What comes to mind when you hear the words “Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Beneficiaries”? Do you treat them the same? Do you pity them? Do you think they are lazy, jobless and dependent? Most people argue that there is an alleged abuse of the CSSA. They pointed out that the beneficiaries are lazy and dependent on social assistance. This phenomenon can be explained by labeling theory. I will apply the labeling perspective to the alleged abuse of CSSAs and illustrate its causes and consequences. According to Howard Becker's labeling theory, "deviance is not a quality of the act a person commits, but rather a consequence of its enforcement by others." of rules and sanctions to a “transgressor”.' (Becker 1995:186) “Whether an act is deviant depends on how other people react to it.” (Becker 1995:188) It is created by society. As a result, recipients of CSSA have been labeled as deviants by society. People consider them lazy and abuse CSSA, even though they may not commit the act. First of all, government officials deliberately label CSSA recipients. In 1998, Andrew Leung, director of the Social Security Department (SWD), stated that there were many cases of fraud among CSSA beneficiaries and that "CSSA feeds the lazy" was one of the hottest topics at that time. Government officials have used “dependency culture” as a tool to criticize CSSA beneficiaries. (Lee 2012) They intended to reduce the application of CSSA by building a negative image towards them and emphasizing the importance of self-sufficiency. The labeling effect discourages the poor from seeking help from the CSSA. CSSA information, such as case ratio and financial aid amount, provided by the government to...... middle of paper......friends from before. (Christian Family Service Center 2001) Furthermore, more than half of recipients believe that their relatives keep a distance from them to avoid lending money. About 70% of them are afraid to let others know that they are recipients of CSSA. (Christian Family Services Center 2001) The data indicate that the application of the CSSA has become a deviant act. The recipients had an inferiority complex regarding their image. Therefore, they become passive and resistant to interacting with people. In conclusion, the labeling theory is compelling when applied to the alleged abuse of CSSA. The government, the mass media, and the public are the ones who create and enforce the label. They consider the application of CSSA to be deviant behavior. The label negatively affects the self-image and social participation of CSSA recipients. They are treated as outcasts by society, resulting in social exclusion.