In so doing, the Pan Democrats are judging on the people not the facts.
This is something the Liberal Party and myself oppose. There are various
major infrastructural projects which could face work stoppage as a result of
obstructions by the Pan Democrat politicians. Major projects were effective
booster to the economy in times of stress hence if construction workers were
made redundant due to works stoppage, domestic consumption would be
adversely affected and this would deal a further blow to the local economy
which was already in a poor shape.
Whenever we face a depressing economy, we need to recuperate and build
up strength - Government should remove harsh policy measures to give the
community breathing time to recover. But with just 18 months left for this
Administration and the Chief Executive who is facing the dilemma whether to
seek for re election appears anxious to keep his election promise of gradually
eliminating the MPF offsetting mechanism. This is a policy shift which is too
much to bear for the business community.
In response, four of us from the Liberal Party who represent the business
sector quickly conducted a public consultation exercise on the matter inviting
the Chief Secretary Mrs Carrie Lam and the Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Mr Matthew Cheung to join the event. Nearly 500 participants showed up
and there were a lot of enthusiastic and animated discussions during the
consultation session.
The business sector was unanimously against any move to eliminate or reduce
the MPF Offsetting Mechanism as this would amount to the breaking an
earlier promise by the authorities and businesses would be hit seriously under
the current bearish economy.
It was probably due to the swift response of the business community on the
issue, that the Policy Address did not highlight the gradual elimination of
the MPF Offsetting Mechanism but proposed to combine it with the public
consultation on retirement protection as a package. The community at large
in Hong Kong do support policies that aim to provide for the elderly but there
was much to be debated whether this should be achived via tax hikes and
new taxes; or whether we should only have a scheme that covers the basic
needs of the retirees. The public consultation on retirement protection will
end in June and I plan to organise a forum for the business sector to pool
ideas from all in a bid to find the most appropriate scheme.
2016 is the Year of the Monkey, a zodiac animal known to be witty and akin
to humans. Man is often called the wisest of all creatures hence with our
wisdom and adaptability as well as the excellent international network; we
certainly can find a way out of the current plight if only we could leave the
arguments behind. Finally, I wish all members of the RMA a most prosperous
and auspicious Year of the Monkey.
我和自由黨是反對這對人不對事的行為，因為香
港多項大型工程都因泛民議員的阻攔而面臨停
工，但大型基建往往是經濟放緩期拉動經濟齒輪
的有效動力，如建造業工人因工程停頓而手停口
停，毋疑會影響內需，對已經疲弱的零售市場而
言，前景就如這幾天的天氣——嚴寒！
每當經濟經歷低潮的時候，最需要的就是“休
養生息＂，政府能夠移除苛政，讓民間有喘息機
會。但是，可能是由於現屆政府還剩下
18
個月的
時間，面對是否爭取連任的特首似乎有點急於履
行上屆的選舉承諾，在去年第
4
季提出“逐步撤
消強積金對沖機制＂，這是商界絕對無法承擔的
一項轉變！
就此，本人與自由黨另外三位商界代表議員在
2016
年伊始就連同香港零售管理協會等
85
個商會
團體，聯合舉辦“反對撤銷
/
降低強積金對沖機制
或比例諮詢會＂，並邀請到政務司司長林鄭月娥和
勞工及福利局局長張建宗親臨聆聽業界意見。這
項活動吸引了近
500
位有同樣立場的商界代表出
席，並踴躍表達意見。
業界基本上是一致反對撤銷「強積金對沖機制」
或降低對沖比例，認為不單止違反當初推出強積
金計劃時對企業的承諾，如果政府罔顧商界的反
對聲音修訂對沖機制，在當前的經濟環境下，簡
直是雪上加霜！
可能由於商界迅速表達了意見，施政報告不再強
調要逐步取消強積金對沖機制。惟建議已經與正
在進行諮詢的退休保障計劃捆綁，而香港各界都
基本上同意做到“老有所養＂，但關鍵是不惜加
稅、增加稅種去為全民提供退休保障？抑或只是
向有需要的退休人士提供適度的安全網呢？這仍
然有相當大的討論空間。退休保障的諮詢為期至
六月底，本人計劃稍後再舉行論壇，冀能集思廣
益，尋找到合適的方案。
明年為丙申猴年，猴子公認是聰明靈巧動物，與
人類比較接近。人既稱為萬物之靈，相信憑藉我
們的智慧，加上香港人的迅速應變能力和優良的
世界網絡，只要內部鬥爭能夠減少，香港定能
在這困境中尋求到出路，猴（後）來居上的。最
後，謹祝賀香港零售管理協會及各位會員，猴年
新春大吉，生意興隆。
6
