HK$50 million to provide subsidies for
disabled athletes and to help them find employment at the end of their athletic careers.
The Chief Executive’s policy speech in 2001 launched two further new initiatives,
which would benefit also PWD (Tung, 2001). They are Community Investment and Inclusion
Fund and Continuing Education Fund.
Continuing Education Fund
The Government has set aside HK$5 billion to subsidise those with learning aspirations
to pursue continuing education and training programmes, to prepare for the challenges in
knowledge-based economy.
Community Investment and Inclusion Fund
The Government has recognized that current economic restructuring will result in some
profound adjustments in our society, and considers it necessary to strengthen
grassroots’ initiatives, and to support people’s spirit of self-help and mutual
aid. To support and promote social capital at the grassroots level, the Government
provides an initial $300 million grant to establish a ‘Community Investment and
Inclusion Fund’. The objective of the Fund is to encourage mutual concern and aid
among people, and to promote community participation in district and cross-sector
programmes. The Fund serves as a catalyst to enhance social cohesion, strengthen community
networks, and support families more effectively.
Details of the two funding schemes are expected to be announced by mid 2002. It is
expected that PWD is among the priority sectors that would benefit from these new Funds.
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT DISABILITY MOVEMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY
The critical challenges that Hong Kong is facing are not unique in the Region. Moreover
there are also other challenges which are affecting the disability sector. There are now
active government reforms across the Region towards down sizing, involvement of the
private sector in public services, devolution of central power to local governments.
Issues concerning elderly, women, young people are going to attract priority attention in
government agenda, as they are generally perceived to have direct links to national
security.
In spite of the many critical challenges facing governments and people of Asia and the
Pacific Region, there are also signs of positive development.
First, United Nations General Assembly in its November 2001 meeting approved in
principle an international convention on the rights of PWD, and the setting up of an ad
hoc committee to coordinate the drafting tasks.
Second, UN ESCAP and Regional Networks concerning disabilities have unanimously
supported an extension of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons,
1993-2202, and the themes and agenda for action of the new Decade will be adopted in a
senior governmental meeting organized by UNESCAP in Japan in October 2002.
Third, global institutions like International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Asian
Development Bank have taken on more proactive roles in poverty eradication, and inclusion
of poverty, gender and security issues in general development programmes, especially macro
economic development planning.
Fourth, there are also signs that global private foundations and donor agencies are
seeking network relationships with the disability sector. The International Working Group
on Disability Concerns, of which Rehabilitation International is serving as a secretary,
is an example of international loose networks with donor agencies at the global level.
Japan International Cooperation Agency participated in the network for the first
time in 2000, and would continue to take part in 2001.
Fifth, regional cooperation through a diversity of channels is progressing with more
positive signs seen in mainstream sectors, for example:
- Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation – e.g. has set up special funds to support ICT
and disability issues
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations + China - Free economic zone to be realized
within 15 years
- Asia Europe Meeting Trust Fund coordinated by World Bank
- Multi-sectional initiative within UN ESCAP, e.g. in research and statistics and
transport mainstream sectors
- World Trade Organization: poverty issues will be given more attention plus also social
issues; facilitating more people movement across country borders which would have an
impact on country disability population trends; growing demands on multi-national
corporations to adopt same labour practices concerning disability, which in turn will
become models for national corporations through public education or demand for fair play
in world trading.
What should be appropriate strategic moves for the First New Millennium Decade?
- Be much more focused in advocating for affirmative disability policies by selecting only
a few key strategic areas, e.g. barrier free environment, education and training,
employment, quality of life of PWD and their families.
- More emphasis on legislative measures and their implementation, and grounding this key
area on human rights principles.
- To further strengthen regional cooperation, supporting UNESCAP and its thematic working
group, and open up the work of UNESCAP to influence other regional platforms, some of them
are identified above. The voice of disability concerned groups should be facilitated
in all those mainstream forums, and UNESCAP should be urged to take a proactive role by
inviting representative of these forums in, or reaching out to these forums, through
active cooperation with the INGO sectors. UN mainstream sectors should be asked to develop
disability related global indices, such as disability related quality of life index, and
human resources index.
- Promoting cooperation at sub regional levels to continue identifying and promoting best
practices in GO, NGO and private sectors in key areas. To continue leadership training for
people with disabilities and their advocates, with a focus at sub national level to
cooperate with mayors or provincial or city governors. To create regional platforms for
local government leaders to exchange their views on disability policies, and to create a
platform of dialogue between these leaders and the regional disability networks.
Affirmative legislation and regulations could also be more effectively implemented through
an involved and active decentralized government structure.
- As a long-term strategy, both GOs and NGOs should incorporate into their national human
resources programmes concrete plans to nurture young people, including young PWD to take
part in regional activities. UN ESCAP would have a strategic role in continuing with its
training program for young people with disabilities as trainers. We have heard too often
from young people with disabilities whom we met at the previous campaign conferences that
many pressing issues have restrained them from learning how to start activities or
projects. The post Decade years should identify ways that experienced people and
organizations could provide technical support more as partners with those young
people who have a will to improve their life situations.
- At national and sub national levels, organizations of and for PWD should strengthen
solidarity and improve network relation with other major actors in GO and civic society,
and mainstream disability issues in general sectors and other special sector e.g. elderly
& women.
- Disability networks at national levels and international levels to achieve more
cooperation, and helping each other through bilateral or multi-lateral cooperation
projects. This is a useful way to sensitize people in developed economies, sowing seeds in
affecting multi-national corporations as well as inter-governmental forums. Such
cooperation should better take the form of small-scale development grants working in
partnership with local networks, to achieve more project numbers in a wider coverage of
various geographical locations, so as to pose fewer burdens on infrastructure investment
and their maintenances.
THANK YOU
Return to top |
