Youth IDEAS

Since the reform and opening up, China has made significant progress in many areas, but also faces considerable challenges. As part of the nation, Hong Kong has benefited from the nation's development and has consistently left its mark on the nation's development process. Under the "One Country, Two Systems" principle, Hong Kong's development is closely intertwined with that of the nation; the nation has provided clear guidance in various policy documents on Hong Kong's better integration into the overall national development strategy. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Hong Kong's younger generation plays a crucial role in national development. How they view their relationship with national development, their intention to participate in national construction, and their evaluation of current measures for youth participation are timely and important topics worthy of attention from everyone concerned with youth development, Hong Kong's future, and the nation's prospects.

This study aims to take advantage of the above background to understand the national development perspective of Hong Kong's younger generation from the perspective of youth, as well as the values reflected therein, and to summarize the key factors that influence and encourage youth participation in national development, hoping to provide feasible suggestions for promoting youth participation in Hong Kong.

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Rural areas are fundamental to urban development, and the integration of urban and rural areas contributes to sustainable social development. Many societies encourage public participation in rural conservation; to a certain extent, this participation can provide young people with a channel to understand and build society, and in the long run, it helps strengthen the connection between individuals and society.

Hong Kong has always been regarded as a bustling metropolis, but behind its urbanization, it still retains many rural areas and more than 700 villages, some of which have a long history. These rural areas and villages are an important part of Hong Kong's social environment and also constitute the city's historical, natural and cultural landscape.

With increasing attention to sustainable urban and rural development, coupled with the growing popularity of in-depth cultural tours in Hong Kong after the pandemic, some previously sparsely populated rural areas have attracted many people to explore in recent years. Some non-governmental organizations and schools have also launched related projects and activities, among which young people are involved.

In recent years, the Hong Kong SAR Government has proposed the Northern Metropolitan Area (Northern Metropolitan Area) plan, with planning principles including "urban-rural integration." The Northern Metropolitan Area boasts abundant blue-green ecological resources, cultural resources, and rural traditions, and is a new engine for Hong Kong's future development; the SAR Government states that this is a long-term vision.

The current Hong Kong SAR Government attaches great importance to strengthening the connection between young people and the government through various channels, and all sectors are committed to promoting youth participation. This study aims to understand young people's views and experiences of participation in the conservation of rural areas in Hong Kong, hoping to identify key elements that can help encourage or sustain the participation of aspiring young people, and to provide feasible suggestions on further promoting youth participation in the sustainable development of urban and rural areas in Hong Kong, as well as exploring new ways for youth to participate in society.

Effective local governance is crucial for promoting people's well-being and maintaining good government administration. Communities are closely related to citizens' daily lives and are where the government implements public policies and provides services; whether this work is effective, whether it reflects grassroots public opinion, whether it can solve residents' problems, and whether it can encourage citizens to actively participate, directly affects the quality of life of the general public.

The District Council elections are approaching (December 2023); this is the first district election under the current government's comprehensive district governance plan. District Councils have always been an important platform for citizen participation in district affairs and a crucial organization assisting the government in implementing district governance. Under the new circumstances, this District Council election will become a focal point in the city. This study aims to take this opportunity to explore, from a youth perspective, the relationship between the younger generation and the community, their understanding of district governance, and their expectations of the District Councils, thereby summarizing youth attitudes and obstacles to participating in district affairs, and hoping to provide feasible suggestions for promoting youth participation in district governance in Hong Kong.

There are numerous youth uniformed groups across various regions dedicated to nurturing the next generation. In Hong Kong, youth uniformed groups have a long history. Currently, there are 11 non-governmental uniformed groups funded by the Home Affairs and Youth Affairs Bureau, and 8 youth uniformed groups in the disciplined and auxiliary services of the Security Bureau; together, they have approximately 280,000 youth members.

The current SAR government places great emphasis on youth development, mentioning in its first Youth Development Blueprint the encouragement of more young people to join uniformed teams. Participation in uniformed teams has always been a popular extracurricular activity for young people. With societal changes and the government's increasing focus on promoting uniformed team development, what are the attitudes and expectations of the younger generation regarding participation? How can youth development efforts more effectively address the needs of this new generation?

This study aims to understand the latest situation of local youth participation in uniformed teams from a youth perspective, and to explore the role of participation in promoting youth development by understanding their attitudes and experiences. It also hopes to provide feasible suggestions on how to make better use of this platform to promote future development work.

Under globalization, there is an inseparable relationship between different regions; global issues, whether they are geopolitics, economic development, climate change, or even public health, require cooperation from all regions to solve; young people have an overall view and understand the world's development trends. It is crucial to take a broad view of things. 

Vision is important navigation for any organization. Relevant United Nations documents point out that the government's shaping of vision can enhance the sense of responsibility of decision-makers, and the participation of stakeholders from different backgrounds in vision construction can help bring new knowledge to public governance; it will be beneficial to the sustainable development of society and the government's move towards good governance in the long run.

The rule of law is extremely important to the civilizational progress and stable development of society. The law regulates appropriate relationships and behaviors between the government, individuals, and interpersonal relationships; everyone is a stakeholder in the rule of law. The rule of law indicator in the "World Governance Indicators" compiled by the World Bank covers citizens' degree of compliance with norms, confidence in the implementation of norms, and perceptions of law enforcement and judicial institutions.

Good public governance relies on excellent governance talents and talent reserves. In Hong Kong, governance talents come from many sources.

Hong Kong has experienced multiple waves of immigration in the past, mainly involving special social backgrounds such as future negotiations, political turmoil or confidence crises. In recent years, anti-amendment protests have triggered a series of social incidents in Hong Kong, revealing that deep-seated social conflicts have not been properly resolved and have once again aroused public concerns about the future of Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, the advisory and statutory bodies system has been in operation since the 1940s. Article 65 of the Basic Law stipulates that the original system of establishing advisory organizations by administrative agencies will continue to be retained. Since its establishment, the SAR Government has continued to use relevant systems to appoint members of the public to join advisory and statutory organizations; these organizations are one of the important channels for the public to participate in public affairs. Referring to the information on the government website, there are currently about 4,600 members of the public appointed to serve about 440 advisory and statutory organizations in Hong Kong 1 .