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Hong Kong protests
OpinionComment
Mathias Woo
Mathias Woo

Opinion | How a pop culture revival can save Hong Kong’s frustrated youth

  • One of the main reasons young people are so involved in politics is they lack ways to channel their vigour and thought into creative businesses and innovation
  • The government must recognise the need for sustainable plans to revamp Hong Kong’s creative industries and enrich lives

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Secondary school students wave their phones and cover an eye in support of a woman who was injured, during an anti-government rally in Central, Hong Kong, on August 22, 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE
Mathias Woo
In 2012, protests against moral and national education brought many young people – including secondary school students – onto the streets to participate in politics for the first time. Last year accelerated this phenomenon when even more students joined pro-democracy movements.
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Why are young people so actively involved in politics? Of course, young people around the world have long railed against rigid establishments and democratic regression. It is slightly different in Hong Kong, though, as even early teens are keen to make their voices heard on the streets.

One of the major reasons for this, aside from imperfect education policies, is the decline of pop culture. Unlike those who enjoyed Hong Kong’s pop culture boom in the 1980s and 1990s, young people nowadays lack the opportunities to channel their vigour and thought into creative businesses and innovation. Since 1997, the government’s media and cultural policies have trailed industry developments and failed to modernise.

Pop culture is an important form of soft power. If we look at Japan and South Korea, we notice that both countries have developed long-term strategic policies that actively deploy pop culture. Not only has this created economic benefits, it has offered spiritual sustenance to society and its young people.

Pop culture has become something akin to a new religion in capitalist societies, often serving as a source of guidance, enlightenment and solace. For instance, the concepts of ikigai – having a purpose to live a meaningful life – and craftsmanship are often reflected in Japanese pop culture.

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Hundreds arrested, thousands protest in Hong Kong during first day under new national security law

Hundreds arrested, thousands protest in Hong Kong during first day under new national security law

Hong Kong, on the other hand, has been unable to reap the benefits of pop culture. It seems the government lacks an understanding of its value and has yet to find ways to revive it.

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