Care of The Elderly – Whose Responsibility?

The Governor, Mr. Christopher Patten, in his address at the opening of the 1993/94 session of the Legislative Council, avowed the intention of the Government to secure for the elderly the right to a dignified and comfortable old age (The Governor, 1993, p.20). And to achieve this goal, he further listed a number of actions that the Government planned to take in the areas of health care, housing, social welfare, and retirement protection. Although it is not the first time that the Government accepts its responsibility towards the elderly members of society, it is undoubtedly a further step away from the position which the Government has adopted since the mid-1960s that the support of the elderly must mainly be a responsibility of their families.