A gleaming future for younger generation

Hong Kong's secretary for home and youth affairs says top priority is being given to ensure the city's young people have a key role to play in national development. Oasis Hu reports from Hong Kong.

Editor's note: In this series, China Daily interviews the heads of bureaus and other departments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The heads discuss project plans, prospects, and ways to address the city's current issues and challenges from their perspectives.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is committed to raising a new generation of young people with a global perspective, aspiring mindsets, and positive thinking, who can unleash their full potential in making contributions to the city and the nation.

Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen told China Daily in an interview numerous plans have been drawn up to help Hong Kong's youth develop, including the city's first Youth Development Blueprint, by engaging more young people in public and political affairs, and strengthening cooperation with the Chinese mainland.

She says the development of young people is one of her priorities for the next five years.

Mak joined the government as head of the newly structured Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, taking on youth development in her portfolio. She and her team are close to putting the finishing touches to Hong Kong's much-awaited blueprint for youth development. The plan is aimed at providing hope for youngsters, who are facing soaring housing prices, inability to climb the social ladder, and cramped living conditions.

The blueprint is expected to be released by the end of this year.

"We're studying the views collected from several rounds of public consultations and working with other policy bureaus to see what can be included in the blueprint," says Mak. "Youth policy alone can't say it all for youth development. The (chief executive's) Policy Address also has many features that are salient to youth development in various aspects, such as culture, innovation and technology and investment."

The government will actively diversify the local economy to create a wealth of opportunities for the young generation. "I think young people can see a lot of opportunities offered in the Policy Address," says Mak.

Another approach to engaging young people more effectively is through the Youth Participation Initiative, which will give full play to their strength and involvement in public affairs.

Under the plan, the bureau will expand the Member Self-recommendation Scheme for Youth by tripling the number of participating advisory committees from about 60 to at least 180 within five years.

The program is geared to providing opportunities for young people to participate in public affairs and encourage those aged 18 and 35 to join government advisory bodies.

By September, five phases of the MSSY had been launched, with more than 8,200 applications received. Through the program, about 480 young people have been appointed to advisory and statutory bodies.

In addition, the bureau will designate two new committees on district affairs in all of the city's 18 districts for young people to join through self-nomination. The two committees, one on youth development and civic education, and the other on youth-community building, will reserve about 20 percent of their seats for young people.

This measure will let young people know more about the operation of government departments and the policy formulation process, familiarize themselves with the community, and encourage them to make proposals for governance. What's more, it offers the new bureau the advantage of combining youth work and community work, says Mak.

The HKSAR government will continue to maintain close contact with the Chinese mainland to integrate Hong Kong youths into the country's development. Through the bureau, which was restructured from the Home Affairs Bureau, about 70,000 young people have participated in various collaboration programs in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in the past few years, including internships and youth exchanges.

The bureau also launched the Funding Scheme for Youth Internship in the Mainland to provide sponsorship to nongovernmental organizations in organizing internships on the mainland. This will enable young people to gain a deeper understanding of the labor market, work culture, and career prospects there.

Under the funding program, the bureau started the Guangdong-Hong Kong Internship Program, which was extended to cover all nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area in 2019, benefiting about 1,000 young people.

Once the pandemic has eased, the HKSAR government will continue to expand such programs to offer young people internships, jobs, and help them start businesses on the mainland, says Mak.

The HKSAR government is strengthening ties with youngsters who have joined these programs and is mobilizing them to promote these projects among their peers.