CE pledges attention to youths

CHIEF Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (林鄭月娥) called on youths to participate inpublic affairs even as she vowed to address concerns about their future.
“Our community should understand more about their feelings and needs, give them more support and create room for them to realize their potential,” she said in her maiden Policy Address.
“In the next five years, we will strive to do our best in youth development work by addressing their concerns about education, career pursuit and home ownership, and encourage their participation in politics, as well as public policy discussion and debate.
“In so doing, the younger generation will see hope and opportunities for upward mobility. This will, in turn, help address deep-rooted social conflicts,” she said.
To achieve this, she pledged the following:
‧Increase the overall ratio of youth members in various government committees to 15 percent within the current-term government;
‧Plan the set up of a commission on children in the middle of next year to gather relevant departments and child-concern groups to address issues.
A youth group member said Lam’s youth policy does not respond to the real needs of the young generation. “It’s only a public relations tactic,” she said, noting that youths have no real power as the committees are only consultative. “Officials will also select pro-establishment and pro-Beijing elites as committee members.”

(This article is published on Junior Standard on 19 October 2017)

Policy Address – Connecting with young people
http://goo.gl/ALj6MC

Commission on Youth
http://goo.gl/DC1KtN