For Hong Kong youngsters, protests bring taste of freedom

Many of Hong Kong's older citizens escaped poverty or political persecution on the Chinese mainland, and toiled long hours to give the next generation a better life.

Some now believe their children and grandchildren should be grateful for the status quo in the former British colony, which enjoys civil liberties not seen on the mainland under the deal reached when the city was handed back to China in 1997.

"People think the generation born in the 1990s are idiots, born and raised in a rich era," said Chan. "They think we don't know anything because we've always had easy lives." 

Graduate, get a job, die

But parents fret over their children's future in a city where property prices have skyrocketed in recent years.

The average rent of a tiny 300 square-foot-flat is now some HK$8,000 a month (US$1,030) - while the average monthly graduate salary last year was just US$1,650, job search website jobsDB found.

Rising inequality has fed the protests, with demonstrators angry at a government they believe only looks out for the financial hub's powerful tycoons.

But they also voice frustration at their parents for insisting they focus on getting a good job rather than bothering themselves with politics.

"Graduate, get a job, have a family, buy a house and a car, get old, die," is how 24-year-old Jeff Chua summarised his parents' attitude.

Hong Kong's traditional parenting style, which he described as "very involved", also piles on the tensions - a factor he said stemmed from the fact that many are forced to live at home long into adulthood.

"Every night I come here, my mum still calls me asking when I'm coming home. And I'm 24!" Chua laughed, rolling his eyes.

But strong parenting, he suspects, may also be partly responsible for why the protests have been so remarkably well-behaved, despite the fact that so many young Hong Kongers are enjoying a taste of life away from their parents.

Alcohol is rarely seen at the protest camp, which demonstrators say is a deliberate bid to show they are determined to win free elections, not simply having fun with their friends.

"Seriously," marvelled Chua, "Can you imagine how much beer there'd be at this protest if this was Europe?"