A coalition led by two former chief executives of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was launched on Tuesday, hoping to help the city overcome difficulties and get "started again."

As the coalition's chief conveners, Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying, vice chairmen of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the announcement at a press conference.

In his speech, Tung pointed out that one of their major tasks is to help college graduates get employed. "Young folks are our future," Tung said. 

According to media reports, 1,545 other representatives from all walks of life have co-sponsored the coalition. About 10 percent are fresh college graduates or those who are still in college.

Tung stressed difficulties the city has been facing from epidemic control, economic and political aspects, touching on the unrest that started in 2019. "Certain violent actions have touched the bottom line of the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle," he said.

As for Leung, he noted that the coalition they've set up is a non-governmental organization and has no intention of replacing the official HKSAR government. He said he will fully support the HKSAR government in containing the further spread of the novel coronavirus.

A joint statement released after the announcement read the HKSAR needs to reverse the economic downturn by supporting the struggling economy and safeguarding employment. It also needs to uphold its core value of the rule of law and restore unity of people with different political views and from all walks of life to get out of the current dilemma.

The coalition plans to host a series of activities, the first of which will be the distribution of 10 million face masks to residents across Hong Kong over the coming weekend.