TNAG-1734-FCO40-2447-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 318

1366

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 11 May 1988

achievable by other means, youth development is often cast aside, due to lack of incentive. Actually, youth development is not merely valuable as a tool, but carries intrinsic value. Youth development helps personal development and growth, and helps them to realise personal potentials and create good character. So youth development should not be subject to temporal or special constraints. The Government and the community have responsibility at all times to develop youth, only current circumstances have provided additional impetus. Youth development is conducive to social development and youth development is of intrinsic value in enhancing personal development, for these two parallel reasons, it should be recognised and advocated.

In the past, although the Government has made effort and some progress in youth development, there remains a fatal flaw, which is, the lack of positive planning and clearly defined direction. Previously, the Government has not affirmed targets and the direction of youth development in the context of social development. As a result, government programmes and plans for the young people are passive, work targets are often negative. They centre on the prevention problems, rather than the development of youth potential. In the past, there has been a lack of co-ordination between government departments and voluntary agencies in the provision of youth services. That has given rise to duplication, omissions, piecemeal efforts, narrowness in scope and uneven distribution, as well as lack of co-ordination in the provision of services and that has adversely affected the results. Such an approach or philosophy in youth programmes, not only stands in the way of better development, but most important of all, it lags behind current needs. The question that we should ask ourselves today is 'Should Government not clearly indicate its commitment and responsibility to youth development and fulfil it through specific action, and should not the community devote greater and comprehensive discussion to how best to develop our youth?'

The report on youth policy is the result of 18 months work by the Central Committee on Youth. The report affirms the need for specific expectations and requirements in youth development, and concludes that the Government is obliged to make clear commitment towards the future development of youth as well as setting up clear direction and targets and to achieve those targets through more effective deployment of resources and co-ordination.

In considering the needs of young people and the community's expectation of them, I think the emphasis should be placed on the integration of youth needs and social development. There are several focal points in the report concerning youth development, such as, maintaining mental health of young people in an urban environment, promoting their social and political awareness and participation, providing opportunities for international exposure, to widen their breadth of mind and to establish international perspective. To provide more educational opportunities to meet their desire for more education and to envisage the influence of the electronic media on the growth and development of