Survey Finds Most Youth Unclear on Five-Year Plan
AM730 · 1 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A survey released by New Prospect found widespread detachment among young people from Hong Kong’s policy agenda, especially the government’s first five-year plan for 2026 to 2030 . Nearly eight in 10 respondents said they had heard of the plan but did not understand it, and more than 60% said they lacked interest in participating in policymaking . The research team said the findings point to a serious sense of political apathy and a crisis of trust among youth . It called on the government to replace public consultation guidelines that have been used for more than 20 years with a more interactive, social media-based approach .
Key Points
- The questionnaire collected views from 315 young people aged 35 or below between July 14 and July 27 this year .
- Some 77.4% said they had heard of the SAR government’s First Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) but did not understand it .
- Another 60.6% said they were not interested in participating in policy processes, with younger respondents showing even stronger disengagement .
- Among respondents aged 15 to 19, only 4.9% said they were very interested in public policy issues .
- Interest in joining Northern Metropolis development was the lowest, while fewer than 10% were willing to pursue development opportunities in the Greater Bay Area .
Why It Matters
If younger residents remain disconnected from long-term planning, the government may struggle to build support for major development strategies and cross-boundary integration policies . The findings also suggest that communication style, trust-building and follow-up mechanisms may matter as much as policy substance when officials try to engage the next generation .