“Youth’s Role in the Hong Kong Economy”
Speech addressing the Inauguration Ceremony of
The Hong Kong Model United Nations Club
Shih Wing Ching
29th March 2014
Good afternoon,
“Youth’s Role in the Hong Kong Economy”
First of all, I must apologize that I have chosen to approach today’s topic in exactly the opposition direction as the organizer may expect. I was asked to say something about “Youth’s Role in the Hong Kong Economy”, but who am I to tell young people what their role should be in the future. One shall always live his own life and choose his own role. Listen to no one, because only you know what is best for you.
It is individualism that makes Hong Kong such a great city, not collectivism or socialism. Thinking too much about the Hong Kong economy will do you no good. There isn’t much you can help. You should think more about your own economic situation. Then your effort may make some changes.
During the 60s and 70s of the last century, a lot of refugees came here from the Mainland. They came here not because Hong Kong provided them a lot of social benefits but we had rule of law that provided protection of property rights. When people know they can keep what they earned safely, they all work very hard. Then the economy will go well without the leadership of great political leaders. We rely more on self endeavor than social re-engineering. In my experience, economic justice can best be won by free men through free enterprise. Political redistributions always have side effects which can bring more trouble to the society.
The problem of Hong Kong now is that there are too many people thinking about the society instead of their personal interest. Solving the problem of a society is never easy. Our society is so complicated; there is no simple answer for a complicated question. Human beings have been arguing for such an answer for hundred of years, but we still could not reach a consensus. Putting too much effort into this issue will only cause more disputes in our society. So why not spend more effort on personal improvement?
The reason is simple. Finding a job for oneself is always much easier than lowering the unemployment rate of the whole society. When more and more people in the society found their jobs, the unemployment rate will surely be lowered. The history of Hong Kong shows that our economic prosperity derived mainly from individual endeavor rather than political reform. That is why I rarely listen to politicians or opinion leaders. They all have their own agenda. Beware of them alluring you to the wrong direction.
Adam Smith said “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them our own necessities but to their advantages.” Therefore, there is no use to talk to the young people about what role they have to play in the Hong Kong economy. They might think that it is only the wishful thinking of the interested parties of the adult world, and hence become reluctant to accept this kind of opinion. Therefore, the only thing that can help our young people is to enhance their self awareness.
I don’t know if you have heard the story of the Flying Dutchman. It is a European legend, about a ghost-ship which after leaving the harbor could never make port again. It is doomed to sail on and on in the ocean forever. Actually it is only a figurative speech of our lives. When we leave our mothers’ wombs, we can never return. We must find our own way, and face the reality. Even for every individual incident, we can only have one chance to choose. For life, there is always one script. You can write the script yourself, but you can never rewrite it. As an old Greek proverb says “One can never step in the same river twice”, because by the time you step in the river again, the water in the river will not be the same, the fish in the river may have grown bigger, and part of the river bank may have been washed away. We all live once. That makes life so precious to us.
If a young man really wants to lead a great life, there are four important questions I think he should ask himself from time to time during different stages of his life, i.e. (i) Who am I? (ii) What is my situation? (iii) Where do I want to go? (iv) How can I get there?
For the first question, you can’t answer it by just repeating your name. It has no content. You shall take yourself as an individual un-identical to either one of your parent. You are their combination, and therefore unique. It is your thought, your choice and your deed that determine who you are now and who you will be in the future. No one but you yourself can give a meaning to your life. So blame no one but hold yourself responsible for it.
As for the second question, you shall not just relate it to geographical position. You must know your historical, political and economic situation before you can have a clear vision of your future. Only then you can evaluate your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and determine where you want to go.
It is always important for a young man to have grand aspiration. Aiming high can induce one’s potential to a higher limit. No one knows how you can get there, because it is your destination, not others’. Therefore you must find the way yourself. With a destination in mind is just like having a star in the sky. You may never reach it, but it guides you the way. I wish you all can find the star in your heart, and God bless you.
Thank you.
(中原集團創辦人施永青在2014年3月29日於香港模擬聯合國協會就職典禮致辭)