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Hong Kong expressed sorrow over the death of former Chinese president Jiang Zemin with a three-minute silence while live streaming Beijing’s memorial service in the Great Hall of the People at 10 am Tuesday. The city’s 18 district offices live broadcasted the memorial service to the public for residents to mourn Jiang. “The whole party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups mourn the loss of such a great man,” said current Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the state’s farewell event. “Comrade Jiang Zemin was a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist, diplomat and a long-tested communist fighter," he added. “The death of President Jiang is an immeasurable loss to our country,” said chief executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Facebook today. Outside the main entrance of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government on Tuesday morning, around twenty police officers were on guard near wreaths and a pile of white flowers dedicated to the former president. Some passersby stopped to take photos of the flower dedications and paid respect with bows to the picture of the late leader. “It’s a kind of respect,” said Win Hung, 78, “he (Jiang) had great achievements.” Hung brought his friend from the mainland to observe the scene after bowing in front of the former head of state’s portrait. “(Former) president Jiang has done a lot for our country,” said Yeung Kuen, 48, a businesswoman who also came with her friends to express their condolences outside the Liaison Office. A Hong Kong Polytechnic University postgraduate Teng Zihan, 23, held a white chrysanthemum, representing grief for the dead in Chinese culture, and bowed with his friend to honour the paramount leader. The Liaison Office in Hong Kong closed the mourning hall on Monday at 5:30 pm with prior …

When Bonnie Kan, 24, moved from Hong Kong to Canada in July, she spent HK$70,000 to take her seven pet lizards, snakes and frogs with her. It took eight months to make the arrangements with a reptile shop that helped her relocate her pets. Before boarding, the staff from the reptile shop put warmers between each plastic carrying box to maintain a constant temperature during the flight. "The body temperature of my lizard dropped to 26 degree Celsius when I arrived in Canada. Lizards may get pneumonia if they catch a cold. Therefore, I think the first concern of moving them is temperature," Kan said. Last year, more than 113,000 residents left the city, according to government statistics, many of them with pets. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department told The Young Reporter that the number of issued health certifications for pets that are needed when entering destination countries rose from 6,267 in 2021 to 9,622 permits as of August 2022. Reptiles are harder to move than cats and dogs, as they are banned from entering some countries and some airlines do not accept them. Kan, who ran a store selling hand-knitted clothing items for reptiles in Hong Kong, said her pets were the most important priority in considering which country she would move to. Some countries like Australia ban the import of pet reptiles to prevent bringing any exotic diseases to the local habitat. She eventually settled on Canada, which allows reptiles. If a pet falls under one of the more than 38,700 species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, then a permit is needed. Kan got the permits from the AFCD for her two endangered reptiles, the Tokay Gecko and the Ball Python. “After hearing about an owner who …

A regular afternoon for some might be spent catching up on errands or perhaps relaxing with the family. At Tamar Park, 14 domestic helpers are working up a sweat under the instruction of 32-year-old personal trainer, Walter Vaz.  He has been offering the fitness classes for free since Oct 2 as a way of giving back to the community. "To me, the helpers are the core of Hong Kong. It is unfair that they don't even make a lot of money, or they can't get access to many things. Fitness is about feeling stronger and more confident. This is what I'm trying to bring to people," he said.  Among almost 340,000 of them as of June, according to the Hong Kong Free Press, their minimum wage stood at HK$4,630. Approximately 53% are from the Philippines and another 44% percent from Indonesia. The remainder also come from Thailand, Sri Lanka and Nepal, the Hong Kong Immigration Department reports. Most of them work six days a week, or even more, cleaning their employers’ homes, caring for their children or elderly grandparents. During the pandemic, many helpers have not been able to join their friends on their days off and so adding to the pressure they are under, sometimes at the expense of their mental health.    Helper Choice, a foreign domestic helpers employment agency, reported that during the 5th wave of the pandemic this year, 39.6% of domestic helpers felt unhappy about their life, with 22.2% needing emotional support during the pandemic, while over two-thirds fretted over financial issues. Mercylinda Felimon, 45, is a full-time domestic helper from the Philippines. She was looking forward to Walter’s class on Sunday because she thought it might support her mental health.  “If I can get an activity for free, I’d rather take that because I can …

Hundreds of people marched in the Brisbane’s Central Business District to oppose the British monarchy on the National Day of Mourning for Queen Elizabeth II. The organisers, the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance (WAR) said they were “against racist colonial imperialism”. "This is a stance against the continued crimes committed against marginalised First Nations, black, brown and Asian communities," the group posted on Facebook last Tuesday. Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Sept. 8. Steve Miles, 25, joined the protest even though he is not an indigenous Australian. “The bloodshed… the English monarchy has crossed the world and they're talking about respecting the dead,” said Miles. “I think it's more important to respect all of our own ancestors who brutally had their lives changed irreversibly by this brutal regime.” For more than a century, the Australian government has been criticised for its treatment of indigenous Australians. A few streets away at King George Square, dozens of people assembled to watch a live stream of the memorial service for Queen Elizabeth II held in the Great Hall at Parliament House in Canberra. Becky Wlloyd, 39, said she was here to pay respects to the Queen. “I guess I wouldn't really call myself a royalist person, but I do think it's an important moment in history,’ said Wlloyd. “Although there has sometimes been controversy around what royalist or monarchy means, I think that there had been some really positive things and so I'm paying my respect to her and to what she has contributed to.” The bells at Brisbane City Hall chimed 70 times at 12:00 pm, in memory of the Queen’s reign. Between 1905 to 1967, children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent were forcibly removed from their families and …

Around 40 people left flowers at the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong to offer condolences to Queen Elizabeth II, who died yesterday at 96. Local resident Wong Hong-ken, 70, who grew up under British colonial rule, said he was heartbroken over Queen Elizabeth’s death. "The British colonial government headed by the Queen built a great social atmosphere, spreading values like democracy," said Wong. "To this day, there is still an emotional bond between Hong Kong and the Queen.” Hong Kong was a British colony from 1842 to 1997, when it returned to Chinese rule. The Royal Family announced the Queen’s death yesterday at 6:30 pm UK time [local time 1:30 am today] on Twitter. “The death of her majesty's queen is a huge shock to the nation, and the world,” UK Prime Minister Liz Truss said in a statement. “The death of my beloved mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” King Charles III, the Queen’s eldest son, said in a statement. Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21,1926 in London, England. She was crowned as Queen on June 2, 1953. King Charles III will be crowned at St James’s Palace on Saturday.

Thousands of union members have flooded Brisbane’s CBD for the Labour Day parade in the capital of the State of Queensland in Australia today. The Labour Day events are organised by the Queensland Council of Unions, affiliated with the Australian Labor Party. The Queensland Council of Unions said that the event acknowledges the improvements made to the lives of working people and to society by the labour movement. Political figures from the Labor Party have participated in the parade. Annastacia Palaszczuk, the Premier of Queensland, marched along with Anthony Albanese, the Leader of the Opposition of Australia. Michelle Rae, the Queensland director of Media and Entertainment and Arts Alliance, said their goal in this parade is to raise awareness for press freedom and remind the rights of freelancers in the media industry. She explained that the Labour Day parade in general brings collective power to fight for a better working environment and holidays that labourers  deserve. “The parade can bring a new generation along, and at the same time, it can give Union members a chance to talk about their reality,” said Rae. The march ended with live music shows and booths that provided refreshments for participants at Brisbane Showgrounds after an hour's walk.