Teen's Hong Kong Concert Trip Puts Family's Government Allowance Under Review In China

A teenage girl in China travelled to Hong Kong to attend a concert, leading to a review of her family's eligibility for government living allowances. The girl, with the surname Huang, is a technical secondary school student from Ganzhou in eastern Jiangxi province, according to the South China Morning Post.

Her parents have health issues and depend on the city's living allowance scheme for low-income households, which provides 2,000 yuan (around Rs 28,499) per month.

Huang told her family that she could pay for the trip herself. She saved her pocket money, and by late August, she had saved between 3,000 (Rs 42,749) and 5,000 yuan (Rs 71,249). The identity of the idol whose concert she attended has not been disclosed.

Before the trip, local community officials warned Huang several times that travelling to Hong Kong could affect her family's eligibility for the government allowance. 

Despite repeated efforts by her parents to stop her from going, Huang travelled to Hong Kong and attended the concert.

After she returned to Ganzhou, the local civil affairs authority informed the family that their subsidies would be stopped. Her travel records had been detected through an extensive database, which led to a review of the family's eligibility.

Huang's cousin said her parents were deeply worried. They were unsure what they would do in the future without government support.

The cousin also said that the family was reassuring Huang's parents and grandmother. She added that it was difficult to comment on Huang's actions, as she may have been naive, may not have known that Hong Kong is considered overseas, or may not have understood the possible consequences.

The standards for living allowance schemes are different across China, with local authorities changing them every year.

On September 7, the government of Ganzhou's Economic Development Zone, where Huang's family lives, said it was reviewing the case. The government also clarified that the family's qualification for receiving the subsidy had not yet been revoked.

Li Su, a lawyer from Beijing Huicheng Law Firm, said China's social assistance rules require families receiving government subsidies to be reviewed in a dynamic manner. If their spending goes beyond set standards, authorities can end the financial aid.