LettersPlans to rejuvenate Hong Kong must include a focus on child rights

Readers urge the government to address the needs of the city’s children who have been adversely affected by the 2019 unrest and the pandemic, discuss the mental health toll of China’s zero-Covid policy on the youth, and argue that Hong Kong NGOs should focus on the local elderly

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Children draw on a model house at a mall in Lok Fu on October 2. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 11:30am, 6 Oct 2022

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Our beloved city has suffered greatly in recent years, especially children in their crucial developmental years. We need a committed government to lead in rebuilding the city by collaborating with the child welfare community and listening to children and youth directly.

As child rights experts, we have witnessed the harm done to children and the youth in recent years; if not addressed properly, the social cost could be very high. We have urged the government to form an expert-led task force to look into the harm caused to children and young people by the 2019 social unrest and Covid-19 pandemic.

During the 2019 unrest, many children were traumatised by exposure to conflict and social insecurity. Since the unrest, 1,754 children under 18 have been arrested, and around 500 charged. The government needs to allocate funds to help them receive rehabilitative care to support their return to school and society, by collaborating with experts, professional groups and NGOs. Failure to do so would be a costly and unconscionable waste of the next generation.

Lockdowns, school closures, virtual learning, disruption of social interaction and a lack of play space and activities have affected children’s physical and mental development. These years have been particularly challenging for children with special needs and in poverty.