Opinion | Why the Greater Bay Area hard sell won’t work on young Hongkongers

Bernard Chan says young people have good reasons for not flocking to the mainland. China isn’t short of skills and not all young Hongkongers have employment advantages across the border, even though there have been success stories

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The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is part of a plan to connect cities of the Pearl River Delta more closely. However, young Hongkongers remain sceptical about working on the mainland. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:02am, 20 Dec 2018Updated: 6:05pm, 20 Dec 2018

For years, government officials and business leaders in Hong Kong have been trying to get across an important message to local young people: the mainland is a place of opportunity. The message has become even more relevant since Beijing announced the “Greater Bay Area” plan to integrate the cities of the Pearl River Delta into a global innovation hub.

Yet there are many signs that young people are not listening or remain sceptical. A survey released by the Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre in 2015 found that 65 per cent of young Hongkongers had no interest in working on the mainland.

In a way, this seems strange. I would expect a large proportion of people born in London, New York or Shanghai to venture out into other parts of their countries to develop their careers. However, there are some good reasons why young Hongkongers don’t.

Although Hong Kong is deeply, historically connected with the mainland by people and trade, the city has separate governance, legal and other systems. Despite the return to China in 1997 , Hong Kong is a different society with a distinct culture and identity.

The Bauhinia Foundation survey reported negative views about the mainland regarding things like quality of life and rule of law.

My own feeling is that we cannot force young people to change their attitudes first – their attitudes will change as they see positive benefits of integration. Also, there are still all sorts of practical barriers to cross-border mobility. These include things like employment regulations, residency procedures and even incompatible stored-value cards.

Pedestrians walk around IFC Mall in Shanghai. A survey released by the Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre in 2015 found that 65 per cent of young Hongkongers had no interest in working on the mainland. Photo: Bloomberg

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