ABSTRACT
As a result of the mostly youth-led protests in the 2010s, social attitudes toward young people in Hong Kong were often hostile and denigrating. Young people were often called faicing (useless youths/young losers) and castigated as irresponsible and lazy. This chapter explores this generational rift, arguing that, aside from political differences, there were also many class and social factors behind the fractious relationship between young people and their elders. Instead of the hierarchical capitalist values on which Hong Kong operates, many young people had embraced egalitarian ideas, such as social and political justice, which also were at odds with the governing principles in Hong Kong under the NSL. The government pushed educational reforms to attempt to foster patriotic sentiments toward China and to eradicate inappropriate ideas among young people. Many young people considered this as a violation of their freedoms and swore to “dau coeng meng (see who can outlive who)” with the authorities.
