For Hong Kong to have a future, its young people must have hope

Why do Hong Kong’s youth continue to rage? Week after week, their anger has gone unabated, long after the extradition bill was declared dead. Yes, action, reaction, overreaction and inaction from different sides have resulted in a vicious circle spiralling out of control.

But beyond the immediate triggers, ultimately, economic issues are driving the despair, disillusionment and desperation of Hong Kong’s younger generation.

Hong Kong’s youth must be seen in a global context. First, while the younger generation in developing countries can expect a better standard of living than their parents, the opposite is true for developed economies — Hong Kong included.

Second, in many cities, from Australia to Canada, the younger generation are struggling with the prohibitively high costs of home ownership.

Third, as seen in Barack Obama’s re-election and the Brexit referendum, there is a clear divide on values and interests across generations.

Fourth, whereas a university education was once a ticket to the middle class, college graduates now face an increasingly uncertain economic future.

Finally, shaped by globalisation and technological changes, in a winner-takes-all world, the top 1 per cent is thriving at the expense of the middle class.

No money, no flat, no democracy: why young Hong Kong is angry

Against this backdrop, Hong Kong’s youth face a uniquely daunting future. First and foremost, while young Australians and Canadians may be struggling to buy a home, for most young Hongkongers, home ownership has become an impossible dream.

Education is no longer a sufficient means of social mobility. Society is divided between the propertied class and the “landless masses”.

Those fortunate enough to “own” a home become essentially serfs indentured to their huge mortgages — even for well-paid professionals. Property developers, in cahoots with the government, are the lords. The class structure of an ultra-modern metropolis is akin to that in the Middle Ages.

Moreover, Hong Kong has a narrow industrial base. It has long prided itself on being a laissez-faire economy but this has resulted in limited employment opportunities for its youth.

Still, Hong Kong has continued to thrive as a service centre for China. But many of the best jobs have gone to mainlanders, including internationally educated returnees with a better command of English, and definitely Mandarin, than many young Hongkongers.

Hong Kong used to be the top performer in China economically, and young Hongkongers understandably resent the role reversal in deeply personal ways.

In my generation, most of my peers have done far better than their parents. But few among Hong Kong’s youth can surpass the previous generation without strong social advantages or parental support, and even then, only a few exceptional ones do.

In a place where even a highly trained young medical doctor is straining to own a good home, something is seriously wrong.

Hong Kong is a ticking time bomb, decades in the making. The latest events are just the sparks that lit the fuse. What culminated in the explosion we are witnessing can be traced to the colonial government’s policies, or lack thereof.

Is the central government being unfairly singled out as the punchbag? Beijing has a narrow base among Hong Kong business elites. As a nominally socialist party, it has failed to effectively cultivate Hong Kong’s middle class and working class.

The extent of uncontrollable frustration among large swathes of Hong Kong’s population has caught China’s leaders by surprise.

But it should not have been a mystery: class conflict leading to class warfare. That Beijing failed to anticipate, let alone defuse, the crisis would probably earn it a “fail” grade from Marx.

Beijing can allay Hong Kong’s worst fears by addressing its frustrated democratic dreams

Behind its posh facade, Hong Kong is a failed capitalist experiment with glaring social inequalities. The radicalised youth will not be pacified unless there is a major renegotiation of the social contract.

The path is full of almost insurmountable obstacles, in a political landscape where business elites naturally defend their vested interests. But unless they can see the broader picture, there may be little left to defend eventually.

Unlike the case of Singapore, the people of Hong Kong have always relied on their resourcefulness rather than the superior wisdom of the state. While waiting for the government to act, what can Hong Kong’s youth do constructively? Beyond speaking up (and turning violent) and leaving, is there another way?

It is the ultimate irony that in the middle of the Greater Bay Area — perhaps the world’s most dynamic metro region, drawing the best and brightest from all over China and the world — we witness the depths of despair among Hong Kong’s youth.

Many young people from the mainland and other parts of the world would love to have the opportunities available to Hong Kong’s youth.

It is perhaps unrealistic to expect most of them to fully identify as Chinese. But between a narrow “nativist” city identity and a broad “patriotic” national identity, is there a middle ground?

If Hong Kong’s younger generation, at least the more capable or affluent, can seriously consider emigration, why not consider the Greater Bay Area — where many on the mainland side already enjoy a higher standard of living than Hong Kong residents?

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Other than being a Hongkonger or Chinese, can Hong Kong’s youth think of themselves as internationally connected “Bay Area people”? While the Hong Kong government, its business elites and Beijing must all do their part to address the legitimate needs of the young, these people must also seize the economic opportunities available at their doorstep.

Hong Kong’s economic ills have been left unaddressed for far too long. There can be no complete solution unless we all start thinking outside the Hong Kong box.

When asked about the future of Hong Kong, I once said that there is a future for Hong Kong but not necessarily for its youth. I was wrong. Unless we give Hong Kong’s youth hope, there is no future for Hong Kong.

Winston Mok, a private investor, was previously a private equity investor