Hong Kong leaders prepare to take pay cuts because of slump

May 20, 2009, 4:18 GMT

   Hong Kong - Hong Kong's leader Donald Tsang and other top officials were preparing Wednesday to take a collective pay cut as the city suffers because of the economic slump.

   At a time when unemployment has risen to a four-year high of 5.3 per cent and civil servants face pay cuts, Chief Executive Tsang and other top officials have indicated they will share the pain.

   The move would mirror a similar voluntary pay cut of 10 per cent taken by former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa and his top officials during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis of 2003.

   Beijing-appointed Tsang is one of the world's best-paid leaders, earning nearly 48,000 US dollars a month while his top ministers earn between 40,000 and 42,600 US dollars a month.

   After a meeting with his ministers Tuesday, Tsang announced, 'My political team and I will stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong to ride out these difficult times.'

   His deputy, Chief Secretary Henry Tang, said later he was willing to take a pay cut while other ministers said the matter of salaries was under review.

   Wealthy Hong Kong, with its population of 7 million, has been hit hard by the global economic crisis, which has pushed property and share prices down, although the Hang Seng Index has rebounded strongly in the past two months.