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More than 70 per cent of young people surveyed said that their confidence in HongKong's future development had decreased, when compared with the same period last year.Although 56 per cent thought that the Government had the capability to put the suggestionsproposed in the forthcoming policy address into effect, around 38 per cent thoughtotherwise. Respondents of an older age were more pessimistic than their youngercounterparts in this regard.
The survey demonstrated that the Chief Executive performed the best with regard toInformation and Technology development among the various important policies. In average,he got 60.9 marks in this area. His performance in care for the elderly, in average,scored 58.4 marks. However, young people commented negatively on his performance inimproving the current unemployment problems. He only picked up 44.6 marks, far below thepass mark.
The greatest number of respondents said that they were most appreciative of theGovernment's work on combating speculative activities in stock markets. However, 46 percent said that no Government's work was appealing. Another 10 per cent were disappointedby the Government's performance on the issue of the opening of the new airport at Chek LapKok.
If 0 point indicates the performance as very unsatisfactory, 50 points indicatepass, 100 points indicate very satisfactory, young people gave the Legislative Council anaverage of 56.4 points. The Chief Executive secured 54.4 points. The Government Officialspicked up 54.2 points. The Executive Council got 53.8 points.
More than seventy per cent of young people said that they would pay more attentionto the forthcoming Policy Address because of the current economic turmoil and seriousunemployment problems. However, when asked if they wanted to meet the Chief Executive andshare their opinions, around 57 per cent showed no interest.
The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups conducted this telephone survey from 7 to11 September 1998. A total of 532 young people, aged 15 to 29, were successfullyinterviewed. Of the total 532 respondents, around 50 per cent said that if they were goingto write a letter to the Chief Executive, they would suggest he pay more attention toissues about labor and employment.
Senior Research Officer of the Federation, Mr. Jacky Pang, said that as most youngpeople usually lacked skills and work experience, they might face a more difficult time infinding jobs in the midst of this current economic slowdown. Therefore, it was notsurprising to find that issue about labor and employment was the priority topic to whichyoung people expected the Chief Executive to pay attention.
As the survey found that some forty per cent of respondents wanted to meet theChief Executive and share their opinions, Mr. Pang said that it might be due to thecurrent gloomy economy. He encouraged the Government to pay attention to the participationof young people in social affairs to increase their understanding about the Government, aswell as their sense of belonging of the territory.
Youth Opinion Polls No. 58
