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HK to Further Fund Welfare for Aged
Hong Kong will earmark more than 170 million HK dollars (21.8 million US dollars) next year for improving care for the elderly, according to the Policy Address of 2000 delivered Wednesday.
"Next year, we will increase the allocation by more than 100 million HK dollars to provide approximately 1,600 more (subsidized residential care) places," said Tung Chee Hwa, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in the address delivered to the Legislative Council.
A further 70 million HK dollars will be spent to enable more frail elderly to receive care at home in the coming year, he said.
Hong Kong has a rapidly aging population. People aged 65 and above currently account for about one-tenth of the nearly 7 million population. This proportion is estimated to increase by 13 percent by 2006, and by 20 percent by 2036.
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