I haven’t had much exposure to Hong Kong and her people to verify whether Bryan has suggested is true or biased. But I woefully admit that my countrymen are conditioned to take the safe route. Even now, even if examinations have been de-emphasised for the young, people still pay for their children to take mock exams at tuition centres - because our narrative of success remains largely unchanged. Get stellar grades get a scholarship graduate from college cruise into top positions in the civil service. It’s all about optimising our moves to accumulate as much wealth as possible.

However, I would like to add that our Gen Z n Gen A seem to have a stronger backbone than the rest of us. It isn’t unheard of people who run part-time cafes while pursuing college, or inherit their families’ eateries (f n b is a notoriously hard industry), or become urban farmers. I think while we still overwhelmingly love money (and the conventional paths that take us there), more of us are singing our own tune