A fifth of Hong Kong's population is living in poverty, underscoring the challenge Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying faces in seeking to narrow a record wealth gap.
About 1.3 million people, or 19.6 percent of the population, were below the poverty line last year, according to a report released Saturday. The benchmark, determined for the first time, was set at half of the city's median household income, excluding the impact of tax and welfare transfers, the report said.
The report, commissioned by Leung, may give him the backing to ask for more spending and overcome objections to further increases to the minimum wage. Tens of thousands of people protested on July 1, the anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China, demanding the government address the inequality between rich and poor, which has been exacerbated by the doubling of home prices since early 2009.
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