Hong Kong may broaden at-risk elderly support after recent deaths, minister says

Welfare chief Chris Sun says support could be extended after recent deaths expose gaps in identifying vulnerable households

Hong Kong authorities may widen support to cover more younger elderly residents to bolster protection, the welfare minister has said, calling current efforts to identify at-risk seniors “just the beginning” as the city reels from two tragedies in a week.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han told the South China Morning Post that the government was mobilising all available resources to strengthen support for the elderly, but he noted the process would take time given the city’s large ageing population.

Explaining how a “high-risk” household was defined under a government initiative that used an interdepartmental database to identify vulnerable older residents, Sun said it generally referred to those aged 80 and above who lived alone or only with a spouse.

However, this age threshold meant a pair in their seventies involved in a recent tragedy fell outside authorities’ monitoring.

“What we are looking at, one is either the elderly people are living on their own or two elderly people are living together, and then we look at the age. Right now, we draw the line at age 80,” Sun said.

“It could be moved up or moved down. It’s not legally defined. We just want to start by using 80.