By: Jayde CheungEdited by: Robin Ewing
Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble cancelled after nine months, leaving some disappointed
- 2021-08-20
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Jayde CheungEdited by: Robin Ewing
- 2021-08-20
The Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble was terminated based on differing anti-pandemic strategies, the Hong Kong government announced Thursday. As Singapore moves to a "COVID-resilient" strategy, the Hong Kong government said it is still aiming for zero local cases. The much anticipated travel bubble was delayed three times since it was announced in November last year as Hong Kong and Singapore both dealt with waves of increased COVID-19 cases. The bubble would have removed quarantine restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers landing in Hong Kong. “From Hong Kong’s point of view, the air travel bubble should not worsen the epidemic,” said Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah at a press conference this morning. “We hope normal activities can continue under the premise of epidemic prevention, so we will continue examining the situation.” Yan Lau and Feliz Lee, Hongkongers who live in Singapore and manage the YouTube channel “Kong Wife”, said they have been longing for an opportunity to visit their relatives in Hong Kong after moving to Singapore more than a year ago. “We expected the air travel bubble could help us return to Hong Kong more easily, ” said Ms Lee. “We are so disappointed.” Current arrivals from Singapore are required to quarantine in a hotel for 14 days, with costs running from HK$7,000 to more than HK$20,000. “Time is what matters the most,” said Ms Lau. “It is not fair when we are not allowed to come to Hong Kong directly, even though we are already vaccinated.” Singapore will allow arrivals from Hong Kong to enter Singapore without quarantine from Aug. 21. Singapore tour plans by Hong Kong travel agencies, including EGL Tours and Miramar Travel, were dashed. However, the travel agencies said …
Pakistanis with Hong Kong Residency Rights Say Return to City Being Thwarted Due to Vaccination Rules
- 2021-08-13
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Jayde CheungEdited by: Editor
- 2021-08-13
Hundreds of Pakistani nationals, attempting to return to Hong Kong, claim they are being turned back even if they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus and have rights to live and work in the city. According to Apna Hong Kong Network, a Facebook social group that provides information about Hong Kong in English and Urdu for South Asians living in the city, more than 2,000 Pakistani nationals with Hong Kong residency rights approached them for help because they are having difficulty returning to Hong Kong. “Hundreds of Pakistanis booked flights on 9 and 10 of August, and were sent back from Dubai,” Sadaf A. Muhammadi, the founder of Apna Hong Kong Network, told The Young Reporter. “They were informed at Dubai airport that vaccinations from Pakistan are not accepted by the Hong Kong government.” “Families have been separated for months... some people have lost jobs because they have been away for too long,” she added. The Hong Kong government suspended flights from Pakistan, India and the Philippines - all considered high-risk countries due to high coronavirus infection rates - beginning April 20 in its effort to prevent the further spread in Hong Kong. In recent changes to Hong Kong’s regulations allowing international flights, the Hong Kong government will allow overseas travelers to enter Hong Kong beginning Aug. 9, depending on which region they came from. Overseas regions have been re-categorised into Group A specified places (high-risk), Group B specified places (medium-risk) and Group C specified places (low-risk). According to the latest regulations, Hong Kong residents from Pakistan can return to Hong Kong only if they are fully vaccinated, and able to present negative results for COVID-19 test conducted within 72 hours, and confirmation of room reservation in designated quarantine hotels. “Only …
Hong Kong Brands and Products Shopping Festival opens, Unexcited by govt’s consumption voucher
- 2021-08-06
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Jayde CheungEdited by: Alison Leung
- 2021-08-06
The 2021 Hong Kong Brands and Products Shopping Festival, which was traditionally held during winter, opened on Friday in hopes to tap the buying spree boosted by the government’s HK$5,000 consumption voucher scheme. For its first time held in summer, the festival will last for three days from August 6 to 8 at the AsiaWorld-Expo in Chek Lap Kok on Lantau Island. After the opening ceremony of the festival, Edward Yau Tang-wah, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of Hong Kong, said the electrical consumption voucher was intended to boost the economy. “Despite securing the enterprise, employment can also be secured by only spending a dollar,” he said. “We hope this goal can be achieved in the short run.” The festival, used to be held annually in December or January in Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, offers a variety of goods, as well as entertainment like shows, lucky draws and booth games for visitors. The organiser, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, expected the festival would have an enthusiastic response as registered citizens started to receive a $2,000 electronic voucher from the beginning of August. The balance of the voucher will be paid later this year. “Some customers bought boxes of products using the vouchers,” said Ms Lee, who refused to disclose her first name. She is in charge of HOME+, an online shop that offers frozen food, groceries, household appliances and beauty products. “We expect a 10% to 20% increase in membership after the festival,” she said. The owner of Tak Shing Sea Products Co., Ltd. Ms Woo, who withheld her first name, said while half of the customers purchased with electronic vouchers, the sales were limited. “They spend no more than $2000,” she added. “We didn’t fantasise about …
HK Swimmer Haughey Breaks Asian Record, Wins Second Olympic Silver Medal
- 2021-07-30
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Jayde CheungEdited by: Alison Leung
- 2021-07-30
Hong Kong people cheered and applauded on Friday as they witnessed local swimmer Siobhan Bernadette Haughey breaking the women’s 100m freestyle Asian record and winning her second silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Collected her first silver medal in the women’s 200m freestyle two days ago, Ms Houghey finished the 100m freestyle at 52.27, only 0.31 seconds behind Australian athlete Emma McKeon, who made an Olympic record at 51.96. Setting the new personal and Asian best, the second silver makes Ms Haughey the first Hong Kong swimmer to attain two medals in the Olympic Games. Speaking at the press conference, Ms Houghey said 80% of the performance depended on her mentality. “I broke the personal best at the semi-final and achieved my goal. I just wanted to enjoy the 100m race,” said Ms Haughey. Tokyo Olympic marks Hong Kong’s best performed Olympic Games so far, including two silvers achieved by Ms Haughey and a gold from Cheung Ka-long in the men’s individual foil fencing which is the city’s first medal in the game. Approximately 500 audiences at APM, a shopping mall in Kwun Tong cheered for the 23-year-old while watching the live broadcast together. Crowded on two floors, supporters brought along cheering tools like pom poms that made loud sounds by hitting and decibels reached the maximum as Haughey’s silver medal was secured. No one could help but cry out their excitement and appreciation. Ten-year-old swimmer Yu, who withheld his first name, was inspired by the outstanding performance of Ms Haughey. “I will practice swimming more often, but winning an award in the Olympic Games is too difficult for me,” he said. Audiences showed both the national flag and regional flag of Hong Kong after Ms Haughey won the …
New non-invasive colorectal cancer test may lower the cost and risk of detection
- 2021-07-28
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Jayde CheungEdited by: Jenny Lam
- 2021-07-28
Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have identified four unique bacterial genetic sequences found in the faeces of patients with colorectal cancer. By testing for these markers, known as M3, the scientists have developed a new non-invasive test that can detect colorectal cancer with up to 94% accuracy. The CUHK team used the M3 test on more than 1100 cancer subjects. Patients were asked to swab their faecal samples at home. The swabs were then stored in plastic vials and sent to the laboratory for analysis. The results were available in four hours. Based on a risk scale, doctors can then use the results to predict the likelihood of the patient developing cancer, and offer dietary recommendations to reduce the risk. Patients with high risks may then be asked to have a colonoscopy to look for cancer cells and polyps. The M3 test can also be used to detect recurrent polyps which may develop into cancer. The scientists used the M3 test on more than 200 patients who have had polyps removed within five years. The M3 test can detect the polyps with up to 90% sensitivity. Compared with current tests for colorectal cancer, the M3 test is more sensitive than a faecal immunochemical test and less invasive than colonoscopy. Patients do not need to prepare the bowels for testing and there is no risk of rupturing the bowels or gastrointestinal bleeding. The cost is also much less than colonoscopy since patients can collect the samples themselves. “We are cautiously optimistic about the popularisation of the M3 test,” said Prof Francis Chan Ka-leung, Dean of Medicine and Director of the Centre for Gut Microbiota Research at CU Medicine. “The cost for the M3 test is subject to different needs of …
Top student in this year’s Diploma of Secondary Education exam says “ Hong Kong Is My Home”
- 2021-07-21
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Jayde CheungEdited by: Jenny Lam
- 2021-07-21
Seven students achieved the top score of 5** in at least seven subjects in the 2021 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education. Three of them also have 5** in an eighth subject, making them so-called super scorers. Students could check their results on the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority website from 7 am this morning. The top students are from Diocesan Girls School, St. Stephen’s Girls’ College, St. Mary’s Canossian College, Po Leung Kuk Tang Yuk Tien College, Queen Elizabeth School and Ying Wa College. Chan Lok-yung, the first student from St. Stephen’s Girls’ College to get the top score, wants to study medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “Hong Kong is my home, I grew up here. I love this place,” Ms Chan said. At school, she liked to investigate social issues as a Chinese debate team member. She recognised the importance of liberal studies in the DSE curriculum. But from next year, the Liberal Study paper will require candidates to provide short answers or multiple choices only . Students will no longer need to make any personal judgment. “Cancellation of the contents (liberal studies) doesn’t mean we will think less critically. We can learn it through other means, such as reading the news from different perspectives,” Ms Chan said. This year’s DSE candidates spent one-and-a half years on online schooling because of the pandemic, out of the three-year exam preparation. Ms Chan was upset because she was not able to meet her schoolmates, but her teachers and friends played crucial roles in her exam preparation. “My friends and I studied as a group so that we could supervise each other and share our studying progress,” she said. Of the 49,976 candidates, who sat the …
Hong Kong Government Land Confiscation Scheme Forces Closure of Popular Farmers Market at Mapopo Community Farm
- 2021-07-19
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Jayde CheungEdited by: Editor
- 2021-07-19
After more than a decade in operation, Mapopo Community Farm held its last farmers market on Sunday before permanently closing due to the Hong Kong government’s Land Resumption Ordinance. The farmers market sells locally produced vegetables, mainly from the northeastern part of Hong Kong’s New Territories, including Ping Che (Fanling), Tsiu King (Sheung Shui) and Kwu Tong (Sheung Shui). At two in the afternoon, about 15 people lined up outside Mapopo Community Farm to snatch up locally grown fruit and vegetables, including winter melons, pumpkins, longan and dragon fruits. Most products were sold out within the first hour. Chatting and laughing during their visit to the market, customers filled shopping bags with green vegetables and fruits. Some visitors brought their pets and kids to the market, to witness the decline of Hong Kong local agriculture. People expressed gratitude to the farmers by leaving messages and colorful drawings in the farmer markets’ autograph book. “The villagers are exhausted fighting for their lands,” said 26-year-old Ms. Wong, who withheld her first name. She said she has heard of the land resumption scheme since she was a student. The scheme, officially announced in 1998, allowed the government to claim the land for residential purposes, in order to handle the growing population in Hong Kong. Farmlands in Kwu Tong North, Fanling North and Ping Che/Ta Ku Ling have been identified by the Hong Kong government to be new development areas.The rural areas in northeast New Territories will be used for commercial and residential land. However, the development plan was rejected by the farmers. They worried that the residential and commercial land development would reduce the amount of farmland, thus deteriorating the farmer’s livelihood. Following several legal challenges by residents of Ma Shi Po Village, …
Serving the Community is the Ultimate Mission For All District Councillors Stay or Leave
- 2021-07-16
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Jayde CheungEdited by: Alison Leung
- 2021-07-16
Opt to make a declaration, Ramon Yuen Hoi-man, a member of the Democratic Party, said he will stay to complete his 4-year tenure in the district council. The 34-year-old councillor of Sham Shui Po district is one of the 174 district councillors who still uphold their identity. According to the notice in the Gazette declared today, 214 out of 388 elected seats in the 18 District Councils are vacant. The Civil Service Bureau has issued circulars to all government departments, requiring all existing civil servants and those who join the Government on or after 1 July 2020 to declare that they will uphold the Basic Law, bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), be dedicated to their duties and be responsible to the HKSAR Government. After considering the risks of disqualification and the requirement of returning the one and a half years’ salary to the government, Mr. Yuen rather takes an oath that includes upholding the Basic Law and swearing allegiance to the HKSAR. “I will stick to my principles, including voicing for the people and monitoring the government,” he said. “I had promised to serve the people in the district at the beginning of the election, so the decision to retain the seat was made at an early stage.” “I will do the most I can, especially since my colleagues have left,” Mr Yuen said. People around Mr Yuen had asked him to leave. However, Mr Yuen thinks that he should stay and persevere with Hong Kong people, when the risks are still tolerable. “People have retreated, while Hong Kong is collapsing,” Mr Yuen said. “From press freedom, councils, to the education and social work industry. Shouldn’t we voice more actively?” As the Chairman of the Working …
Few books with “sensitive” content on sale at HK Book Fair 2021
- 2021-07-14
- People
- The Young Reporter
- By: Jayde CheungEdited by: C.K. Lau
- 2021-07-14
Books that contain politically sensitive content can hardly be found at the Hong Kong Book Fair 2021, the first such event held after the Hong Kong National Security Law was introduced last year. Publishers say fears about breaching the law, which bans acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, have discouraged them from pubishing some titles. Hillway Press is the only publisher that has released books whose content may possibly be regarded as sensitive, including The Journey Through the Brick Wall and 21 July 2019. The first book is an autobiography of Raymond Yeung Tsz-chun, a liberal studies teacher who was shot in the eye in a protest on 12 June in 2019 during the anti-extradition bill movement. The second is written by Ryan Lau Chun-kong, one of the victims in the so-called 721 incident, who offers his account of what happened in the evening of July 21, 2019, when a number of people deemed to be sympathetic to the anti-extradition bill protests were attacked by alleged gangsters in the Yuen Long MTR station. Mr Yeung, who has since quit teaching to start Hillway, also revealed that the company was prepared to publish three other books that contain sensitive content, but no printers were willing to print them. He did not disclose what those three books were about. Jimmy Pang Chi-ming, president of the publishing house Subculture, said fears over the “white terror” of unintentionally violating the national security law now pervaded the whole publishing industry. “Under the vague standards of the national security law, we have abandoned some books that only contain cultural content,” said Mr Pang. “For example, Liu Xiaobo (the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner who was jailed on the mainland for inciting subversion of state …
Discount scheme will benefit all diners, not just those having supper
- 2021-07-07
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Jayde CheungEdited by: C.K. Lau
- 2021-07-07
A scheme by which 500 restaurants will offer a 30% discount for dinner from July 15 and a 20% discount in August will be expanded to cover lunch and other meals as well. The Dining Discount Bonanza scheme was earlier launched by the catering industry to encourage people to spend the $5,000 electronic consumption voucher they each get from the government on meals. As originally conceived, participating restaurants will offer a 30% discount to dinner customers between July 15 and July 31, and a 20% discount in August. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, the Legislative Councillor who represents the catering constituency, said the restaurants would be allowed to implement the scheme flexibly by offering the discounts not just for dinner, but also other meals, as they wished. Mr Cheung said the scheme would have no strict rules because the restaurants should handle the personal needs of the diners generously. Organised by eight catering associations, the scheme has drawn support from more than 500 restaurants serving different cuisines. Participating restaurants used to be confined by strict rules and regulations, and the discounts were applicable to four vaccinated diners sitting at one table. However, the website of Dining Discount Bonanza now says that individual merchants are allowed to “change the information and offers they provide without prior notice”. “We have no right or the ability to monitor the implementation of the scheme, and so we don’t have to,” Mr Cheung said. “We expect that HK$15 billion to HK$20 billion could be spent on the catering industry, among the HK$35 billion dollars (worth of electronic consumption vouchers) offered by the government.” Mr Cheung, who is also a member of the Executive Council and chairman of the Liberal Party, said he appreciated the contributions of participating restaurants, as it …