Education is the great leveller, rather than democracy
Regina Ip says youth discontent in Hong Kong has its root cause in the lack of opportunities that a good education can offer, whether or not the city has more democracy
As expected, a major theme in the chief executive's policy address this year is support for youth. As students played a leading role throughout the recently concluded Occupy protests, it would indeed have been remiss of Leung Chun-ying not to address their concerns.
Post Occupy, many suggest we have lost an entire generation. Have we really lost an entire generation and, if so, would support in the form of matching grants for young entrepreneurs, advice on "career and life planning", more opportunities for internships and visits to mainland China be of adequate comfort to our "lost" youth?
Young people did play a prominent role in the protest but it would be a gross exaggeration to suggest that all of our youth were as angry and as determined to overturn the establishment as the diehard Occupy participants. The political orientations of our youth are as diverse as their socio-economic situations.
Very broadly speaking, those engaged in gainful employment, whatever the wage level, might have sympathised with the Occupy activists but they steered clear of the protests.
Like others whose daily lives were affected, they quickly grew angry at having to get up at least one hour earlier to beat the traffic and wished life would return to normal as soon as possible.
The top 0.1 per cent of our young people aged 18 to 25, who had the best parental care, the best education and their future laid out for them, were largely unmoved.