Integration measures benefit HK youth and the country

Two pieces of seemingly unrelated news — the issuance of mainland residence permits to Hong Kong residents and the operation of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link — suggest at least one thing: A bigger world awaits Hong Kong people, particularly local youth. For the many young people who have been complaining of the lack of career opportunities in Hong Kong due to the city’s narrow economic base, both are music to their ears.

In what was widely considered as a policy breakthrough, the central government announced a couple of weeks ago that people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who have been living, working and studying on the mainland for more than six months could apply for a mainland residence permit which would grant the holder access to a wide range of social and public services across the boundary.

Soon after the policy announcement, Guangdong authorities announced that the province would open 386 service points to process residence permit applications from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents. Almost at the same time, the authorities in Fujian province announced similar arrangements that will make 1,217 police stations available for processing applications. Under the new policies, Hong Kong residents with a mainland residence permit will have the same rights as mainland residents regarding employment, social insurance and the Housing Provident Fund, and be eligible for basic public services in medical care, education, culture, sports and legal assistance.

Moreover, residence permit holders can also experience increased convenience in public transportation, hotel accommodation, banking and financial transactions, purchasing tickets for admission to parks and sports and cultural venues, applying for driving licenses, and in obtaining vocational qualifications on the mainland. All these benefits imply that the pull factor for Hong Kong residents to work, study or live on the mainland will be stronger in the future.

Another piece of significant news is that the Express Rail Link will start operation on Sept 23. As a milestone in Hong Kong’s transportation development history, the XRL will directly connect the city with 44 destinations on the mainland, which is far more than the previously confirmed 18 destinations. According to the transitoriented development theory, the transportation system will boost the development and integration of the surrounding areas.

The residence permit service points and the high-speed rail will start operation from September, which is also the start of the new school year. We can imagine that years later when the current students graduate, there will be a bigger world with greater accessibility and more career opportunities awaiting them. We all know that Hong Kong youth are facing quite a few challenges in recent years. On the one hand, the youth are facing an increasingly severe housing shortage and other social problems. On the other hand, their talent is underdeveloped due to the city’s narrow economic base. When the high-speed rail links Hong Kong with the more spatial mainland, the mainland residence permit will facilitate the flow of people across the boundary.

With “Hong Kong’s integration into the overall development strategy of the country” having been established as a national policy, as was spelled out in President Xi Jinping’s report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, economic integration between the two sides could only be enhanced and accelerated. This implies that the mainland expects and welcomes Hong Kong people, especially the youth, to participate in and contribute to national development.

To be in a favorable position to tap the career opportunities expected to be brought about by economic integration, young people must build up their skills while they are still in school. “Leveraging Hong Kong’s advantages to meet the country’s needs” should be the guiding principle for Hong Kong’s young people when they try to sharpen their skills.

As Shakuntala Devi, an Indian mathematical wizard known as “the human computer”, told us, “Education is not just about going to school and getting a degree. It’s about widening your knowledge and absorbing the truth about life.”