It's time to step out of our comfort zone so Hong Kong can progress, says educator
Veteran educator Eden Woon says we have to overcome our lack of confidence and obsession with politics so that Hong Kong can progress
Q: How should young people in Hong Kong equip themselves to stay competitive?
A: They should embrace everything instead of withdrawing. Go to China to work for a few years!
From a teaching job with the United States Air Force to a top university post in Hong Kong, Dr Eden Woon Yi-teng has done it all. His portfolio in the intervening years includes working as a diplomat to bargain with Beijing, heading Hong Kong's biggest business chamber, and even selling coffee and toys in Shanghai.
Now a vice-president at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Woon, 68, has always managed to fit seamlessly into each new role, meeting challenges with enthusiasm. Looking back, he recalls how he jumped at every opportunity, abandoning his comfort zone each time.
This is the kind of enterprising spirit he urges Hong Kong people to pursue if they want to see the city heal old wounds and recapture its dynamism. Hong Kong's famous "can-do" spirit has become a thing of the past and must be revived, he says.
Woon recalls how he was stunned to learn that a multinational company had difficulties assigning its Hong Kong staff to other countries because they did not want to leave the city.
"I found that shocking. It's a great opportunity. To me, it's a lack of confidence," he says, calling on Hongkongers, especially young people, to step out of their comfort zone.