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In his maiden Policy Address, the Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa indicated that youth in Hong Kong could take up a more active role in building up the SAR. According to a newly released youth survey commissioned by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, more than 40 per cent of the young respondents did not know what they could do in playing such an active role. Approximately 30 per cent said they would make greater effort in studying or working while another 28.6 per cent would attend voluntary work and concern more about social affairs.
Of the total 584 young respondents aged between 15 and 29, over half of them wished that they would be provided with more education and working opportunities so as to facilitate their active role in building the community. Another 40 per cent hoped that the government would listen to youth opinions and provide them with more opportunities to participate in social services.
According to the findings, only one in ten youngsters would like to express their views on the Policy Address. For those who planned to do so, most of them would share their opinions with friends or relatives.
When asked to evaluate the Policy Address in a 1-100 scale, young respondents gave an average of 57.8 marks while the Chief Executive's performance gained an average of 60.6 marks, compared to 60.2 marks in September.
As revealed in the survey, economic confidence remained much higher among the youngsters. If 100 indicated total confidence, the young respondents gave an average of 72.4 marks on Hong Kong's economic development. It was followed by 67.6 marks on the development of the rule of law and 61.8 marks on social justice. Youth's confidence in democratic development scored the lowest marks at 60.
In regard to the content of the Policy Address, over 30 per cent of the young respondents considered social welfare policy the most unsatisfactory. It also showed that nearly half of the young respondents were most satisfied with the policies on housing and education. About one-third of the young respondents believed that the ability of their family to afford to purchase a flat would be higher in five year's time.
On question about the implementation of quality education, most of the young thought that priorities should be given to improving teachers' qualification, teaching skills and school facilities. Around half of the respondents hoped that teachers' training in computer knowledge would be enhanced in order to assist the students in learning information technology.
The telephone poll was conducted from 13 to 17 October. The success rate was 33.5 per cent whereas the standard error was less than 2.2 per cent.
Youth Opinion Polls No. 48
