TNAG-1730-FCO40-2443-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 111

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young people, instead of emphasizing academic achievements? Are our manpower policies optimising young persons' potentials through career guidance, or are they only policies of labour supply and demand?

The answers to these questions reveal a significant

young people fact. While our social policies include youth among secial services targets, none of them are geared towards meeting the ever-changing needs and aspirations of youth. At a time when one

of our population are undergoing a critical period in their

lives, searching for working skills, moral values and self dignity and

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Sir,

identity, our society has paid little attention to their problems that have been misinterpreted in terms of juvenile delinquency, drugs and school drop-outs affecting only the minority. In this regard, the principles listed in the Report on Youth Policy have succeeded to articulate the long felt needs of youth, putting into proper perspective the rationale behind a youth policy for Hong Kong which was first proposed in 1972. Here, I wish to stress that as Hong Kong goes through

the transitional period before 1997, the overriding principle of our youth policy ought to be to equip youths who are the pedestal of Hong Kong society to become our future leaders. Sardonically, Sir, our discussion on constitution reforms so far have not focussed attention on how to facilitate the

participation of young people in the development of government policies that will be affecting them.

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that is,

I also subscribe to the call made by the Report for Government to make long-term commitment to youth development, since this commitment will signify public investment placed in youth, which will, in turn, help young people to commit themselves to Hong Kong. However, I would go one step further beyond the theoretic framework presented by the Report, to urge Government to translate these principles into directives, filtering down to the administrative level. This way, policy

decisions will be made with special emphasis on young people, not when necessary and justified, but as part and parcel of

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