32 Prof. Lui then looked at the issue from an education perspective, pinpointing the value system and definition of “success” that has shaped the youth’s self-worth, irrationally thinking that getting a university degree is a must while rationally recognizing that a university degree is indeed a way to secure higher return in the long run make the youth and their parents stuck in a mono-track. He remarked that the topic is a tall agenda covering a lot of areas that we are not ready to go into. Mr. Brian suggested that the fundamental problem that Hong Kong is its agency that the youth cannot get access to and have their voice heard. The structural problems Hong Kong confronts today are numerous that include foundational stagnation, growing socioeconomic inequalities, and deep uncertainty over the political future as a city. Despite the closer integration with the mainland, the actual sense of proximity and closeness with the mainland has not increased over the past decade. There remains a deep-rooted sense of skepticism and weariness of the mainland, even though it is our country and we are part of China. He presented a pyramid that can capture the problems and challenges that the youth face today, and outline some prospective solutions as to what could be done. During the discussion session of this public policy dialogue series, the speakers addressed concerns and questions raised by different age groups of the audience and represented different prospects of the issues related to youth in Hong Kong, ranging from education to employment and development space of youth in an increasingly divisive complex society. Public Policy Dialogue Series
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