It is encouraging to note that the Hong Kong government is seeing the need to listen more to public opinions, especially those from the so-called "post-80s" generation.

The drive is spearheaded by Chief Executive (CE) Donald Tsang. At his behest, the CE office is in the process of establishing a new channel of communications with the public on the Internet. What's more, Tsang is said to have encouraged the heads of various government departments to follow his example.

This is good because the string of recent events, including the protests against the tearing down of the old Star Ferry Pier on Hong Kong Island and the building of the high-speed railway, are seen to have shown up the government's shortcoming in soliciting public support for its major projects. These protests were especially unsettling because they stemmed mainly from the widespread discontent of the younger generation Hong Kong people.

Primary among those issues that trouble young people is the widening wealth gap resulting from an economic structure that denies the vast majority of the people a "fair" share of economic prosperity. Understandably, they feel angry at the perceived social injustice and worry about their own futures.

Showing a willingness to listen to their complaints is not enough to ease the deepening concern of our young people. The government must take firm action to show its resolve in addressing the social and economic imbalance that is the root cause of public discontent, which has manifested time and again in public protests against major government policies as well as many seemingly trivial matters.

We hope that young people can use the open channel provided by Tsang to convey to the government their primary concerns so that it can produce a development blueprint with specific proposals to address those concerns. That's the only way anything good can come out of Tsang's latest effort.

The author is a staff writer.

(HK Edition 08/10/2010 page2)