Over 40,000 apply for transport support aid in HK

Some 40,413 people have applied for the Transport Support Scheme since its launch, said Hong Kong' s Secretary for Labor & Welfare Matthew Cheung Wednesday.

Of these, 210 applicants were refused because the total value of their personal asset exceeded the ceiling of 44,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Cheung told the lawmakers that the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has no plan to disregard insurance policies' cash value in calculating the value of a Transport Support Scheme applicants' personal assets.

"Personal assets include land or property, cash, bank deposits, cash value of insurance policy, investments in stocks and shares, and other readily realizable assets," said Cheung, adding that An insured may manage the cash value of his or her insurance policy according to his or her needs under the respective terms of the policy, including the withdrawal of cash from the insurance company basing on its prevailing value.

"As such, the cash value of insurance policy is similar in nature to other realizable assets and should be counted as part of an applicant's personal assets."

This approach is consistent with that established for other publicly-funded assistance schemes, he said, such as the tertiary student finance and comprehensive social security assistance schemes.

Sixteen admitted applicants had to refund the transport allowances paid as they were found to have personal assets exceeding the 44,000 HK dollars ceiling when the cash value of their insurance policies was included in the calculation.

Source:Xinhua