Fairness is an important value in civil society. It is a major principle for maintaining social justice and order, and for judging right and wrong.

But there is no common standard of fairness. What constitutes fairness may be different for different people in different times and places. Thus a consensus needs to be reached through discussion in society.

Fairness is not equivalent to equality. Equality stresses sameness. Take education as an example. Fairness may be taken to mean equality of education opportunities, equality in resource allocation or equality of learning.

No common standard for fairness

For instance, the systems for allocating school places have a direct bearing on the equality of education opportunities. Some people consider random allocation as the fairest system, while others think fairness can only be achieved by allocating school places according to students' performance.

The quest for equality in resource allocation makes it difficult to cater for individual differences among students. And differences in school culture and teacher capability mean that equality of learning is far-fetching Utopia.

Social disputes often arise from different measures of fairness by different sectors in different positions.

Balancing competition, equality

In a pluralistic society, education should be administered in accordance with the abilities of students, and equality should not be taken as the sole measure of fairness. Letting the better-off shoulder more social responsibility and endowing the disadvantaged with more public resources are manifestations of social justice.

The global trend is to strike a balance between the notions of "natural selection and survival of the fittest" and "equality through even distribution of resources". On the one hand, fair competition is encouraged to assure the individual of reasonable reward for his or her efforts, providing the impetus for personal advancement and social development.

On the other hand, social justice must be manifested through the provision of extra support to the disadvantaged in society, so that they can compete with others on fairer grounds.

Hong Kong is a city full of opportunities. Regardless of gender or background, you can give full play to your talents and abilities here. Everyone enjoys equal opportunities in education, employment and other aspects of life in an open and fair environment.

The Government is committed to enhancing the competitiveness of the disadvantaged in society by providing public housing, assisting low-income families and ensuring that no one is deprived of education for financial reasons.

I would like to urge young people to seize and cherish every opportunity to upgrade yourselves. But at the same time, I also hope that you have a heart for social justice and care for the disadvantaged and the unfortunate, so as to build a fair and just society for all.