The government’s plan to get supermarket chains Wellcome and ParkNshop to provide discounts in return for subsidies appears to have elicited a lukewarm response from the public, while the city’s biggest pro-Beijing party also raised doubts about its effectiveness, RTHK reports. The DAB said its lawmakers doubt whether discounts offered by the supermarkets could really help the needy. The party said it noticed the two supermarket chains had marked up prices recently, and a 10 percent discount would only bring prices back to their original levels. People RTHK spoke to also said it is better to just give the money directly to the needy. A woman who gave her surname as Ng said the two supermarket chains should not receive the subsidies at all, as they still managed to earn money during the coronavirus outbreak.

Source: The Standard August 18, 2020 11:25 UTC