News
Budget Address 2021: No cash handout amid recession; $5,000 e-vouchers for eligible residents
- 2021-02-24
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: TUNG Yi Wun、Bowie TseEdited by: Sara Cheng
- 2021-02-24
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced in his budget speech Wednesday there will be no cash handout for this financial year. But electronic vouchers of HK$5,000 will be issued in instalments to each Hong Kong permanent resident and new arrival aged 18 or above to encourage local consumption. The measure, which involves about HK$36 billion, is expected to benefit more than 7.2 million people, Mr Chan said. The government has not said yet where the vouchers can be spent or how they will be given out. “The HK$5,000 e-voucher cannot tackle the current situation and provides limited support to citizens who have been struggling throughout the pandemic,” said Owan Li, Tai Kok Tsui North district councilor. The numbers have been grim. Under the global sweep of the coronavirus, Hong Kong’s economy has shrunk by 6.1% for two consecutive years, hitting the highest annual decline on record. The unemployment rate surged to 7% in the fourth quarter of 2020, reaching a 17-year high. Tourism-related sectors are hard hit as they reached the highest jobless rate since SARS in 2003. Retail, accommodation and food services sectors have suffered a surge in the unemployment rate to 11.3%. Tourism sectors have frozen with extensive global travel restrictions, and the export travel service plummeted by 90.5% “I actually agree with the government decision to not launch another cash handout since it has not been effective,” said Angus Chan, an employee dismissed from the InterContinental Hotel during the pandemic and now works in the Rosewood Hotel. He has one to two no-pay leave days per week at the new job, and some of his shifts are cut, he said. As the world continues to restrict travel, the hospitality industry is uncertain about when it will recuperate from the pandemic. Small and medium enterprises are hoping the …
Budget Address 2021: Hong Kong sees 2021 positive GDP growth at 3.5% - 5.5%
- 2021-02-24
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: Zhu Zijin Cora 朱子槿、Zhou Yichen Gloria 周奕辰Edited by: Alison Leung
- 2021-02-24
Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his budget speech on Wednesday that the city’s economy is expected to return to positive growth this year after experiencing two consecutive years of recession. Hong Kong's economy will face significant challenges in the first half amid COVID-19 while the economy is expected to recover in the second half on a rebound in the global economy, Chan said. He forecasts the economy to grow by 3.5-5.5% in real-term this year on back of the stimulus effect of the fiscal measures. But Chan also said, "The progress of economic recovery will hinge on the development of the epidemic." From 2022 to 2025, he expected the city's economy will grow by an average of 3.3% per annum in real terms, with the underlying inflation rate forecasted to average 2%. The Financial Secretary expected the government to post a budget deficit of HK$101.6 billion in 2021/22, accounting for 3.6% of GDP due to the relief measures and the continued increase in recurrent expenditure. The government also announced several one-off measures including cutting personal salaries tax and personal assessment tax by 100% with a ceiling of HK$10,000. Enterprises will also be eligible for 100% reduced profits tax with a limit of HK$10,000. Unemployed citizens can apply for a government-backed personal loan capped at HK$80,000 at an interest of 1% per year, said Chan. In addition, to stimulate domestic consumption, every Hong Kong permanent resident and new arrivals aged 18 or above will receive HK$5,000 electronic consumption vouchers, which will involve about 7.2 million people with a total of HK$36 billion.
More than 60,000 sign up for Sinovac jabs
- 2021-02-23
- Health & Environment
- The Young Reporter
- By: POON Hiu LamEdited by: LAMA Sumnima Rani
- 2021-02-23
Online registration for Hong Kong’s first round of Covid vaccination began at midnight last night. But the waiting time exceeded 50 minutes soon after the start. By morning, the waiting time was still about 30 minutes. Some of those who tried to sign up complained that they encountered up to 521 errors on the website. Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Alfred Sit Wing-hang said in an interview on RTHK that the demand exceeded the capacity of the government’s registration system, but the glitch was fixed within an hour. By noon, at least 60,000 people had signed up. To register, the system will first ask for an identity card number. The first inoculation is available from 26 February, followed by a second jab 28 days later. Registrants can choose between five Community Vaccination Centres and 18 general out-patient clinics under the Hospital Authority. But by noon, most of the slots had been taken. The earliest available slots are not till the end of next week. Five priority groups can make appointments online to get the vaccine. They include healthcare staff, persons aged 60 years or above, staff of residential care homes, essential public service workers, and personnel involved in cross border transportation. Reservations can be made at www.covidvaccine.gov.hk.Elderly people may bring up to two carers to receive the vaccine at the same time. Only the Sinovac vaccine will be available for the first round. Private clinics participating in the inoculation programme are expected to start providing the jabs by mid-March. On Feb 22 Monday, Hong Kong‘s leader Carrie Lam was the first person to receive China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine in a bid to improve public confidence in the mainland-developed vaccine. The Executive Council on Tuesday passed that starting from Wednesday, social gathering restrictions will be relaxed to allow up to four …
Peaceful protests and strike sweep Myanmar despite deadly police violence
- 2021-02-23
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Sara ChengEdited by: Jasmine Tse
- 2021-02-23
Protesters across Myanmar staged one of its largest anti-coup protests on Monday since the military overthrew democratically-elected Aung San Suu Kyi's government and arrested members of the National League for Democracy three weeks ago. In Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city where two protesters were shot dead on Saturday, hundreds of thousands rallied peacefully, among them medical workers, lawyers, engineers, monks and grocery shop keepers, said Aung San Thein, 22, a Mandalay protester in a phone interview. Mr Thein went into exile with his family as a child due to political prosecution. He returned home after the National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in the 2015 election. "We’re not taking any violent action,” Mr Thein said. Demonstrators gathered in front of the central railroad station, passed boiled eggs and snacks to one another and listened to speeches, he said, adding all the shops he saw were closed. "Protesters at the front shouted: ‘What do we want,’ and the crowd behind chanted: ‘We want democracy," he said. "Everything is in order. There is no chaos in the country that [the military] has to declare a national emergency. The only chaos that we are having right now is because of the military," Mr Thein said. "That's what we want to show." A one-year state of emergency has been imposed on Feb. 1 after the coup, during which the military chief Min Aung Hlaing will remain in power. The strike defied the junta’s warning on Sunday that protesters, who they blamed for “inciting emotional teenagers and youths,” could "suffer a loss of life." Three protesters have been killed by live bullets during clashes with police, including a 16-year-old boy and Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, a 20-year-old who was shot in the head on Feb. 9 in the capital Nay Pyi Taw and …
A third of pupils back in classes after schools agree to COVID rules
- 2021-02-22
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: LAM Tsz YauEdited by: Editor
- 2021-02-22
Students from about 2000 schools can now resume half-day classes while schools can have a full half-day resumption if all members of staff have the COVID-19 test every 2 weeks. But The Professional Teachers Union doubts if the frequent testing is needed for teachers.
Mosques in the city reopen following relaxation of Covid-19 social distancing measures
- 2021-02-20
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Shameel IbrahimEdited by: Simran Vaswani
- 2021-02-20
Hong Kong’s mosques opened on Feb 19 for prayers after being shut for almost three months. Members of the Muslim community flocked to the mosque following the announcement from the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong - the official body representing the city's Muslims. All five official mosques are open to conduct prayers with social distancing measures in place. The city's mosques have been closed since December intermittently every two weeks which were put in place to combat the fourth coronavirus wave. “It was a sense of relief, a sense of joy,” said Adeel Malik, chairman of the Muslim Council of Hong Kong. He added that many Muslims were longing for the mosques to open, but also noted that the government implemented strict measures for the larger good of the community. The opening of the mosques coincided with the weekly Friday prayers, which is an important day of the week for the Islamic faith. Religious sermons are held during Fridays on issues in both the Muslim and wider communities in Hong Kong. One of the weekly sermon topics were "Lessons from Lockdown", where Mufti Muhammad Arshad, the chief Imam of the Kowloon Mosque and Islamic Centre urged the community to unite against the pandemic regardless of race or religion. Muslims came to the city as sailors in 1829, working for the British-owned Jardine Matheson, a shipping company. By the 1850s, the growing Muslim community led to the formation of the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund, which became the official representative body for Muslims in Hong Kong.
Privacy concerns drive people away from evening dine-in
- 2021-02-18
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Zhu Zijin Cora 朱子槿Edited by: LAM Tsz Yau
- 2021-02-18
Despite relaxed social distancing rules and resumed dinner service, some Hongkongers still won’t eat out over the fear of personal data collected by the authority as the government requires all diners to record their detailed information for potential virus tracing. Eateries can resume dine-in service until 10pm with a maximum four people per table from Thursday, as long as they fulfill prerequisites, including staff getting Covid-19 tests every two weeks and diners recording personal information by scanning a QR code through the official “Leave Home Safe” app or by other means. The government’s controversial contact-tracing app has raised public concerns over privacy issues and abuse of data, as it will access user phone storage. Despite some online calls for boycotting the app, as of Thursday, the app download has surged to over 1 million since its launch in mid-November and seized the top position in the App Store. “I see no reason for customers leaving personal information when eating out,” said restaurant operator Ryan Lo Tsz-yeung. “Our restaurants also have no right to ask for diners’ information.” Health officials have said on separate occasions that the virus-exposure app will only let the government know “who was present at the venues at a specific time” for potential tracing, while the encrypted data will only be stored in user phones for 31 days. Hong Kong Baptist University’s “BU-Trace,” launched last October and led by Xu Jianliang, Associate Head of the Department of Computer Science, is an alternative to the official app, Prof Xu said. “People can use other apps to check whether their information has been transferred to servers if they are skeptical of the government,” Prof Xu said. Prof Xu also said the government could make their app open source, meaning publishing the software code for people to inspect the operating …
Air-frying food at high temperatures creates carcinogenic risk, Consumer Council says
- 2021-02-17
- Health & Environment
- The Young Reporter
- By: CHEN BingyiEdited by: LAMA Sumnima Rani
- 2021-02-17
Air fryers, which sell themselves as a healthier alternative to deep fryers, “pose different risks,” the city’s Consumer Council said in an online press conference today. The watchdog tested the electrical safety and performance of 12 air fryer models and found that half posed various safety hazards to consumers, including creating a potentially carcinogenic compound. “For air fried food, consumers should take it in moderation and not lower their guard simply because air-frying is deemed to be a healthier cooking method,” said Nora Tam Fung-Yee, chairman of the Research and Testing Committee of the Consumer Council. Foods containing abundant amounts of asparagine, a type of free amino acid found in foods such as potatoes, are more likely to produce acrylamide, a human carcinogen the council said, when cooked at high temperatures. The content of acrylamide in french fries that were cooked in the 12 different air fryers ranged from 102 to 7,038 micrograms per kilogram, six of which exceeded the EU suggestion of 500 micrograms per kilogram. The air fryers are from brands Proluxury, Denki, Midea, Imarflex, ecHome and TSK. According to the instructions or recipes provided by the brands. One model, Imarflex, exceeded the benchmark by 13 times, said Ms Tam. When the fries were cooked at lower frying times or cooking temperatures, the levels of acrylamide fell to levels consistent with the EU’s suggested amount . The council also found issues with excessive temperature, insufficient insulation and inadequate earthing terminal. The Consumer Council provided four tips for using air fryers safely. Avoid sharing a power outlet with other electrical appliances that have high power consumption Do not exceed the maximum capacity of the air fryer and do not densely pack food to avoid undercooking Do not cover the air outlet when the air fryer is in operation to …
Hotel workers call for recognition of their efforts during COVID-19
- 2021-02-16
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Janice LoEdited by: Jasmine Tse
- 2021-02-16
Local hotel workers are demanding a one-off subsidy in recognition of their contribution in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. They also want priority in vaccination because of the risks they have to take. The Hong Kong Housekeeping Employers Association and Hotels, Food & Beverage Employees Association said in a press conference today that the government should provide a one-off subsidy of $3,000 for each worker. They urged the government to increase the capacity of banquets from 20 to 80 people and set up an Emergency Relief Fund for hotel workers who lost their jobs. “Housekeepers have to put on personal protective equipment when cleaning the rooms used for quarantine. But the equipment limits their movements, and cleaning time has increased from 30 minutes to almost two hours,” said Hector Ngai Chee-keung, the membership affairs officer of the Hong Kong Housekeeping Employers Association. He said housekeepers now have an increased workload because of strict hygiene standards for both staycation and quarantine guests. “Housekeepers need one to one-and-a-half hours to clean each room because they find red wine stains on carpet, rotten fruit and peanuts shells in the rooms,” said Mr Ngai. By providing a one-off subsidy of $3,000 for each worker, Mr Ngai said it could reward those who have maintained professionalism amid the pandemic. Nerine Yip Lau-ching, Secretary-general of the Hotels, Food & Beverage Employees Association said that it is crucial for hotel workers to get vaccinated first because they face a high risk of catching COVID-19 when serving food. “By allowing us to have a higher priority for vaccination and encouraging the public to get vaccinated, it could prevent a fifth wave of the pandemic from hitting Hong Kong,” added Cheung Tsz-yeung, director of the Hotels, Food & Beverage Employees Association. Food and Health Secretary Sophia Chan Shiu-chee announced today that …
Social distancing measures to relax on Thursday as COVID-19 cases fall
- 2021-02-16
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Janice LoEdited by: Jasmine Tse
- 2021-02-16
Food and Health Secretary Sophia Chan Shiu-chee announced today that social distancing measures will ease from Feb. 18. Hong Kong recorded nine new cases of Covid-19 today, the second consecutive day in the single digits. Prof. Chan said that in view of the low number of COVID-19 cases, catering businesses can provide dine-in services until 10 pm and the maximum capacity per table will be increased from two to four people. Some businesses such as sports facilities, gyms, beauty parlours, cinemas, and game centres can also be reopened for business until 10 pm, provided that their staff undergo virus testing every 14 days. “Owners and staff should undergo the first virus testing between Feb. 11 to Feb. 25,” added Prof. Chan. People entering these premises are required to scan the QR codes using the Leave Home Safe app or register their personal information along with visiting date and time to record their whereabouts. Prof. Chan warned that if restaurants and other premises do not comply with the requirements, their opening hours for dine-in services will be shortened to 6 pm and the number of people per table will again be restricted to two people. They may also be subject to temporary closure of between 3-14 days. Meanwhile, bars, nightclubs, bathhouses, party rooms, mahjong parlours, swimming pools and karaoke establishments will remain closed.