COVID-19 pandemic: Experts alert Hong Kong govt about social unrest among youth

They raised the alarm after an unpublished survey by two universities found that nearly 90 per cent of students had no confidence in the government, and described their simmering grievances as a “powder keg waiting to go off”, wrote Lilian Cheng and Tony Cheung in their article published in South China Morning Post.

As a short-term solution, authorities should ensure students return as soon as possible to classrooms and sports to help ease the psychological stress arising from confinement during the health crisis, experts in adolescent development said. Longer term, top officials should further open avenues for young people to play a greater role in shaping public policy through joining the ranks of advisory bodies, pro-establishment voices suggested as mentioned in the article.

Paul Yip Siu-fai, chair professor at the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) department of social work and social administration has alerted that authorities should not feel that students' animosity have died down as they are no more protesting on road.

“A [lack of protests] does not mean that the anger of our young generation towards the government has been solved,” he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

“They are just suppressing their feelings. In fact, we can see signs that young people’s level of dissatisfaction is rising due to the pandemic," he said.

“Students are trapped at home, with limited social interactions, and the government has done little to consider their mental growth during such a difficult time,” he said.

In their survey of 250 students last year, Chinese University Professor Angel Lai Hor-yan and HKU Professor Terry Lum Yat-sang found 87 per cent reported having no confidence in the government, reports the newspaper.

“We seem to have accumulated a lot of gunpowder, but we have not tried to defuse the bomb yet,” Lum said on Sunday. “Maybe it will only take a spark to cause another big explosion.