馮應謙

過去十年，香港青年的政治參與已成為香港社會的主要話題。從早期的保衛天星碼頭，到近年的反水貨示威、本土思潮、2047大限等討論，「中國因素」愈來愈成為關注焦點。本土思潮背後，更核心的其實是青年對「中國」及「陸港關係」的觀察、理解，以至印象，當中不乏對中國的負面觀感。有輿論認為，青年對中國持負面觀感，源於對中國認識不足。然而，主權移交以來，無論是到中國內地交流、考察或實習，香港青年接觸中國的機會其實愈來愈多。那麼，這些接觸經驗到底在多大程度上影響他們對中國的觀感？是更正面還是負面？對中國的認知又在多大程度上令他們更願意在讀書、工作方面跟中國內地有更深入的接觸？這些都是值得探討的問題。

本文透過問卷調查（N = 1,005） 及焦點小組討論，旨在較全面地理解香港青年對中國的觀感，而當青年跟中國內地接觸的經驗豐富了，又如何影響他們對中國的既有觀感。結果發現，「中國經驗」愈豐富的青年，其實愈不看好中國的經濟前景，整體上也不能令他們對中國的觀感較正面。然而，出於純粹實用的、工具的考慮，他們仍然樂意到中國內地短期交流、實習、工作。

The Impact of China Experience on Hong Kong Youth

Anthony Y. H. FUNG

The political participation of young peoplehas been a major topic in Hong Kong society for more than a decade. There hasbeen a particular focus on their growing negative attitude towards China, whichhas been a common element behind various incidents of political protest byyoung people. It has been said that the negative attitude of young peopletowards China is due to their ignorance of the country. However, after thehandover, Hong Kong young people have actually had more opportunities thanbefore to be exposed to mainland China, through such activities as exchangeprogrammes, internship programmes, and others. Therefore, it is tempting to askwhether their exposure to China enhances their positive impressions of thecountry, or vice versa?

Drawing on data from a questionnaire survey (N = 1,005) and focus group interviews, the aim in this paper is to obtain amore comprehensive understanding of the attitudes of Hong Kong youth towardsChina. When it is now very common for young people to take part in variousactivities and programmes in mainland China, what is the impact of the “Chinaexperience” on their attitude towards the country? The research findings showthat young people with deeper “China experience” are more pessimistic about theeconomic prospects of China, and that their “China experience” does not improvetheir overall impression of China. However, based on purely pragmaticconsiderations, Hong Kong youth are still willing to have some connections withmainland China.