Politics

Lawmakers have cast doubt on the government's efforts to attract housewives back to the workforce amidst calls for greater protection of female employees.

Reported by Tsau Jin Cheng, Karen Leung and Natalie Leung The absence of a centralised charity law in Hong Kong has led to legal loopholes exploited by individuals and organisations to generate income through bogus fundraising. Two years ago, a man bought a pack of Chinese sausages that cost $480 from a fundraising booth on a housing estate called Lung Poon Court in Diamond Hill. The man found no donation boxes for collecting proceeds but gave the hawker his money, all the while thinking that it would be used for charitable purposes. He later found out through his neighbours that the hawker rented the area to set up a booth to do his own business, rather than to raise funds for the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, one of Hong Kong's most reputable charitable organizations providing a wide range of welfare services. Tung Wah invites volunteers from both the public and private sectors – including housing estates such as Lung Poon Court – to help in raising funds for its Tung Wah Charity Gala held annually in Hong Kong. The incident violated Tung Wah's rules of fundraising and Lung Poon Court was suspended from engaging in Tung Wah's fundraising activities for at least three years. Lawmakers have pointed to the absence of legislation and a commission overseeing charities in Hong Kong. "People are punished for inappropriate fundraising only when it has been discovered and reported to the police," said Ms Tam Heung-man, a district councilor who represents Wong Tai Sin. "There isn't any approval process for determining which organizations will be allowed to hold fundraising activities or what kind of charitable events they are," said Ms Tam. She added that the same group of people who had disguised themselves as fundraisers signed up to volunteer with Tung Wah in their charity …

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