Youth IDEAS, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups’ think tank, has called for a dedicated youth chapter in Hong Kong’s five-year plan. It says the chapter should identify youth-specific policy areas and set out concrete measures, rather than leaving young people to work out how broad planning goals apply to them.
The proposal reflects the concerns identified in a study released on September 13. In a Youth IDEAS survey, 52.4% of respondents ranked people’s livelihoods and social development as their top priority among the plan’s consultation areas. Respondents also raised high living costs, housing pressure and competition for jobs, while rating their satisfaction with their current living conditions at an average of five out of 10.
The study was based on an online survey of 657 people aged 15 to 34, conducted from July 15 to 28, as well as four in-person focus groups involving 23 young people and interviews with three experts.
Youth IDEAS said the plan’s public explanation was not sufficiently useful at that personal level. About 61.7% of respondents regarded the government’s explanations as inadequate, while focus-group participants said official discussions concentrated on broad visions without showing enough about the implications for their own development.
The group recommended testing youth impact assessments for medium- and long-term policies, so that the effects on young people could be considered alongside wider policy planning. It also proposed youth-development indicators and stronger two-way communication and feedback about the five-year plan. These are recommendations from Youth IDEAS, not measures announced by the government.
Its Northern Metropolis proposal is similarly practical: create a youth-friendly zone with dedicated facilities and support to encourage young people to live and develop there. In the survey, respondents considering the area highlighted living facilities, an environment supporting work–life balance and transport links between the north and south as important factors.
John Poon, convenor of Youth IDEAS’ youth development and engagement group, said a youth chapter would signal that the government was willing to invest actively in young people and would make the plan’s specific policies clearer to the public.
The useful test of the proposal is therefore not the label of a new chapter, but whether any government response attaches clear indicators, youth impact assessments and concrete facilities to it—especially in the Northern Metropolis.