The violent protests in Hong Kong are political incidents, but also complicated by many economic factors, Hong Kong expert Zhou Wengang told the People's Daily Online in an interview on Friday.

Swelling young groups including NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training), along with unsatisfactory wages and a stubbornly hard-to-climb social ladder, contribute to the disruption, said Zhou, a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies (CAHKMS) and the vice-director of the Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute (PSEI) in Lingnan University.

A photo of Zhou Wengang during the 2019 Digital China Summit in May. (Photo: People's Daily Online)

There are four ways to ease the tension, said Zhou. The fundamental solution is to increase the supply of housing and land. Hong Kong's economy won't take an upturn if these two basic resources are under the control of local oligarchies.

Measures to encourage young talent to innovate and become entrepreneurs are also important, as they can diversify industries in Hong Kong, thus making it much easier to move up the social ladder.

Policies should tilt more support toward middle-class families, especially couples that both have jobs. There are few mentions of this in the previous HKSAR chief executive report, which needs changes.

Fourth, it's necessary for the HKSAR government to improve its management skills and make policies more understandable to the public. Indeed the government has made great efforts in social welfare, but more new media campaigns are needed to smooth communication with residents, leaving no room for violent protestors to smear the positive image of the government. Only in this way can the HKSAR government's efforts yield fruitful results, and the "one country, two systems" policy remain steady.

(Compiled by Bai Yuanqi)