Hong Kong youth can't afford to 'unfriend China'
Gary Cheung says post Occupy, the loss of trust between Beijing and Hong Kong's youth must be regained - for their own sake
While economists and industry leaders are counting the economic costs of Occupy Central, perhaps a bigger casualty than the economy of the street blockades is the further erosion of trust in Beijing among Hong Kong people, particularly the young.
According to the University of Hong Kong's public opinion programme, 41 per cent of 1,014 Hongkongers surveyed last December said they distrusted the central government, with the levels of distrust higher among the young; 68 per cent of those between 18 and 29 reported distrust, compared with 40 per cent among those from 30 to 49, and 32 per cent among those aged 50 or above.
Many mainland officials could not understand why Beijing, which has spared no effort in helping Hong Kong ride out the economic hard times since the handover, has failed to win over the hearts and minds of its people.
But, as Mao Zedong once said, there is no such thing as love or hatred without reason.
In early 1984, the student unions of HKU and Chinese University wrote to then premier Zhao Ziyang stating their support for the handover of Hong Kong and calling for democracy after 1997. Zhao replied in a letter that it was "only right and proper" to adopt a democratic system after 1997.
Yet, three decades on, the goal of universal suffrage still seems a long way off. Beijing's zero-risk model for electing the chief executive by universal suffrage in 2017, under which only two or three candidates who secure majority approval from a 1,200-strong nominating committee could be chosen by millions of voters, has alienated it from many Hong Kong people, particularly young people who are impatient with the slow pace of democratisation.