【明報專訊】◆

Source A

Happiness indexes for Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea (see table)

◆Interpretation

The table presents the happiness indexes and levels of satisfaction with a number of aspects in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, with further classification by age group. When answering the following questions, it is necessary to sum up the phenomena displayed in the table, otherwise marks will not be awarded.

■Questions and answering guidelines

1. Explain the phenomenon displayed in source A.

Summarising the phenomenon displayed in source A takes more than turning the information into words. You are advised to make general classification and comparisons of the happiness indexes of the three regions, identify the age group most dissatisfied and identify the aspects of life with which the respondents were most satisfied and dissatisfied. It can be seen that Hong Kong people were most unhappy about housing. Remember to include data in your analysis.

2. “To make citizens less dissatisfied, the government should give priority to Hong Kong people when formulating policies.” Do you agree?

This question is about in what direction the government should formulate its policies. You should make good use of the information as well of your own knowledge to answer this question.

Those who agree can discuss why Hong Kong people should be given priority. For example, since local residents' economic contribution and social networks are of great importance to Hong Kong, it is reasonable to give them precedence when formulating policies or allocating resources. You can also argue, by citing the information provided, that Hong Kong people's dissatisfaction with society stemmed from policies' failure to benefit Hong Kong people. As shown by source A, Hong Kong people were most unhappy with the housing problem, as many investors from outside the city heavily invested in Hong Kong's property market, pushing up property prices.

Those who disagree can explain why Hong Kong people might not be appeased by policies that privilege them. Take housing. If the government only increases private land supply but fails to increase the supply of public housing dramatically, young people might still find apartments unaffordable, and the housing problem might remain unresolved. In fact, some investors from mainland China have no problem paying the high taxes and continue to invest in Hong Kong properties. Furthermore, citizens also have grievances about politics and the environment, which the government must take into consideration when formulating policies. Policies that overly favour Hong Kong people might also be in violation of the principles of free market economics.

Text：徐溯，liberal studies teacher at Lok Sin Tong Leung Kau Kui College

Translation：Terence Yip

[通通識 第554期]