100,000 Rush For 'caring And Sharing' Handout

The government has already received more than 100,000 applications for a HK$4,000 handout under its so-called "caring and sharing" cash handout scheme, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Lunar New Year Well-wishing Festival in Tai Po Lam Tsuen, Mr Cheung reminded people that they had until late April to complete the forms, so there was no need to rush.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan introduced the handout in his budget last year as a way to support people who did not qualify for other budget sweeteners, such as tax rebates, property rates waivers or extra welfare payments.

The rollout of the scheme had faced problems, including government offices running out of application forms as people rushed to apply.