Pan-dems Leave CSSA Meeting Empty-handed

Pro-democracy lawmakers were left disappointed on Thursday when a meeting with acting Chief Executive Matthew Cheung on planned changes to welfare benefits didn't bear fruit.

Cheung had agreed to meet the camp despite insisting that the government would not budge on its plan to increase the minimum age for receiving elderly CSSA payments from 60 to 65. The change is to come into effect on February 1.

Only six pro-democracy lawmakers took up the offer of a meeting on the issue and they were unhappy with how it went.

"We spent a lot of time asking for figures, they don't have any figures," Civic Party lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki complained.

Following criticism from parties across the political spectrum, the government announced a new subsidy for those affected by the CSSA change. But Kwok said there had been no consensus among lawmakers that this would be sufficient.

He lamented that the administration could not promise the pan-dems a meeting with Chief Executive Carrie Lam to discuss the move, even though she had held talks on the issue with pro-establishment lawmakers.