Government ‘strives to give youth more opportunities’

Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung on Wednesday said more career opportunities await the city’s youth as the new government would create more posts in various fields, including political participation, airline business, culture and cross-boundary trade.

Speaking during a gathering with local media, Cheung said the new administration would highlight youth development in its five-year term, tackling problems young people face in education, job seeking and housing.

Cheung said the government would promote the advisory Manpower Development Committee into a “manpower resources planning committee” which plans and oversees the city’s overall human resources policy during the government term. Cheung will chair the upgraded committee himself.

President Xi Jinping noted that he attached great importance to the development of young people. During his three-day visit in Hong Kong celebrating the city’s return to the motherland he urged the special administrative region government to work on improving young people’s lives.

Elaborating on political participation, Cheung said the government would upgrade the Commission on Youth, an advisory body now chaired by businessman Lau Ming-wai, to a “youth policy commission” chaired by the chief secretary.

The upgrade would help bring in more young people, engaging them in the policymaking process, Cheung explained.

The city’s No 2 official also noted other advisory bodies in the city — statutory or quasigovernmental — would take on more young people. He estimated this would create hundreds of posts for the city’s young people.

Meanwhile, Cheung said the three-runway system at the Hong Kong International Airport, which is expected to deploy a new runway in 2022, would bring about 140,000 new jobs to the city.

Discussing jobs offered in cultural fields, Cheung said with the completion of the West Kowloon Cultural District and Kai Tak Sports Park, talents in culture, sports and creative industries would find themselves well-placed.

In addition to jobs within the city, the government would strive to provide job opportunities outside the city, Cheung added. He hinted that the government was working on plans to build pilot zones in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area cities, where Hong Kong workers would enjoy favorable policies such as tax relief.

Similar practices can be seen in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, where qualified Hong Kong employees are offered a 15 percent income-tax rebate.

Meanwhile, the government would also work with the city’s sole metro operator, MTR, to send young people to work overseas.