Hong Kong to Give 7 Million People $1,200 in Cash
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Today's topic is "Hong Kong to Give 7 Million People $1,200 in Cash"

Hong Kong is giving about $1,280 to all permanent residents who are 18 years old or over. The payment is part of $15.4 billion the government plans to spend in the next year to help the local economy.

The government said that about 7 million people will receive the payment, which it hopes will encourage people to spend more money at local businesses. It said that Hong Kong's economy has slowed because of large protests that began in June 2019, as well as coronavirus from China.

The government also plans to cut income taxes for almost 2 million taxpayers, give low-income people who live in public housing a month of free rent, help businesses pay bills for things like water and electricity, and give extra money to 200,000 poor households.

The plan is part of Hong Kong's new government budget for 2020-2021. Financial Secretary Paul Chan said that it's the first time in 15 years the government will spend more than it has made from taxes. He said this is because the Hong Kong economy has been in recession since the middle of 2019.

However, although Hong Kong's budget problems are worse than some had expected, Hong Kong has over $145 billion in reserves, so it can afford the plan. "This actually is not that big [of] a deal," said Terence Chong of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, speaking to CNN.

Did you know?

Hong Kong is one of the wealthiest cities in the world and is home to 67 billionaires.

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