Letters | Are young Hongkongers slackers? Perhaps they just need to believe change is possible

Readers discuss accusations of youth slacking off, the challenges of extended quarantine, vaccination of children and reforms to the Retired Athletes Transformation Programme

Hong Kong youth

Letters

Published: 6:30am, 4 Dec 2021

Why you can trust SCMP

Hong Kong’s average working week a few years ago was 50.1 hours, 38 per cent above the global average. Yet Alan Chow, appointed to the Curriculum Development Council’s standing committee on values education, has concerns and notes that young people are slacking off. He recently told RTHK: “They think they will never be able to buy a flat, so they spend their time on pleasure.”

To rejuvenate Hong Kong’s work ethic, he said, there was a need to emphasise “hard work” in the Values and Education Curriculum Framework guidelines, and to remove words used in an earlier Moral and Civic Education Curriculum Framework so teachers needn’t worry – words like “respect human rights” and “critical thinking”.

But will he support government policy and encourage young people to vote under the recently improved Legislative Council electoral system? Especially for candidates who promise to reverse policies that have favoured vested interests and made Hong Kong’s housing the world’s least affordable for 11 years running?

10:08

Hong Kong has until 2049 to fix its housing crisis, but is it possible?

According to the latest annual Demographia International Housing Affordability study, Hong Kong housing prices are 20.7 times the median household income, much higher than second-placed Vancouver’s 13 times. If young people could change things, they might emulate Mr Chow’s positive attitude. Perhaps he could suggest a candidate or two deserving of their vote?

Paul Serfaty, Mid-Levels

Give boostered Hongkongers a shorter quarantine

I came to Canada last month to visit my father and planned to return to Hong Kong in early January. I have booked a quarantine hotel for 14 days.

When the government moved Canada into the highest risk category, requiring Hongkongers returning from the country to undergo 21 days of hotel quarantine, I believe that most travellers, like me, rushed to ask our quarantine hotels to extend the booking for a week. Alas, the reply is that the hotel is fully booked for the remaining days.

We understand that the government’s purpose is to curb the spread of Omicron to Hong Kong. However, to accommodate the sudden lengthening of quarantine, is it possible for the government to come up with parallel measures like increasing quarantine hotels? Or, to boost the take-up of the third dose of Covid-19 vaccine, can those travellers who have taken the third dose keep to the 14-day quarantine?

The requirements for inbound travellers from Canada are already very stringent. Before boarding, a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result has to be submitted in addition to a vaccination record and the quarantine hotel booking. If the government grants those with three doses 14 days of quarantine, I believe that more people will have more incentive to take up vaccination.

Angela Lok, Mei Foo

We need a vaccine consensus for children

The new Covid-19 variant Omicron announced by the World Health Organization is spreading silently, and will pose a threat to Hongkongers. In such an urgent situation, should the government urge children to be vaccinated or even make it mandatory? In my opinion, yes, for sure.

06:14

Why is the Omicron variant so concerning? Virologist warns Covid strain could ‘wreak havoc’ in HK

Young children are very curious about their surroundings. They touch anything, anywhere, and may remove their masks at any time with no hygiene awareness – in shopping centres, country parks and even along streets.

People may argue that side effects of vaccination could affect children’s comprehensive development, and scientists have shown that children have a lower rate of infection and a much reduced risk of severe illness and death. But the community has to turn the tables on the current situation by achieving a consensus on vaccination, including of children. It is important for us to consolidate our strength and nip the new coronavirus variant in the bud.

Gian Choi, Tseung Kwan O

Retired athletes deserve more support

The recent announcement to expand the Retired Athletes Transformation Programme and attract more participants is timely. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor vowed in her policy address to double the number of retired athletes in the programme in five years.

Launched a few years ago by the Home Affairs Bureau, the programme supports retired athletes’ career development by providing job opportunities, on-the-job training and education subsidies. To make it more attractive, the government should review the eligibility criteria and offer wider career options.

To join, athletes must have retired within the past six years, received secondary education, trained for at least two years as a senior athlete or full-time professional and represented the city in an international competition. Since its launch, a total of 117 elite athletes have joined the programme – a small number compared to the 1,300 elite athletes currently receiving training at the Hong Kong Sports Institute.

The government should conduct surveys to estimate the number of retired athletes eligible and decide if the criteria should be revised to sign up more people.

At the moment, the programme offers jobs to promote sports in schools or administrative positions in athletic organisations, all valuable opportunities for those interested in sports promotion and administration. But to support others with different career aspirations, the Home Affairs Bureau should consider introducing a subsidised employment scheme, like the Labour Department’s Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged, which subsides the employers that hires older residents. To encourage more athletes to complete the employment programme, the bureau could offer a retention allowance like the Labour Department’s Three-year Retention Allowance Pilot Scheme.

As Hong Kong celebrates the extraordinary performance of its athletes at the Tokyo Olympics, we should not overlook the obstacles facing elite athletes, including the difficulties of pursuing professional development after committing to their short careers in elite sports. We hope the Retired Athletes Transformation Programme can be reformed to better serve the elite athlete community.

Yue Juan Zeng and Ching Fung Cheung, Kowloon Tong

Post