Brian Y. S. Wong

Opinion | World beyond Greater Bay Area also holds promise for Hong Kong youth

While the Greater Bay Area is an important part of Hong Kong’s future, it is not necessarily right for every young person in the city

There are also opportunities to be had in major mainland cities like Beijing and Shanghai, rising inland provinces, Southeast Asia and the wider world

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Brian Y. S. Wong

Published: 6:45am, 13 May 2022

There is no doubt that Hong Kong’s young people are having a tough time right now, facing difficulties that are both long-standing and structural. From unaffordable housing and a constricted employment market – with limited diversity, given people’s reticence to go into local politics – to the mental health crisis exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong youth are struggling.

The standard response appears to be to trot out the Greater Bay Area as a panacea. Don’t have a job? Sick of Hong Kong? Can’t afford your rent? Go to the Greater Bay Area.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a sceptic. As a pillar of Hong Kong’s economic trajectory, it is vital that the city’s leadership ensures our financial and legal industries not only complement the 86 million-strong megalopolis of which we are a part, but also help to steer it. The Greater Bay Area offers Hong Kong firms and investors a substantial market and stimuli that ought to compel our domestic re-industrialisation.

Yet, it is simply not the answer for every Hong Kong youth. First, many cities in the area have well-formed, saturated and highly sustainable internal economies which have limited appetite for newly arrived Hongkongers. Second, significant cultural and lifestyle differences remain between Hong Kong youth and their counterparts to the north.

Finally, a healthy dose of realism is needed. While the Greater Bay Area might be suited to the cream of the crop among our tech, start-up and entrepreneurial talent, the relatively low wages in other sectors render it a tough sell for young people seeking to balance career development on the mainland with working towards buying property here.

02:35

China's ambitious plan to develop it own ‘Greater Bay Area’

For the future of all of Hong Kong, there must be other options available beyond the Greater Bay Area. I am certain many in the incoming administration are well aware of this.

Opinion | World beyond Greater Bay Area also holds promise for Hong Kong youth

While the Greater Bay Area is an important part of Hong Kong’s future, it is not necessarily right for every young person in the city There are also opportunities to be had in major mainland cities like Beijing and Shanghai, rising inland provinces, Southeast Asia and the wider world

While the Greater Bay Area is an important part of Hong Kong’s future, it is not necessarily right for every young person in the city

There are also opportunities to be had in major mainland cities like Beijing and Shanghai, rising inland provinces, Southeast Asia and the wider world