Naomi Ng, 17, Diocesan Girls' School
Some say, since the young people of Hong Kong are the future, they should have the right to vote. But many of the 18-year-olds who have this right are still at secondary school. I don't think they are mature enough to have a voice.
According to a report by the Central Registry of Drug Abuse, a huge number of the city's drug abusers are between 16 and 20. If teenagers don't know what is good for them, how can they know what is good for the general public?
Most Hong Kong teens are self-centred, egotistical and over-protected. They have been described as growing up in a greenhouse, oblivious to issues around them because they are shielded by their parents and spoon-fed knowledge by their teachers.
Former US first lady Eleanor Roosevelt said: 'A mature person is one who does not think in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and all things'. I wonder how many young Hongkongers fit this description.
Voting in a public election is not like voting for your class president. I believe the voting age should be raised.
The experience of tertiary education, job interviews and having to pay your own bills makes people responsible and mature.