LettersHong Kong must resist turning DSE results day into a public spectacle

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words. As the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) results release approaches, we should be asking an uncomfortable but necessary question: are we protecting teenagers’ mental health, or are we adding to the pressure they already carry? For many students, results day is not a celebration. It is a high-stakes moment coloured by fear of disappointment, comparison and judgment. In that context, some school practices deserve urgent scrutiny. When results are announced in semi-public settings and the names of top scorers highlighted, it creates a context in which other students’ outcomes can be easily inferred within a close school community – even if they are not named. Students’ privacy can be compromised and their dignity put at risk. This is not a trivial concern. Examination results are sensitive personal data, and schools have a duty to handle them with the highest level of care. Equally troubling is the culture that grows around such arrangements. Ceremonies, photo opportunities, banners and staged “good news” messages may be intended to encourage students, but they can also turn results day into a public ranking exercise. Students who are disappointed or emotionally vulnerable may experience the school environment as comparative and exposing, and some activities can inadvertently pressure students to disclose outcomes on the spot. The message teenagers receive is simple and cruel: your worth equals your score. For those who fall short of expectations, the experience can feel like a public display of failure, precisely at a time when they need calm support and clear guidance. If we are serious about youth mental health, we should start by removing avoidable stressors. Results day should be kept low-key, with confidentiality protected in practice, not just in policy. Schools should pause publicity-driven activities on the day and focus resources where they matter: individual counselling, emotional support, and practical advice on rechecks, appeals and alternative pathways. The Education Bureau should provide clearer, firmer guidance to curb unnecessary promotional practices around results day and to set minimum standards for privacy protection and student support. More broadly, society needs to stop treating the DSE as a single do-or-die verdict. Multiple education and training routes exist, and they should be presented as legitimate, respected options, not as consolation prizes. I hope this will prompt wider discussion among educators, parents and policymakers. Teenagers are watching what adults choose to prioritise. On results day, we should choose their well-being. Professor Ming Wai Kit, associate professor in public health, City University of Hong Kong Is Hong Kong’s economy really turning around? These days, many in Hong Kong see bright prospects for the economy. Our stock exchange continues to do well. A total of 83 companies raised US$26.42 billion on the main board in the first half of the year, a surge of 84 per cent year on year. We’re also devoting efforts to forge closer business and investment links with other markets, including the Middle East. Yet, on the ground, the picture is less rosy. A good number of long-established restaurants have closed down over the past few years, while there seemed to be many vacant stores appearing in residential districts, not to mention in the premier shopping districts of Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. Though the number of mainland Chinese visitors has increased, they spend less – or at least more selectively – than before. Meanwhile, Hongkongers continue to flock to Shenzhen to shop and dine during the holidays. Are our hopes for a bright economic future misplaced? Harry Lam, Quarry Bay Pragmatism key to Malaysia-Japan cooperation The 31st Nikkei Forum in Tokyo last month came at a strategic juncture amid rising great-power rivalry. Malaysia’s participation in the forum and wider engagement with Japan is strategically important, designed to deepen economic and technological engagement with Japan while reinforcing Malaysia’s position as a rising middle power and a partner of growing importance for supply-chain resilience. Japanese investments in key sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and the energy transition, unveiled recently in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s strategic growth plan, will be central to bilateral ties. Malaysia’s strength in semiconductor assembly, testing and advanced packaging complements Japan’s advantages in materials, equipment and manufacturing, giving Malaysia an opening to move up the value chain and escape an extractive, labour-intensive ecosystem. Energy interdependence is equally important. The long-term LNG agreement between Petronas and Japanese utility JERA provides an institutional anchor. Japan imports about 15 per cent of its LNG from Malaysia, its second-largest supplier after Australia, providing a crucial energy-security buffer. Japan-Malaysia cooperation is practical and capacity-focused rather than alliance-driven, recognising the region’s pragmatic, non-aligned approach. Economically, the relationship reflects the shift from efficiency-based globalisation to resilience-based regionalisation. The question is no longer simply who can produce most cheaply, but who can provide trusted supply chains, political stability and technological capability. Malaysia’s need for high-value investment, high technology, energy transition and middle-power visibility aligns with Japan’s need for energy security, Asean connectivity, maritime stability and trusted supply chains. In an age of turbulence, practical partnerships among trusted states matter more than ever. Collins Chong Yew Keat, foreign affairs analyst, University of Malaya

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Readers discuss how schools’ promotional activities could affect student well-being, Hong Kong’s economic prospects, and the basis for Japan-Malaysia cooperation

Readers discuss how schools’ promotional activities could affect student well-being, Hong Kong’s economic prospects, and the basis for Japan-Malaysia cooperation