【明報專訊】◆Source A

Percentages of young people living with their parents (See picture)

◆Source B

Young people's difficulty in buying a flat has prolonged the time they stay with their parents or made them continue living with their parents even after they get married. First, this has reduced per capita living space. The impact on living quality affects not only those young people, but also the older generation. To save up for a flat, young people reduce spending, which directly lessens the happiness they can find. Young people have to spend less on many items in order to buy property of equal - or lesser - space and quality. A large part of one's salary goes to the down payment and mortgage repayments. As one scrimps and saves, one's disposable income reduces.

The situation in which young people delay moving out from their parents - which stems from the difficulty in buying a flat - also has a positive consequence. That is the reduction of the government's burden of social welfare. Chinese culture attaches great importance to familial relationships. The government has helped create a situation in which two generations have to live together willingly or reluctantly, as a result of which it gets to shoulder less responsibility for caring for the elderly and the young.

An abridged translation of "Young people's difficulty in buying a flat renders parenthood out of the question", written by Vera Yuen and published in Ming Pao on 2 February 2018.

■Questions and guidelines for answering

1. Refer to source A and identify the changes in the proportions of Hong Kong young people living with their parents. (4 marks)

Students need to identify the overall upward trend in Hong Kong young people living with their parents, with extra attention paid to specific important figures. Young people who were single and aged between 20 and 24, for example, were the only age group with a percentage drop in recent years. However, the same age group made up of married young people experienced the biggest percentage increase.

2. With the help of both sources and your own knowledge, illustrate the consequences of young people's difficulty in buying a flat. (8 marks)

Students must remember not to copy from the information contained in the sources even though it is highly related to the question. To demonstrate their ability to sum up and analyze facts, they should instead sum up the information, present it from a different angle and supplement their observations with relevant examples or concepts.

When answering this question, students can identify the relationship between the difficulty experienced by young people in buying a flat - which prolongs their living with their parents - and the change in living quality. They can argue that as more people live in the same space, per capita living space will inevitably decrease, which will lead to poorer living conditions and quality of life.

Familial relationships will also be affected, giving rise to arguments between two generations. The ever-tricky relationship between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law will be further complicated if they live together.

Finally, when discussing the consequences, students have to consider both sides of the situation. As mentioned in source B, one positive consequence is the government's reduced social welfare burden.

Text: 唐金輝，liberal studies teacher at St. Joan of Arc Secondary School

Translation: Terence Yip

[通通識 第527期]