200 March for Universal Retirement Protection, Demand HK$50bn Seed Fund

After the anti-Budget march, 200+ people marched from Chater Garden to government headquarters on 19 March 2011 demanding a revised Budget and universal retirement protection. The Alliance for Universal Pension demanded HK$50 billion be set aside as seed money for a universal pension.

What did marchers want?

Three things: HK$50bn for universal retirement protection, resumed Home Ownership Scheme flats, and HK$20bn for recurrent health and education spending. The alliance slammed John Tsang for talking about ageing while spending HK$40 billion on handouts with no concrete answer to elderly poverty. Marchers carried giant slippers mocking government foot-dragging.

Who else spoke up?

The Civic Party and 10+ grassroots groups (about 60 people) rallied near Government Hill, calling Tsang short-sighted and demanding the handout be scrapped for long-term anti-poverty spending. Leader Alan Leong rejected Tsang’s “politics over livelihood” charge as a smear on democrats.

This is 2011 history; see today’s retirement landscape at MPF fund comparison.