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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL-2nd October 1969.
[MRS LI] Motion
not made into public scandals in open courts by the freedom of the press. The present JP Courts may be considered for such duties temporarily until such courts can be properly constituted. The Justices of the Peace may even find their duties in redressing an injustice more rewarding and worthwhile than the routine of imposing fines for minor traffic offences by batches of 10 or 20 at a time.
For many years to come, the accent on youth will continue to occupy our attention. The intensive participation
The intensive participation of Government and voluntary agencies in the summer programme proved quite effective in keeping million of our young people actively occupied. Summer jobs in Government Offices, firms and industries gave the young people valuable experience and brought them closer to society. However, I understand most of the participants were students and I wonder how successful we were in involving the large group of youngsters not in school and unemployed in our activities and in our effort to channel them into industries where manpower is urgently needed? Evidently our next effort must be concentrated on this phase in our future summer programmes. Industries must be urged to take a more active part in this mass effort for provision of training courses and job opportunities. At present, most factories and trades undermine one another by drawing skilled workers to themselves by offering higher wages, but few offer any training programme for their own operatives.
The fact that our community is a young men's world brings with it necessary changes in ideas, policies and way of life. Young people want to play a part in the social, cultural and political life of the society they live in. In order that young people may intelligently discuss our local affairs prior to their actual participation, they must be well-informed of the structure of our Government, facts about our economic and other developments, social service facilities, and many others. Civics, therefore, should be included in every school curri- culum. Open discussions on local affairs and guidance by the school in student organizations for training in committee proceedings should become part of the school life. Participation of young people in committees of voluntary public organizations, welfare agencies and Government committees should become a way of life for the Hong Kong of tomorrow.
Two other aspects of problems of youth also need our attention. One is the opportunity for higher education, and the other is the protection of young people from possible exploitation and moral danger. Every year twice as many young people leave Hong Kong for higher education abroad than the number of acceptances into our 2 universities. Some consider this as a brain drain, others regard it as a wonderful training opportunity and exchange of culture. Our