Talking Points: if the government gave everyone HK$5,000 a month for basic living, what would you do with it?

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Jonathan Yip Long-hei, 16, Rhenish Church Pang Hok Ko Memorial College

I would save it, because I might go to university soon, and part of the money could go to the school fees while part of it could be used to reduce my family financial burden. I would keep working even if I were given the money, as I want to contribute to society and earn more money to let my family have a better life.

Tina Kwok Yi-ting, 16 Rhenish Church Pang Hok Ko Memorial College

I would use it to develop my interests. I like music, so I would spend the money paying for music and dance lessons. These are expensive, so this money would help a lot. I hope it would make me well-rounded so I could contribute more to society.

Charlie Fan, 16, Pui Kiu College

A basic salary of HK$5,000 per month could be wasted on expensive tea sets, cosmetics, or designer fashions – but I’m pretty sure the government wouldn’t do this to make more shopaholics.

HK$5,000 would mean you wouldn’t be such a financial burden on your parents. Students could try managing their income and expenditure well to prepare for future financial needs, such as study tours or exchange programmes.

Rachel Wong, 15, St Stephen’s Girls’ College

I’d invest at least HK$2,000 in the stock market to make myself a bit more self-sufficient. I’d spend some of the money on trying all the glorious food in Hong Kong – my mouth waters at the thought of curry fish balls and the crisp egg waffles! The rest of the money would be saved for travelling expenses, for example going to cooler areas in the summer heat, or for studying abroad.

Noel Ho,15, Leung Sing Tak College

I think working defines Hong Kong life, so if the government gave me HK$5,000, I would still continue to work for a better life. I would not use it on me. Instead, I would donate all of the money to charity.There are many people who are living in poverty in Hong Kong, so I would like to donate the HK$5,000 to charity to help the needy.

Avalon Li Yuk-sing, 16, Rhenish Church Pang Hok Ko Memorial College

If I were given HK$5000 a month, I would keep working but I would donate the money to some charity organisation, such as WWF, World Vision, or the SPCA. Many animals are in danger and being abused so I want to do something to help. Unfortunately, I’m only a student and I can’t do much for them. Therefore, if I had the money, I would donate 80 per cent to the SPCA to support people’s work on saving the animals.

Bryan Lau Jack-han, 15, Rhenish Church Pang Hok Ko Memorial College

If I were given HK$5000 a month for basic living, I would save half of it for my future, and give half to charity to help those in need. I hope more people can have a better basic living, with warm clothes and hot food in winter.

Eric Hui, 16, Leung Sing Tak College

I will continue to work, because in Hong Kong HK$5,000 is not enough to get by. I would give the free money to my mum, because she took care of me for many years but hasn’t asked for anything.

Ella Yue Suet-ying, 16, Rhenish Church Pang Hok Ko Memorial College

If the government gave me HK$5,000 a month for basic living, I would stop working for a bit and spend the money on relaxation. I would join some recreational activities, such as yoga, and also some social activities. I hope this would reduce my stress from study, and then I would have more energy to work harder.

Kayleigh Lee Oi-yung, 15, Rhenish Church Pang Hok Ko Memorial College

If I could have HK$5,000 a month, I would be very happy as it would give me a more flexible life. I would keep working as HK$5000 is not enough to keep a basic living. But, certainly, it lets me have a more relaxing life as it allows me to join more social activities. I would also save part of the money for my future use, for example, for the school fees in university so that my family’s financial burden can be reduced.

Ady Lam, 11, Beacon Hill School

I’d give half of it to various charities, while the other half would go to my retirement fund. All along, I’d still work, because this will help the community – even jobs like cleaning are important. Besides, I don’t want to seem to well off. If I do, I might be immodest, and lose friends just because of that.

Foster Choi Wing-sing, 14, Rhenish Church Pang Hok Ko Memorial College

If the government gave me HK$5,000 a month for basic living, I would save a half of the money and I would donate the rest of the money. And I wouldn’t quit my job, because I think nowadays the government doesn’t do enough for the poor. So I think I should donate the money to the poor to help them. The money that I save can be used after my retirement.

Minerva Ma Wan-ning, 16, Rhenish Church Pang Hok Ko Memorial College

I would keep working even if I were given HK$5,000 a month, because the cost of living is too high. I would spend the money to learn a musical instrument. This has been something I’ve wanted to do since I was a primary student. I hope I can be a musician and perform in front of a big audience.

Solomon Lau Siu-chung, 16, Rhenish Church Pang Hok Ko Memorial College

If I were given HK$5,000, I would choose to adopt a child in Africa. I want to spend the money carefully and smartly. I wouldn’t give it to other charity organisations because they have a lot of donations. I hope the money would go directly to the child so that his life will improve. I would keep contact with the child to give him some support besides the financial aid.

Jason Chow Cheuk-yin, 16, Rhenish Church Pang Hok Ko Memorial College

If the government gave me HK$5,000 a month for basic living, I would save it instead of using it immediately. I would set up a saving plan to manage the money. For instance, if I could save HK$15,000 in three months, I would spend HK$2,000 to buy things I like. In this way, I could ensure that I would not be broke. I would also do some charity work and donate money to help those in need.

In our next Talking Points we’ll discuss:

As we learned from Japan, leaving a child in the woods can be dangerous. What’s a suitable punishment for teenagers?

We are now accepting answers from readers for this new topic. To take part, email your answer with your name, age, and school, along with a nice, clear selfie (make sure it’s not blurry) to [email protected] by lunchtime on Monday, May 30. Don’t forget to include “Talking Points” in the subject line!

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