Hong Kong’s Cursed Gen To Head East?

PRC Pres Xi’s stone-faced pose in trip to Hong Kong reminding its folks his stone fist will come down on them if they resist Chinese rule fits well with WSJ’s “Young People’s Hopes Fade 25 Yrs After Handover From UK.”

So depressed are Hong Kong’s young today, the paper says, some have taken to calling them “The Cursed Generation.” Cited as an example is one Khloe Ho who is to turn 25 in November but saving up to move away from her Sweet Home Hong Kong since “career opportunities are limited,” the city is suppressing civil liberties and enforcing unpredictable, if not lockdown-like pandemic policies that seem to never end. President Xi’s recent visit “celebrating” the PRC’s unshared rule over Hong Kong & asking for more “loyalty” was partly to reassure these kids that there’s a future for them with their new masters but … those stories their parents tell them about relative freedom they enjoyed when the British helped run things isn’t going to compare favorably.

A Chinese University of Hong Kong poll last year found that close to 60% of 800 respondents between 15 and 30 years old hoped to leave for other places if they had the chance. Low wages, high unemployment rates and suspicions the best jobs are going to “mainlanders” and “overseas nationals” are all fueling the urge to flee what used to be an attractive city to be born, live and die. In this case, is it possible the motto for The Cursed Generation will be “Go East, Young Man”?

Davd Soul