The HKSAR Government strives to “tell Hong Kong’s story well” and to impress the world that “Hong Kong is back” to the international stage. But is the world still as friendly to and appreciative of today’s Hong Kong as before? The city suffers from an international image problem. Western countries are largely skeptical of her under the new political order. In the past Hong Kong could comfortably embrace both China and the West. As global geopolitics worsen and US-China hostility escalates, Hong Kong is caught in a dilemma: for suspicious patriots, she is too Western-friendly; to the doubtful West, she is too Chinese. Can Hong Kong demonstrate that her strategic distinctness and connectivity remains intact?
In the 2022 Policy Address, Chief Executive John Lee echoes the point made by President Xi Jinping that “Hong Kong will prosper only when its young people thrive” (青年興則香港興). The government aims to assist young people in overcoming hurdles in education, employment, entrepreneurship, and home ownership. It will also encourage youth participation. Yet, according to a survey conducted by the Youth I.D.E.A.S think tank of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (report, July 2022), only 37.9% of the youth respondents are optimistic about their own prospects and 46.9% are pessimistic about the future development of Hong Kong. Does the government have a good grasp of what our young people care and are worried about? How can we give hope to them so that they have something to strive for?