雙語社評齊齊聽

英語 (足本收聽)

普通話 (足本收聽)

【明報專訊】NOT UNTIL she had been asked a great many times to unveil her comprehensive platform did Carrie Lam, who wants to stand for Chief Executive (CE), do so. When it was prepared, much ink was spilt to stress her new style of governance. The platform mentions a desire to rebuild social harmony and an intention to invite young people to comment on and participate in the administration of the territory.

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千呼萬喚始出來，特首參選人林鄭月娥公布全面政綱，花了不少筆墨強調管治新風格，提出要重建社會和諧，又邀請青年議政參政。

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Every person who has been head of the SAR government has said he regards young people's opportunities of upward mobility as important. Ironically, over the past decade, there has been a tendency for young people's "downward mobility" to worsen. Local academic studies show that, between 2001 and 2011, young people's median income fell, and middle-class jobs became markedly scarcer. In recent years, unemployment has been quite low, and Hong Kong now boasts what is almost full employment. On the face of it, young people do not lack job opportunities, but it is another matter whether they can find good jobs, achieve their own wishes and move upwards. It is hard for them to find ladders of promotion at work and, property prices remaining high, there is little hope that they can buy their own homes. Furthermore, Hong Kong's political system is hardly democratic. It is therefore understandable that young people harbour discontent. As for the SAR government's support for them, it is clearly inadequate. The authorities have set up a Commission on Youth, which advises the CE on matters concerning young people, but most of the "young people of outstanding talent" sitting on it are wealthy people's children or grandchildren. That has led to suspicions that the body may not be "down-to-earth". No government agency centralises the implementation of the government's youth policy, and it rests with such bodies as the Home Affairs Bureau and the Labour and Welfare Bureau to do so. Many departments are involved, whose efforts are not coordinated. Is there any reason why youth affairs can be satisfactorily handled?

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歷任特首均表示重視青年人向上流動的機會，諷刺的是，過去10多年「青年向下流」的情况，卻有惡化之勢。本地學者研究發現，2001至2011年間，青年收入中位數下降，社會上的中產職位亦顯著減少。香港失業率近年頗低，接近全民就業，表面上青年似乎不乏工作機會，然而能否找到優質工作，實現個人理想和向上流動，卻是另一回事。年輕人在工作上難覓晉升階梯，在樓價高企下難望置業，加上政治制度有欠民主，感到不滿可以理解，至於特區政府對青年的支援亦明顯不足。當局雖然設有青年事務委員會，就青年事務向特首提供意見，然而當中不少「青年才俊」都是富二代、富三代，惹來「離地」質疑。政府沒有一個部門集中統籌處理青年政策，而是分散由民政事務局、勞工及福利局等跟進。政出多門協調不足，青年事務焉有能夠辦好之理？

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Several people who want to stand in the next CE election have had regard to young people's resentment. It is of course a good thing for them to stress heeding young people's voices, but what one participates in matters more than the way one participates in it. No plan to bring some young people into the framework of advisory bodies as decorative vases would go a long way towards abating young people's resentment against the government. Hong Kong's framework of advisory bodies came into being when it was under British rule. After the territory had seen the 1967 riots, the Hong Kong British authorities, realising they had rarely compared notes with Hongkongers, adopted what is called a strategy of "administrative absorption of politics" to allow people's voices to be heard at various advisory bodies' meetings. They did so in the hope of making their governance more acceptable. However, since it was their primary concern to maintain stability and prevent another riot involving large numbers of young people, they never formulated any youth policy characterised with far-sightedness. Administrative absorption of politics proved quite successful in the 1970s and 1980s because the generality of citizens were then apathetic towards politics. Now ideas of democracy are all the rage, that strategy, which became ineffective in maintaining stability a long time ago, is out of keeping with the times.

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今次特首選舉，多位參選人都有關注到年輕人的不平和怨氣。特首參選人強調廣納青年聲音，當然是好事，不過比起參與的形式，參與內容更為重要，若只是找青年進入諮詢架構充當花瓶點綴，對紓減新一代對政府的怨氣，不會有多少效果。香港的諮詢架構制度始於港英時代，六七暴動後，港英政府有感與民間缺乏溝通，遂採取所謂「行政吸納政治」策略，把一些民間聲音納入各式諮詢機構之內，盼為管治增加認受性，不過由於港英政府最關心的只是維穩，防止再有大批青年暴動，故此從沒制訂具遠見的青年政策。行政吸納政治在1970、80年代相當成功，皆因市民普遍對政治冷感，可是在民主意識高漲的今天，「行政吸納」早已失去維穩效用，不合時宜。

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Not only do young people want now to live better lives, but they also embrace strong ideals and ardently crave democratic participation. Any plan to include young people into Hong Kong's framework of advisory bodies with the sole object of maintaining stability and in the hope of making the younger generation more "amenable to instructions" is bound to end in failure. Both Carrie Lam and John Tsang have to make it clear to citizens how they would make sure that young people's participation would actually affect policy-making and convince them that their proposals are not just public-relations gimmicks of little consequence.

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現今青年人不僅希望改善生活，更胸懷強烈的理想主義和民主參與訴求。倘若吸納青年人進入諮詢架構，目標只是為了「維穩」，希望令下一代變得較為「聽教聽話」，注定失敗收場。無論林鄭還是曾俊華都有必要闡明，如何確保青年人的參與，能夠真正影響政策制訂，不會只是搔不着癢處的公關手段。

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明報社評2017.02.28

Presented by lecturers of Hong Kong Community College, PolyU and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Mr NG, Raymond Wai-man

Lecturer

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/language_communication/NG,_Raymond_Wai-man-140.html

邱蔚

助理講師

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/language_communication/QIU,_Tina_Wei-367.html

【Bilingual Editorial】