In Hong Kong, domestic helpers and distant parents created a disaffected ‘Me Generation’
Albert Cheng writes that smaller one- or two-child families and abundant domestic helpers – even for middle- and working-class households – has resulted in a generation that can’t care for itself
Hong Kong doesn’t need an army of maids to care for its young and old. It needs trained professionals
In post-war Hong Kong, only the wealthiest could afford servants. Women in the average family were expected to stay home and look after the family. If both parents had to work, they would either have to ask their neighbours to take care of their children, or the children would have to run their own course and look out for one another.
However, starting from the 1980s, it was not just the well-off and middle-class families, but even the working class living in public estates who hired domestic helpers. In Hong Kong today, there are more than 300,000 domestic helpers. Over the past three decades, the helper-centred family structure has formed and the consequences have been profound.
Generational conflict makes up a huge part of the deep-rooted contradictions in our society. The millennials born in the past few decades are now raging at society. They feel strong revulsion towards the older generation who possess most of the benefits. The young generation no longer see upward mobility as possible and blame that on the older generation.
For their part, the older generation point fingers at the young, accusing them of not being able to endure hard times and live out the “the Lion Rock spirit”.
Hong Kong’s youth must stop demonising China to have a brighter future
