MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): Thank you, Deputy President. The lack of upward mobility for young people has been a problem plaguing Hong Kong for years, which has also given rise to many negative social impacts, including the emergence of anti-social sentiments among young people which had been used to fuel the “Occupy Central” movement and social riots. The Government has previously come up with many ways to foster better development for young people, but they have proved to be ineffective. Currently, the new Government has made great efforts to achieve excellence in governance and it will release the Youth Development Blueprint soon. I hope it will help young people get out of the doom and gloom and return to a bright, healthy and vibrant development path.
As I have been reiterating in the Council, the youth problems originate from the pattern of Hong Kong’s economic development. After Hong Kong’s rapid growth in the 1980s and 1990s, the local economy has entered a mature stage after our return to the Motherland. While the “economic pie” can no longer grow bigger and bigger, it is also impossible to create a large number of quality new jobs. As there is still a long way to go before the middle-aged people who have been promoted at work will retire, young people have fewer opportunities for promotion. In addition, their annual pay increase is limited, and they cannot even find an ideal job. At the same time, they have to face the pressure from high property prices and high costs of living. As young people find their life suffocating, they are naturally unhappy.
Since the riots have subsided, Hong Kong is now administered by patriots, and it is time to resolve the youth problems. The emergence of emigration tides in the past year or so has presented an important opportunity. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, Hong Kong also experienced immigration tides. Due to a brain drain in various industries, local companies made the bold move to promote young people to fill the vacancies. Instead of regressing, Hong Kong has even become an international financial centre and a world metropolis. This shows that young people can make achievements as long as they are provided with opportunities.
Therefore, on the one hand, I agree that Hong Kong should actively attract talents because we need top-notch and internationally connected talents. However, at the same time, we should try to promote young people to higher positions as far as practicable. As I have proposed this year, we should seek opportunities amid crises and capitalize on the recent emigration tides and brain drain to resolve the problem of upward mobility of young people. At present, tens of thousands of mid-level and technical positions have become available, which rarely happens. I suggest that the Government and private enterprises promote more young people to higher positions. For example, the Government and public enterprises should take the lead in breaking the convention and promoting capable young people, and encourage foreign enterprises to hire more local young people by means of financial or tax incentives, so as to create a new trend in society.
In the past, these middle- and senior-level positions required a certain level of experience and years of service, and there were not many vacancies, so it was naturally difficult for young people to get promoted. Given the current emergence of a large number of vacancies, the Government and enterprises may give outstanding young talents with shorter years of service more opportunities. The junior positions vacated after their promotions can be filled by fresh graduates or other young people. The promotion of one level after another can create an upward mobility effect. Therefore, my proposal is worthy of the Government’s serious consideration. Some people may worry that young people basically do not have enough experience to take up these positions. However, with the advancement of information technology nowadays, I think that young people can learn a lot of new knowledge in a short period of time. Coupled with quality training and on-the-job counselling and monitoring, young people can definitely take up these jobs.
In addition, for more than 10 years, I have been suggesting that the Government adopt a proactive strategy to attract enterprises and promote a headquarters economy; one of the reasons is to create quality jobs for young people. Recently, the Government has finally proposed a series of measures to “attract enterprises, investment and talents”, and provide tailor-made plans for enterprises to set up operations in Hong Kong. When the Government implements this policy, I hope that it will simultaneously require these enterprises to hire a certain number of local employees, especially for positions suitable for young people. The jobs in international enterprises can broaden young people’s international perspective and help them understand international affairs, which is a good opportunity to facilitate the upward mobility of local young people. I hope the Government will consider this suggestion.
In addition, I also support young people to look for opportunities in the Greater Bay Area (“GBA”). Some people have argued that it is contradictory to encourage young people to go north to the Mainland while there is a shortage of talents in Hong Kong. I do not think there is a contradiction in encouraging aspiring young people to go north. First, international talent flow is normal. Given Hong Kong’s homogeneous economic structure, other cities in GBA may be more suitable for young people who like culture, creation, art or even have a dream of starting their own business.
Secondly, more Hong Kong enterprises will set up branches in the Mainland, talents who are familiar with the “two systems” are needed to promote cross-boundary connectivity and interoperability.
Thirdly, when young people go north, it does not mean that they will never return to Hong Kong. In fact, they can return to Hong Kong after working in the Mainland for a few years, bringing with them the experience from GBA, which will only be even more beneficial to the integration of Hong Kong and GBA. For this reason, I hope that young people should grasp this opportunity.
Thank you, Deputy President.