Who will Greet Xi on June 30?

Pupils at Wong Cho Bao School asked to hotel quarantine

There is greater speculation that Chinese leader Xi Jinping will come to Hong Kong on July 1, as school children who will be attending the 25th anniversary handover ceremony will have to quarantine in a hotel for a week.

They won't even be within breathing distance of Xi, but no one's taking any chances, though the chances of cross infection in the hotel is more highly likely!

Parents of Wong Cho Bao School, which is run by the pro-Beijing Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, were asked to sign up their children to greet visiting dignitaries at the airport.

Is Xi the mystery guest on June 30?

The primary school-aged children will have to quarantine on their own! And the government -- well the taxpayers -- will foot the bill.

The notice encouraged parents to sign up their children for this "rare and honourable mission" to greet unspecified visitors at the airport on June 30 and then see them off the day after.

Hmm... so it's Xi, right?

So far there is no word on how many parents have allowed their children to do this "rare and honourable mission"...

Meanwhile a non-profit advocacy group is calling on the next government in Hong Kong to do more to help underprivileged youth.

The Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) urged incoming chief executive John Lee Ka-chiu and his administration to help them climb the social ladder.

SoCO urges next government to help youth

In a small online survey of 100 people between the ages of 15 and 25, almost 60 percent said they chose not to "lie flat", a new slang word to describe young people rejecting the rat race and doing the bare minimum to get by.

But some of the respondents said their financial status and the economic environment had forced them to adjust their expectations.

One is Kacey, a second year university student who is also working part-time. She has given up on her goal of buying her own flat.

"Sadly, when property prices were soaring, [young people's] pay was not increasing much, and it's a reality that we were forced to accept. When I saw the sky-high housing prices, my goal of buying or renting a flat that I am satisfied with, while not having too much financial burden, slowly faded away, so I started to lower my expectations," she said.

"Even if I apply for a public housing unit alone, it would still take years, and I might end up only getting a bed space. Whenever I think about the future, I feel helpless."

Some adjusted their expectations of owning a flat

The bleak reality of the housing situation is too much for any young person to fathom, let alone those in families in financial straits.

What hope do they have of ever making enough money to rent a flat let alone own one when they are already struggling to study the best they can but finances are holding them back.

If Lee wants to engage with the next generation, he should go back to his roots -- his humble roots -- and engage with people like Kacey to figure out how the government can help give a leg up to these people who need hope and a lot of financial support to help them realise their dreams.

Because if security is his priority, then surely ensuring the next generation is cared for should be of prime concern too?