Help the Parents or Help Hong Kong

Help the Parents or Help Hong Kong

Chan Wenny – 28E
CENG 1310
Persuasive Essay, Third Draft
27 September, 2007

Help the Parents or Help Hong Kong
In the modern twenty-first century, thanks to the development of computer and robots, we are always reminded of efficiency in almost every job we do, every email we write, every phone call we make, every ride we take as well as every meal we eat. Subconsciously, we are always reminding ourselves: the smaller the better, the faster the better. Everyday, we fight for time and space in our lives. Gone are the days of the large traditional Chinese family. Today we are living in a world in which only efficiency matters. In the fast-paced society of Hong Kong, the current generation of residents, being accustomed to this pace of living, finds the task of raising babies to be too time-consuming and “inefficient” for them. This calls for the government of Hong Kong to provide tax incentives to encourage its citizen to have more babies. I strongly support the government’s doing so, as the population of a country affects it more than we think it does. The main responsibility lies on the government of Hong Kong to control the situation.
The low birth rate of Hong Kong is leading to the aging population problem. Hong Kong has among the lowest birth rates in the world. With its 7.34% birth rate in 2007, Hong Kong is close to the second lowest birth rate country Japan (“World”). However, Hong Kong has a rather long life expectancy at birth which allows it to make its way up to rank number six in the world (“World”). With its low birth rate and long life expectancy, a foreseeable problem that lies in its future is the aging population. Because of the low birth rate, Hong Kong government will need to use tax incentives to boost it up. According to the Report of the Task Force on Population Policy, the Hong Kong population’s aging problem is receiving attention from the Hong Kong Government. The report stated...