Hong Kong’s first five-year plan released: Generation Z’s anxiety, Chinese terminology and immigration discussion

On September 16, Hong Kong Chief Executive Li Ka-chiu released Hong Kong’s first five-year planning document and annual policy address.

Li Jiachao said that this plan is a blueprint for Hong Kong’s economic and social development in the next five years. Secretary for Education Michelle Choi described that young people play an important role in the implementation of the five-year plan, "not only as beneficiaries of development, but also as builders and successors."

But on the Internet, some young people began to discuss how to leave Hong Kong. They were worried about the planned measures and asked on social platforms: "How much money do you need to save at least?" and "Is there any senior brother or sister who can help junior adults analyze some arrangements?" Someone said, "I know it's too late to think about it (plan) first, but it's better to be late than to wait to die."

Among them, a netizen posted a photo of the ground taken from an airplane with the text: "You have your five-year plan, and I have my immigration plan." The post received more than 10,000 likes.

BBC Chinese interviewed three young people in Hong Kong to learn about their views on the five-year plan and the future of Hong Kong. Some expressed worries about becoming a "second-class citizen" in Hong Kong in the future; others believed that the measures were not as worrying as netizens said, but as the discussion fermented, they began to imagine leaving.

"I don't feel like I'm being considered"

Claudia (pseudonym), 25, works as a clerk in the public sector. In the past, she rarely paid attention to policy addresses. But after the five-year plan was released, her first feeling was uneasiness, worry, and "a little anger."

She had questions about the planning document, from wording to content to practice.

"Hong Kong has always been a free market and capitalist. The emergence of the 'Five-Year Plan' has confused me." After the document was released, she studied it with her friends and found that there were many "Chinese terms" in it: optimization, family leader, first responsible person, and top-level design.

Claudia feels that the style of the report is more and more similar to that of China. "It's very uncomfortable and annoying." "Every word can be read clearly, but I don't know what it actually wants to say."

BBC Chinese used a search tool and found that in documents with about 60,000 words, "deepening" was used 101 times, "optimization" 97 times, "collaboration" 61 times, and "docking" 30 times.

But what really makes Claudia uneasy is the specific content of the plan.

She noted that for the first time, the government proposed measures to promote "payment of government expenditures in RMB." She said that after the social movements in 2019, some foreign-funded companies have withdrawn from Hong Kong. She worries that if the Hong Kong dollar may decouple from the US dollar and be replaced by the renminbi, "what will the future economic development be like?"

According to the five-year planning document, the authorities will explore increasing the use of RMB to settle government expenditures under appropriate scenarios. However, the document did not propose changing the linked exchange rate system or replacing the Hong Kong dollar with the renminbi.

In addition, Claudia believes that the government has not responded to the employment issues that young people are most worried about. Claudia will graduate in 2024 and describes herself as "very lucky" to find a job as soon as she graduates. But she said that a friend of hers has still not found a job after leaving her job more than half a year ago.

According to figures from the Census and Statistics Department, the overall unemployment rate from June to August this year was 3.8%, and the unemployment rate for young people aged 20 to 29 reached 9.1%.

In the five-year plan, the government mentioned the use of AI and other tools to strengthen job matching, and stated that it would import foreign workers appropriately in response to actual social and economic needs while protecting local workers. In addition, the government, together with the business sector, launched the two-year "30,000 Youth Jobs and Internship Scheme".

Claudia believes that the relevant policies are vague and "there is no policy for substantial improvement." In a future that is increasingly aligned with mainland China, she questions how many people the government's measures will ultimately benefit. "If there are job vacancies, will Hong Kong people be given priority?"

Claudia said that in the eyes of the government, the five-year plan is the blueprint for Hong Kong's future development, but "I don't feel that I (young people) have been taken into consideration."

She admitted that as early as after the national security law came into effect, her intention to immigrate was 60%; after reading the five-year plan, her intention rose to "150%." She worries that if she continues to stay in Hong Kong, she may become a "second-class citizen" in the future.

Worry may just be an "emotion"

On the night after the five-year plan was announced, many immigration posts appeared on the social platform Threads, many of which claimed to be "post-2000s" and posted posts seeking opinions on immigration.

18-year-old Jia Qing was one of those who asked for advice. But unlike Claudia, she thinks the measures are not as worrisome as everyone says.

She was not interested in the five-year plan at first, but as the social platform was "washed" by immigration posts, she found that "everyone was very anxious" and began to understand its contents.

After reading it, she believes that young people’s worries are more of an “emotion.” She remembered that last year, the Hong Kong government further relaxed the proportion of non-local students in eight subsidized universities to 50%. At that time, the policy also caused uneasiness among classmates around them, fearing that they would have to compete with mainland students for places. However, Ka-ching reacted calmly to this, believing that the increasing integration of China and Hong Kong is "inevitable and will definitely happen."

During her six years in middle school, she has experienced many changes: general studies have become social studies, students must attend mainland study tours, and flags must be raised every day. "There are a lot of national flags on the streets now. In fact, they are even more exaggerated than those in mainland China."

Regarding the content of the five-year plan, she believes that it is necessary to wait until it is put into practice before the impact can be seen.

Still, discussions about immigration online affected her. When the social movement broke out in 2019, Jia Qing had just entered Form One. Then there was a wave of immigration, and friends around her dropped out of school one after another. Jiaqing began to yearn for life abroad, thinking that "it would be more comfortable and happier."

Currently, Jia Qing is most anxious about not having a BNO passport. She joined the online discussion and asked about other ways to leave Hong Kong. Someone left a message: "Life is capital" and "Immigration is not about whether you have money, it depends on how determined you are."

"Hong Kong seems to be no longer Hong Kong"

The 27-year-old Agua (pseudonym) had the idea of ​​immigrating in the early years, but the plan was ultimately shelved because he had to take care of his family.

She currently works in the social welfare sector. After opening the five-year plan document, the more she read, the more worried she became. "(It feels like) slowly... Hong Kong seems to be no longer Hong Kong."

Li Jiachao has only one year left in his term. Agua said that he originally had hopes and thought that if Li Jiachao was not re-elected, the new chief executive might have a different style. She laughed at her "unrealistic" idea, but now it seems that "it should be getting closer to China step by step, and the specifications may gradually become more and more mainland."

In addition to RMB-related measures, what worries Agua most is the plan to propose mutual recognition of professional qualifications between the two places. The plan mentioned that the construction industry will be the first industry to pilot. The government will also promote the connection of medical services and rules between the two places, and encourage Hong Kong legal professionals to participate in the Greater Bay Area Bar Practice Examination.

Agua is worried that mutual recognition of qualifications will gradually expand in the future. She believes that in the past, the government has implemented many policies to gradually open up mainlanders to work in Hong Kong. She described it as "boiling a frog in warm water" at that time. But when the five-year plan was released, Agua felt that it was "boiled in hot water" - Hong Kong's future development direction seems to have become increasingly clear.

Agua understands the mood of the network. She saw someone mention the movie "Ten Years" again. This is a set of Hong Kong movies released in 2015. The plot of the movie tells the story of Hong Kong's future freedom, rule of law, and language and culture being impacted by the mainland.

Agua once thought about having the next generation, but she could not accept that her children would only speak Mandarin in the future, so she once considered immigrating. Now that her immigration plan is on hold, she is thinking about having children again.

Regarding the development of Hong Kong in the next five years, Agua admitted that she has no expectations, but she is also making plans for herself: to study first and get a license plate to leave a way for the future.

“I don’t rule out the possibility that one day, when I really have no choice but to leave, these ‘grabs’ (things that give me confidence) can all be found abroad.”

Hong Kong’s Generation Z Caught in the Middle

In the past, Hong Kong netizens often said that people born in 1997 were the "chosen generation": they encountered SARS when they graduated from kindergarten, swine flu when they graduated from elementary school, and they encountered social movements and the COVID-19 epidemic when they graduated from university.

After the five-year plan was announced, some netizens lamented: "I always feel that our post-2000 generation is so miserable. We have not seen the best Hong Kong, but we have seen Hong Kong without the worst, only worse."

Claudia feels the same way. She feels that her generation is caught in the middle - when the National Security Law was passed in 2020, she had just entered college, had no money, and "couldn't leave even if I wanted to." It has been two or three years since I graduated and I haven’t had enough time to plan for immigration and money. However, many countries are already tightening immigration policies.

In response to the five-year plan, the Hong Kong Youth Development Council warmly welcomed it. Liang Yuwei, vice chairman of the association, believes that the plan "pays great attention to youth development" and the measures have "clear directions and pragmatic measures". He said that he will continue to actively cooperate with the government to follow up and implement it.

Yang Zhenglong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that the five-year plan and policy report "pay attention to, care for and support young people in every aspect" and create conditions for young people to grow and become talents.

In addition, in response to the five-year plan, the Youth Development Bureau pointed out that the policy address launched measures to "support youth development", which will have a positive impact on youth's employment, development and long-term life planning.