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Letters

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In recent days, residents in my building had to prepare containers of water to flush toilets manually, after the saltwater mains in the neighbourhood sprang a leak.
This is no isolated incident. In Hong Kong, if you follow the news, you may find that not a month goes by without a saltwater pipe somewhere leaking, gushing, affecting traffic flow or daily household life. In May, flushing water supply was suspended for many users in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung after an underground leak; within hours, a saltwater pipe in Tuen Mun burst and also needed to be repaired.
In April, a burst pipe in Sheung Wan made the news. In March, it was a gushing pipe near Tiu Keng Leng MTR station in Tseung Kwan O. In February, some residents in Ho Man Tin endured a double blow: on the eve of Lunar New Year, water supply was disrupted after a saltwater pipe burst in an estate pump room. Days later, water supply was affected again after a saltwater pipe in the street burst.
This is not to mention the saltwater leakage problems and disputes between neighbours that are so commonplace in Hong Kong and on the TVB programme Scoop, but unheard of in most places.
Hong Kong has used seawater for flushing since the late 1950s. Is normal wear and tear causing saltwater leaks to be in the news so much? Have the relevant authorities done a full accounting of policy impacts? Does the fresh water that is being saved outweigh the need for emergency repairs to piping and plumbing outside and inside buildings, as well as the inconvenience and maintenance (or sometimes even legal-related) costs caused to residents over the years?
On the other hand, even water-scarce cities like Singapore don’t use corrosive seawater for flushing. But over decades, that island nation has been moving towards self-reliance in water. It runs desalination plants to make seawater drinkable, and recycles used water for industrial and indirect potable purposes.
In Hong Kong, is it time to review water policy and specifically the decades-long use of seawater for flushing?
Danny Lin, Shek Tong Tsui
Reintegrate socially isolated youth
The recent Legislative Council Secretariat report on youth employment notes that the number of those not in employment, education or training (NEET) has fallen from 53,400 to 36,200, about 6.3 per cent of our youth population, over the past decade. This compares with 3.8 per cent in Singapore for 2025.
NEET is a broad category. It encompasses people with disabilities or illnesses, young people managing mental health conditions, caregivers and the voluntarily inactive. Hidden within it is a vulnerable subgroup often disconnected from social services and official systems – not for lack of skills, but because of a profound psychological barrier that no job placement programme can address.
This is a clinically distinct group experiencing what we now call hikikomori, or severe social withdrawal.
Research analysing data from the European Social Survey, for 10 countries, found that 1.76 per cent of the population had social meetings with friends, relatives or colleagues less than once a month or never, or took part in social activities less than most compared to others of the same age. Severe social isolation is a global health concern.
Our earlier survey found that the local prevalence of severe social withdrawal in Hong Kong is around 1.9 per cent (an estimated 16,900-41,000 individuals) for cases lasting more than six months. More recently, our longitudinal research revealed that young people with persistent social withdrawal were significantly associated with self-harm.
These are not simply disengaged youth; they are young people in genuine psychological distress. Their condition may resemble what Emile Durkheim termed egoistic suicide – a state often characterised by apathy and depression and resulting from low social integration.
Although few evidence‑based practices have been reported in the literature, we partnered with an NGO that provided an intervention programme for socially withdrawn young people. About 75 per cent of the participants, or 125 young people, have managed to find a full-time or part-time job, or résumé schooling after going through the programme.
Significant changes were identified in terms of reduced socially withdrawn behaviour and anxiousness about social interaction, as well as enhanced self-esteem and perceived self-employability. These are meaningful outcomes – not just on paper, but in the lives of young people who took their first steps outside after years of confinement.
The policy implication is clear. To reach these NEETs, we must shift from a framework of labour participation to one of social reintegration. That begins with early identification: chronic truancy and a tendency to withdraw are often the first visible signs. Embedding mental health screening in the school system can interrupt a trajectory that otherwise leads to years of isolation. What we need now is the collective will to invest in it – before these young people disappear from view entirely.
Paul W.C. Wong, associate professor, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, University of Hong Kong


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Hong Kong society

Must Hong Kong use seawater for flushing, despite leaks and repairs?

Repair workers contemplate a puddle along Gascoigne Road in Kowloon on June 12, 2025, following a saltwater leak. Photo: Jelly Tse

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Opinion

Readers discuss the everyday impacts of the city’s dual water supply system, and the importance of reaching socially withdrawn young people


Readers discuss the everyday impacts of the city’s dual water supply system, and the importance of reaching socially withdrawn young people.


Hong Kong water supply

Hong Kong

Singapore

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Readers discuss the everyday impacts of the city’s dual water supply system, and the importance of reaching socially withdrawn young people

Readers discuss the everyday impacts of the city’s dual water supply system, and the importance of reaching socially withdrawn young people