By: Ka Man WongEdited by: Chengqi MO
Hong Kong takes silver in Open Badminton 2023
- 2023-09-18
- By: Ka Man WongEdited by: Chengqi MO
- 2023-09-18
The six-day badminton tournament, VICTOR Hong Kong Open 2023 concluded last Sunday. Hong Kong’s mixed doubles pair Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet came in second. Held from September 12 to 17 at the Hong Kong Coliseum, Hung Hom, this tournament is one of the BWF World Tour events with a grand prize of over HK$ 3.2 million Hong Kong Dollars (US$ 420,000). The home favourites defeated Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Lai from Malaysia in the semi-final on September 16, attracting an audience of more than 6,500 to the Hong Kong Coliseum for their match. Despite strong home support, Hong Kong lost in the final to the mainland’s Guo Xinwa and Wei Yaxin, who took gold. But Tang and Tse's silver medal is the best result for a home doubles in the tournament's 41-year history. They were still visibly disappointed with the outcome. “Of course, it was a bit disappointing,” said Tse, 31. “We are not only talking about the result here, but also the way we played. Our performance was below par.” “We did not return the serve very well and as a result, we allowed the opponents to take the initiative easily,” she added. Tse also said that she was delighted to stand on the podium before her retirement from being an athlete. “I am determined to perform better in the coming Asian Games (starting on 23 September 2023),” said Tse. Indonesia won the most prizes, taking gold in both men’s singles and women’s doubles. Apriyan Rahayu and Siyi Fadia Sliva Ramadhanti from Indonesia, won the women's doubles title, defeating Tan Pearly and Thinaah Muralithara from Malaysia in the final. Akane YAMAGUCHI from Japan won the women’s singles, and ranked number two in the world, according to the Badminton World Federation. She beat Zhang Yi Man from China in …
Budget 2023: Light public housing remains controversial
- 2023-02-22
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Juncong SHUAI、Yuqi CHUEdited by: Chengqi MO
- 2023-02-22
A few steps from the Kai Tak MTR station, an extensive but barren ground is enclosed by barbed wire, incongruent with the surrounding high-rise residences and shopping malls. The land is earmarked for the construction of light public housing. As one of eight sites designated by the government, Kai Tak is expected to provide 10,700 units for people waiting for more long-term public housing. “It’s hard to imagine over 10,000 people will flood into this area in the future. I’m afraid it’ll be a mess at that time,” said Alex Tsang, a resident living in the Kai Tak neighbourhood for three years. Anger spread among Kai Tak residents once the site selection for light public housing was announced in January. In today’s budget address, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the government is committed to the construction of 30,000 flats by 2027. “I can understand the government's intention to build light public housing, but the site selection is wrong,” said Tsang. “Kai Tak should be a part of the CBD , but the temporary housing scheme will last seven years, nobody knows what will happen in the future.” The Light Public Housing scheme proposed by Chief Executive John Lee in his maiden policy address last year aims to give a better living environment to people waiting for permanent public houses. “As the supply of housing land is not evenly distributed across each year, and land creation takes time, there is still a shortage of land ready for public housing development in the short run,” said Chan in today’s budget speech. The first batch of housing is expected to cost HK$14.9 billion. Building light public housing costs 25% more than public rental housing, according to Liber Research Community, an independent think tank in Hong Kong. “Some light public housing is planned …