features
W
hen Alex Yuen was born in Hong Kong in
the early ‘80s, his doctor father took one
day off work and then went right back to
his patients. Barely enough time, it would
seem, to get to know his new son, let alone change a
nappy or handle burping duties. Fast forward thirty-three
years to Yuen and his wife, Van, along with two sets of
grandparents, welcoming a baby boy, Evan, in to the
world. It’s a new century and a time when breakneck
technological innovation is disrupting old ways of working
and communicating. A time in which ‘parental leave’ and
‘primary and secondary caregivers’ are more than just buzz
words but concrete corporate and public policy. And yet,
have three decades of progress changed life for new dads
in Hong Kong? Yes, and No.
“My in-laws found it quite weird,” said Yuen, about the five
days of paternity leave he was granted from Pentland, the
UK sportswear company he wa