Mr Tien claimed that the amount saved would be similar to the amount of revenue that could be raised from the controversial government proposal of a sales tax of up to three per cent. 'We face a stark choice of either reducing government expenditure or increasing its revenue through higher fees, charges and taxes, including those on profit and on income,' he said.

A deficit of $60.7 billion, recorded between April and September this year, shows that the initial forecast of $3 billion is a considerable underestimation.

Some members of the Liberal Party have offered to take a 10 per cent reduction in their salaries to pressure the civil service to follow suit but the South China Post newspaper has reported that many critics of the Liberal Party have accused it of attempting to legitimise pay cuts in the private sector.

In defence, Mr Tien argued: 'The fact is the private sector has already reduced its wage bill and it's time for the civil service to conform. Hong Kong has a privileged class, the civil servants, who decide on policies, taxes, and their own salaries, all without an elected mandate.'

'The least we, the public, can expect of them is that they show gratitude, loyalty, competence and also moral authority,' he added.

Mr Tien pointed to Singapore's recent initiative to reduce the salaries of senior officials. 'We have no reason to assure civil servants an iron rice bowl, much less a golden one, when the rest of us have to make do with a porcelain bowl chipped at the edge,' he said.