Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki chaired the 19th meeting of the Youth Development Commission today, during which members expressed an appreciation for two funding schemes and steps to help young people purchase their own flats.

The two funding schemes that nurture youth positive thinking, introduced by the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB), include the HYAB Funding Scheme for Youth Positive Thinking Activities and the HYAB Funding Scheme for Youth Adventure Training Activities.

Members appreciated that the funding schemes are conducive to young people's whole-person development, enhancing their confidence, and helping them face challenges in life with a positive attitude, thereby nurturing them to become a new generation with a sense of responsibility and an aspiration and willingness to contribute to the development of the country and Hong Kong.

Furthermore, the Housing Bureau (HB) introduced a series of measures to help young people purchase their own flats and achieve upward mobility. These include a plan of action by the Housing Authority (HA) to further assist young people, such as increasing the quota by 1,500 starting from the White Form Secondary Market Scheme 2024, all of which were allocated to young applicants aged below 40, allocating an extra ballot number to young people for the purchase of Home Ownership Scheme flats, etc.

Members considered such measures effective in encouraging young people to move up the appropriate housing ladder and realise the dream of home ownership.

The HB also reported on the Well Being · Start-Up Programme, launched in 2024, which aims to encourage and support young people in pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams.

The HA offered rent-free shops in its shopping centres for a seven-month period for young people to trial their business plans. The programme subsequently extended this vision to private shopping centres, inviting the commercial sector to collaborate in supporting young entrepreneurs and offering participants a three-year staged rental at discounted market rents after the first phase of the programme.

Members concurred that this programme not only provides the community with more diverse shopping experiences through the vitality and innovative ideas of young people but also effectively increases patronage in shopping centres, creating a win-win situation for all stakeholders.

Apart from stressing that the current-term Government attaches great importance to youth development, Mr Chan said that he looks forward to continuing to work closely with all members to build on the Youth Development Blueprint and draw the community together to nurture a new generation of young people with an affection for the country and Hong Kong, and equipped with global perspectives, an aspiring mind-set and positive thinking.