Unless you're a tycoon, life in HK is harder than ever

Hong Kong

MRS Lau can't help but glance nervously at the calendar. Her next pay cheque isn't for a week, and she doesn't have enough money to feed her family of four crammed into her small, government-subsidised Hong Kong apartment. Her husband can't work, and the kids don't understand why their mother keeps buying stale food.

"We'll eat rice soup for all three meals," said the 42-year-old, a cashier at the Wellcome supermarket chain controlled by the Jardine Matheson group. Mrs Lau, who asked that only her surname be used, has been the sole provider for her seven-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son since her husband injured his back. She makes the equivalent of US$5.40 an hour, nowhere near the US$15-an-hour minimum wage in cities like Seattle, where the cost of living is cheaper.