When it comes to youth policy, whoever becomes the next chief executive can easily outperform the incumbent, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, who, according to twentysomething activists and youth workers, has done nothing to address the needs of the young. Youth experts say the administration has long missed targets by outsourcing youth-related policies to a wide range of bureaus instead of having a co-ordinated plan.
But the two front runners to take over from Tsang, the former chief secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen and Leung Chun-ying, the former convenor of the Executive Council, have yet to present a clear picture of how they would do any better.
The up-and-coming generation say they want to be given hope that there will be change.
'Young people want to see the most pressing problems solved - including employment and housing issues,' young activist Fred Lam Fai said. 'We also want the next administration to address young people's desire to see changes for a better society.'
But it is not just practical issues that are concerns. Core values, such as the rule of law and freedom of speech, are among the key ideals of young people, says Simon Shen Xuhui, a young academic at the Institute of Education's faculty of arts and sciences.
Law Chi-kwong, an associate professor of the University of Hong Kong's department of social work and social administration, calls on the next government to face youth issues and formulate a comprehensive policy direction. 'There is no youth policy in Hong Kong and the Commission on Youth is not exactly discussing the problems faced by young people,' he said.
For now, young people seem to prefer Leung, who has put a strong emphasis on change in his manifesto. In a survey conducted by the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong in late December, one-third of the 800 respondents aged from 12 to 21 said they supported Leung, compared with about 20 per cent who said they opted for Tang.