Opinion | Hong Kong should stop telling its disaffected youth they are the problem

Government initiatives aimed at ‘improving’ young people in various ways miss the point. It’s the mismatch between youth expectations and economic opportunities that breeds social discontent, and what officials must address

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Social conflicts will only intensify when Hong Kong’s young people realise that all their hard work won’t pay off, and all the years of sleep deprivation and stress do not guarantee gainful employment. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:00am, 20 May 2019Updated: 9:00am, 20 May 2019

Whenever the government talks about youth policies, it’s like hearing the same old broken record. Phrases like “broadening their horizons”, “enhancing their competitiveness”, “help them pursue higher [this and that]” are repeated ad nauseam. Other than the fact that these terms are so overused they have pretty much lost their meaning, they also reflect the unchanging government tenor that our youths are somehow inadequate.

Young people are inadequate in their narrow outlook; thus the constant need to broaden their horizons. In this ultra-competitive city where children are supposed to “win at the starting line”, the government persistently finds youths’ competitiveness in need of enhancing. And, like a nagging parent, officials keep telling the young people of this city full of overachievers that they need to aim higher.

And yet, when surveys like the one conducted by the Hong Kong Playground Association last year showed that 31.6 per cent of respondents aged six to 24 suffered from mild to extremely severe stress, and 38.7 per cent from moderate to extreme anxiety, we are shocked.

We shake our heads and lament the tough standards kids today have to live up to. But nothing changes afterwards, while policymakers continue to obsess over finding more ways to broaden the horizons and enhance the competitiveness of our stressed-out and anxious young people.

Today’s youth face challenges that are very different from those that confronted policymakers when they were young. A recent study conducted by the New Century Forum found that fresh graduates today earn about 9.6 per cent less in their first job than graduates 25 years ago.

Students of the Chinese University of Hong Kong celebrate their graduation in November last year. A recent survey has found that fresh graduates today earn about 9.6 per cent less in their first job than graduates 25 years ago. Photo: Felix Wong

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