Stephen Chow's Vision of a "Better Future"

The Hong Kong Youth Military Summer Camp in San Wai, Fanling

Ah Hong Kong kids. Many are very sheltered or their lives are so micromanaged by their parents that the children don't know what to do with themselves when they have five minutes to spare.

But hey -- what about some boot camp -- PLA style?!

For the past 13 years, the People's Liberation Army has held an annual summer boot camp and its latest endorser is Hong Kong comedian and filmmaker Stephen Chow Sing-chi.

He recently visited the camp and talked to some of the 400 participants of the 15-day program at the PLA's San Wai Barracks in Fanling.

Stephen Chow is pleased by the young people's PLA training

At their graduation day, they performed drills, shadowboxed, and sang revolutionary songs in the 35-degree Celsius weather.

China Daily reported Chow said of the participants: "They overcame challenges and hardships through arduous training in this garrison's summer camp. To my surprise, they spent time experiencing this special training, instead of playing around. For me, it is remarkable that they do this."

It's also important to note that Chow is an adviser to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"If more young people were to take part in this summer camp, Hong Kong would have a better future," he added.

How so?

This "better future" phrase is so simplistic. Singing revolutionary songs?

Discipline, hard work and training is good, but a better future?

Perhaps by going through bootcamp, more young people would be more disciplined and hardworking, but these days it's not enough. Maybe they will get better grades, but perhaps their parents cannot afford to send them abroad for further education, or they don't have the right connections to get a job.

The way things worked 20, 30 years ago is different from now, and many middle aged people either forget or don't realize how things have changed so much.

Admittedly the camp did push some kids to change their lazy habits into more productive ones, or they learned the value of teamwork and perseverance.

But a "better future"? It's kind of ironic hearing it from a comedian whose characters are known for mostly being lazy and thinking of quick-fix solutions that don't always go the right way...