- Some 42 per cent of young Hongkongers surveyed frequently or occasionally argued with their parents over past few months, ‘current affairs’ being the major provocation
- Youngsters ranked freedoms as the most important core value, while their parents considered social stability above all
Three in 10 Hong Kong youths have quarrelled with their parents over anti-government protests and other "current affairs" in the past six months, an intergenerational survey has found.
A young respondent said he planned to move away from his parents who held "extreme pro-government views" after they threatened they would ask police to arrest him if he went out to protest again.
A sharp divide in personal beliefs has also opened up along generations, according to the survey, with youngsters saying freedoms are the most important core value for Hongkongers, while their parents prefer social stability.
"Recent protests have triggered vigorous discussions, arguments, and even conflicts between generations, who hold sharply different values," researcher Christine Chan of Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups said at a press briefing on Monday.
"Baby boomers born after the second world war want stability above everything else, while young people born in a more affluent society after the 1990s consider their values and their own way of life as of bigger importance than economic growth."
Social unrest, sparked by fierce opposition to the now-withdrawn extradition bill, has roiled Hong Kong for six months, splitting family, friends and the civil society at large. The opposition to the controversial bill has morphed into a wider anti-government movement focusing on five demands, which include greater democracy and an independent investigation into police's handling of protests.
The survey was conducted by a research panel of the federation in October among 300 youths aged between 18 and 29 and 302 parents aged between 54 and 73.
The results showed 42 per cent of the young interviewees had frequently or occasionally argued with their parents over the past few months, among which 71 per cent said those arguments were over "current affairs".
Hong Kong: a city locked in stalemate with no end in sight
Economic issues, including spending habits, were the second top reason (59 per cent) for having arguments, followed by social life (26 per cent) and academic issues (24 per cent).
In contrast, most people from the older generation, or 56 per cent of those surveyed, said economic and spending issues were the most common topics of arguments, followed by current affairs (42 per cent), social life (23 per cent) and academic issues (21 per cent).
Another key intergenerational difference was in people's personal beliefs, with young respondents ranking freedoms as the most important core value in Hong Kong, which received an average score of 8.18 out of 10, followed by equality (7.96), democracy (7.84), rule of law (7.71) and social stability (7.39).
But, their parents considered social stability to be the most important value (7.77). Freedoms (7.14) and democracy (6.30) came fourth and last respectively.
The research team recommended a host of policies to bridge the gap between people from different generations in the city, including more town hall meetings by newly elected district council members to bring together Hongkongers of all ages.
How peaceful marches escalated to intense violence and a bitterly divided society
"More opportunities of interaction and communication between generations will enhance understanding of each other and lead to fewer arguments," research team convenor Alan Yip Tsz-chung said.
Yip added that most young interviewees and their parents " 76 per cent and 77 per cent respectively " chose "alleviation of housing problems for the young" as the top solution to improve intergenerational relations. The second most popular recommendation for the young people was "listening more to young voices in policymaking" (57 per cent), followed by "more career opportunities for the young" (42 per cent). For their parents, the second most popular policy suggestion was "better welfare support for the elderly" (67 per cent), followed by "more career opportunities for the young" (39 per cent).
The five demands named by protesters were not among the options available in the survey.
Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
