Art in the City
- 2016-07-22
- Culture & Leisure
- The Young Reporter
- 2016-07-22
A set of sculptures recently sparked calls of panic. Does Hong Kong appreciate public art? By Emily Cheung When the public art installation "Event Horizon Hong Kong" , first went on display on a rooftop in Central in November, 2015, people mistook the sculpture of a life-sized naked man as a suicide suspect and called the police. "I spotted it a long time ago. But to be honest, I don't know why it has to be there," said Ms Chu Tze-yan, who works nearby. The controversial art project featured 31 fiberglass sculptures by artist, Antony Gormley. The figures stand on streets or rooftops across the city. "The idea was to underline the relationship between human and space," says Mr Gormley. "Public art allows free thinking and the community may not feel comfortable with sculptures like that at first," said Antony J. Chan, the British Council's Head of Art and Creative Industries, who organized "Event Horizon Hong Kong" . Mr Chan believes that the police calls that resulted from his artwork show a lack of understanding of public art. But Hong Kong is no stranger to public art . In early 1999, the government launched a Public Art Scheme to boost creativity and to bring artistic elements to the public. Since then, more than 20 sets of public art pieces have been on display. What is regarded by some as sophisticated public art, such as Mr Gormley's naked men, is seldom appreciated. Instead, many seem to think that art should be decorative rather than artistic expression. "I don't see the need to understand those artwork thoroughly. It is fine a long as they make the place more beautiful and visually attractive ," said Travis Mackenzie, a tourist from Washington. He and many tourists find pleasure in seeing the artwork, though some do …
Stretched to the limits
- 2016-07-22
- Health & Environment
- The Young Reporter
- 2016-07-22
A shortage of nurses at public hospitals adds tension to patient care By Richelia Yeung & Tiffany Lui Public hospitals in Hong Kong serve 90 percent of all the patients in the territory, yet employs only 40 percent of doctors according to a report published by the Food and Health Bureau in 2015. Medical staff were pushed to their limits during a recent outbreak of influenza. Miss X, a registered nurse working in the orthopedics department of a public hospital, says medical staff feel like they are ‘fighting a war with no weapons '. "As nurses, we want to provide a good care for the patients," she says, "but the hospital is not giving us enough support, especially when it comes to manpower." The nurse says there are only six nurses per shift taking care of more than 50 patients. Sometimes it is down to four or five nurses if someone falls ill. "We are lucky if the patients are all in stable conditions, otherwise we would be under a lot of psychological pressure if anything happens all of a sudden," she said. The Association of Hong Kong Nursing Staff addressed an open letter to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying in March. They said medical staff is overworked. The nurse-to-patient ratio, they said, was 1:12, far exceeding the international standard of 1:6. "No matter which department it is, there are more patients during the influenza season," says the nurse. "When one department is in need, others departments need to give a helping hand. There is a ripple effect." She says Lunar New Year is the only time when they get some relief because it is taboo for Chinese people to go to hospital during the holiday. "Experienced staff quit their jobs in public hospitals and work at private hospitals because they …
Eco-Vandalism across Hong Kong
- 2016-07-22
- 2016-07-22
Biodiversity in Hong Kong is being threatened by loopholes in law enforcement and protection By Daniel Ma Biodiversity in Hong Kong is under threat because of human activities, local environmental groups said. In March, eleven green groups organised the "Wall of Destruction: Eco-vandalism across Hong Kong" exhibition in Central. Among the displays is the recent illegal mud dump in Tsim Bei Tsui in Yuen Long District. According to environmentalists, illegal developments and fly tipping have damaged certain areas within high ecological value have suffered from degradation, which is mostly caused over the past decade. Dr. Michael Lau, Assistant Director in Conservation for WWF Hong Kong said the situation has worsened in recent years. "The first Eco-vandalism exhibition in 2010 displayed 49 cases of environmental destruction between 2006 and 2010. However, there has been no improvement at least 11 locations.. In some cases, it got worse and over the past six years, 56 new locations have been added to the list." he said. Environmental concern groups said such of the damage is the result of loopholes in law enforcement and protection. A case in point is Sha Lo Tung, Tai Po, also known as "Dragonfly Paradise". According to WWF, large scale vegetation clearance by the Lands Department since 2006 has drained the wetland and damaged the environment. Sha Lo Tung is listed as one of the priority sites for enhanced conservation under the government's New Nature Conservation Policy . But it is not included in a country park area. Instead, it is regarded as a country park enclave. Such enclaves are areas of environmental interest but not within country park boundaries. Most of them are on private land. A spokesperson for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said that in the case of Sha Lo Tung, most of the land has …
Hong Kong 2047: A new constitution could be the way out
- 2016-07-22
- Politics
- 2016-07-22
By Isabella Lo When Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, Beijing promised there would be no change for the territory for 50 years. The concept of "One Country Two Systems"will end in 2047. With just over 30 years to go, politicians and scholars are coming up with have different ideas for Hong Kong's future. One of those is to write a new constitution. Alvin Cheng Kam-mun of Civic Passion, also known as "4-eyed brother", has been an activist since the Umbrella Movement in 2014. "If a de facto referendum on constitutional reform goes in ahead in 2018, the government will have to respond to our voices." said the 28-year-old, "or else there would be another unprecedented protest." Cheng was the youngest among the five members of the localist faction who intend to run in the the Legislative Council election in September. Their idea: a de facto referendum in the five geographical constituencies so that all citizens can help to come up with a new constitution. "Constitutional reform can be down-to-earth. People would understand when we talk about amending unjust clauses such as Article 23 of the Basic Law," said the member from Civic Passion. Article 23 stipulates that The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies. "Constitutional reform is a step toward deciding Hong Kong's future, be it independence, continuation of ‘One Country Two Systems''or reunification with the United Kingdom." he said. Student activist, Joshua Wong Chi-fung, proposed a "Hong Kong …
Bobsy Gaia: 25 years of Ecopreneurship in Hong Kong
- 2016-07-22
- People
- The Young Reporter
- 2016-07-22
The story of an entrepreneur and his eco-friendly businesses By Celia Lai and Crystal Tai Wearing a man bun and a long grey beard, Bobsy Gaia almost has the look of a Taoist priest from Chinese mythology. The "ecopreneur" was born in Lebanon and has been pioneering socially responsible business in Hong Kong since 1992. He is the co-founder of several vegetarian restaurants, including "MANA! Fast Slow Food". Just like its owner, "MANA! Fast Slow Food" is vibrant yet relaxing. The furniture is made of recycled materials and the menu is on a chalk board. The restaurant regularly promotes eco friendly campaigns. For example, "World Water Day" was written in delightful colours on March 22 on the board to remind people to conserve water. Mindful of the environment, Bobsy is on a mission to educate consumers to "eat like it matters". His restaurant serves organic produce. Bobsy became an "ecopreneur" when he started to promote social responsibility in business in 1989. He was a fashion designer at the time, but came up with the idea in a moment of despair. "I was financially broke at that time in Bangkok. At the same time, many profound changes were happening in the world such as the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War," said Bobsy, "there were also Nelson Mandela, mass protests over the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest and women fighting for equality. These movements showed the awakening of human power. It was speaking to me. I suddenly realized there was something bigger than me going on," he said. The awakening, Bobsy thought, was a game change in man's perception of the world. That is similar to the realisation that the Earth is round and not flat. "The people in this humanitarian movement are amazingly creative …
Changing the Meaning of Blindness
- 2016-06-24
- People
- 2016-06-24
by Nicki Wong Chong Chan-yau lost his sight when he was six years old. As a result, his childhood was one of tragedy, dependency, hopelessness and even superstition. But technology has redefined the way the world see Mr Chong, or more appropriately, how Mr Chong sees the world. He can surf the internet and use a cell phone just as well as any sighted person, with the help of a Braille note taker. Mr Chong is the director of EL Education, president of the Hong Kong Blind Union, chairman of Carbon Care Asia, founder and chairman of Dialogue in the Dark Hong Kong. "I can go anywhere, play football and chess, study, and do all sorts of things that a sighted person can do ," said the 60-year-old. He is eager to improve society for people who are marginalized in order to maximise their potential.. "The loss of sight became my characteristic, not a limitation," Mr Chong said. He believes his optimistic personality saves him from feeling tragic. "Hong Kong has a lot of facilities for the disabled,for example, audible traffic light signals, "said Mr Chong. But he doesn't want to take it granted when it comes to travelling alone. "Accessibility is a matter of interaction between people and their environment," he said. Mr. Chong has tried to prove that blind people can navigate the city without special facilities. Back in the 80s, Mr Chong asked the traffic department to install audible signals road crossing, , but the department said it was "too dangerous" for blind people to cross the road on their own. But we weren't victims. We were actually the problem solvers," said Mr Chong. He believes visually impaired people should be treated just like everyone else. He approaches the problem from the point of view of …
Organic truth: are you getting what you pay for?
- 2016-06-24
- Health & Environment
- 2016-06-24
by Celia Lai The Organic Standard and Certification System was introduced in Hong Kong 14 years ago. It is supposed to guarantee that organic products meet local standards. Vegetables labelled "organic", for example, cost $20 to $30 more per catty (604.8 gram) than regular produce. But many consumers remain sceptical. " I heard in the news that not all organic shops are honest. They mix regular veggies with organic ones," said Mr Chan Sze-Chi. Professor Wong Wun-Chung, executive of Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre (HKORC), admitted that monitoring on the sale of organic vegetables in Hong Kong is inadequate. According to 2015 report by HKORC, wet markets in North, South, Eastern and Tsuen Wan Districts are the black spots for fake organic vegetables. More than 20% of the venders in each market sell vegetables labelled "organic"without certification. HKORC recommends that consumers buy organic produce with their logo to ensure quality. Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre is the only organization that certifies local organic vegetables. They adopt international standards. Farmers and suppliers who reach the standard are given certificates so that they can use the HKORC logo on their produce. "Our procedure is to certify farm operation. When the organic veggies get into the retail stores ready to be sold, that is another issue," said Professor Wong. "For now, we can check if sellers abuse the certificate through their sales records. If farmers sell 10kg organic vegetables to retail A but our investigator is able to buy 20kg , then we know that the owner of the retail misuses our certificate." Under the present procedure, certified organic vegetables can be sold either through the Vegetable Marketing Organisation (VMO), or by local farmers themselves. "Before distributing the organic vegetables to chain stores such as PARKnSHOP and Aeon, they have to undergo …
An Aussie turned Hong Konger
- 2016-06-24
- People
- The Young Reporter
- 2016-06-24
by Paulus Choy, James Ho Gregory Charles Rivers considers himself every bit a Hong Konger. " I care about the city, I love the Canto songs, and the language," he said. Mr. Rivers is Australian. He moved to Hong Kong nearly 20 years ago, and has since acted in a number of Hong Kong drama productions and TV shows. He shot to fame again recently with his performance in the 100Most Magazine award ceremony. Rock and heavy metal music was popular when he was in college, but Mr. Rivers was not fond of those. Several of his Hong Kong friends introduced him to Cantopop and that was exactly what he liked. His stage name, Ho Kwok-wing, came from the famous deceased Cantopop singer Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing. His love of Cantonese music drove him to learn the language. He got his hands on a cassette tape when he was in university, but the program only taught six of the nine intonations of Cantonese. He eventually came to Hong Kong in 1987 with a friend. Later on he auditioned for a role at TVB, and has never looked back. "I did not have confidence that I could do what TVB wanted, I think I got in because TVB didn't have another choice," he said. Mr. Rivers feels that the Hong Kong entertainment scene has done little to welcome foreign actors. "Script writers seem to forget that foreign actors could add flavor to a story, and I don't understand why,." he said. He acted in a number of TV shows, and also sang on the side. But his big break came when 100Most invited him to rap on stage. He was crowned the "real Hong Konger", and he feels that a true Hong Konger needs to really care about his home town …
License to Thrill
- 2016-06-24
- Health & Environment
- 2016-06-24
by Isabella Lo & Ellen He A boy sustained head injury when playing on an indoor trampoline recently, according to the Consumer Council's latest report. Unlike in the U.K., no license is required in Hong Kong for the operation of amusement park facilities. Trampolines are not a regulated "entertainment" activity under the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance, according to the The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD). According to the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) that regulates amusement park rides, trampolines are not amusement rides since they are not power-driven. Amusement rides are devices that are power-driven for driving or riding by the public primarily for amusement purposes, such as roller coasters, Ferris wheels and pirate ships, according to the EMSD. The FEHD told the Consumer Council that relevant international sports associations, such as federations for trampolines, have already set standards on the proper use of sports facilities. Lack of licensing requirement is not the only regulatory loophole revealed from the 178 complaints received by the Consumer Council during the past three years. According to the Council, most complaints are about service quality and safety concerns of both indoor and outdoor activities. Some operators may use a "disclaimer" to evade liabilities, misleading consumers to give up their right to redress, said the consumer watchdog. In the case of the trampoline injury, the accompanying domestic helper was asked to sign a Term of Use agreement when she bought the admission ticket for the child. She recalled those terms as purported to exempt the operator from all legal liabilities, according to the council. "The Control of Exemption Clauses Ordinance clearly stated that the court will only enforce the operator's exemption clauses when they are deemed fair and reasonable," said Dr. Chan Wai-hon Felix, a law professor from the …
Are robot journalists real?
- 2016-06-24
- Business
- 2016-06-24
Automatically generated news has flooded the financial news industry. But is it as good as the stuff produced by humans? by Alfred Lam and Daniel Ma News is not necessarily written by humans nowadays. Computers can do the job too. Computer programs such as Automated Insights and Narrative Science have been helping news agencies like the Associated Press (AP), Forbes and Yahoo to automatically generate articles based on financial data and sport competition results. AP now produces nearly 4,300 earnings stories per quarter – a 14-fold increase over its human efforts, according to Automated Insights. Ryan Thornburg, associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said there is an initial capital cost in using such software, but then the cost of generating the articles gradually falls. The snag is that the articles may not be of high quality. Thornburg added that with technology, journalists who only have basic skills such as describing traffic accidents and recording videos will have difficulties finding jobs. "Students who want to be journalists need to learn how to make good use of these tools," Thornburg added. "They need to go more in-depth than the algorithms can." He said only a few companies can compete in the area of automated article generation since most news organizations do not have a big enough to justify the use of such a technology. But Tom Grundy, editor-in-chief of Hong Kong Free Press, said the technology is immature. "You still need human beings for the analysis and context." Grundy said machine journalism needs many more years to move beyond writing dumb stories and start to produce quality journalism or important investigations. The chief editor said he did not know any news organizations in Hong Kong that adopt this technology. "Basic stories like financial results and sports …