Politics
The court rejects dropping double incitement charge against Umbrella Movement defendants
- 2018-02-13
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Wallis Wang、Oasis LiEdited by: Ezra Cheung、Zinnia Lee
- 2018-02-13
The charge of inciting people to incite others to commit public nuisance against the "Occupy Central" founding trio, Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Chan Kin-man and Chu Yiu-ming, was ruled "constitutional" by the court this morning. Judge Johnny Chan Jong-herng believed that the charge "exists in the common law", saying that there is nothing "uncertain" and "unconstitutional" of the charge. The trio, Tai, Chan and Chu, was accused of three charges altogether: (1) conspiracy to commit public nuisance, (2) incitement to commit public nuisance and (3) inciting people to incite others to commit public nuisance. Defence Senior Counsel Gerard McCoy had argued that the third charge, inciting people to incite others to commit public nuisance, was neither justiciable nor constitutional in previous trials, and thus proposing a motion to rescind this charge. The judge was not convinced though, saying that inciting people to incite others is different from inciting to commit public nuisance and "cannot be treated in one single charge". Chan Kin-man, one of the Occupy Central founders, expressed his disappointment to the court after the hearing. "We are disappointed that the court accepts the incitement to incite is a lawful charge in this case," he said. "This is unprecedented." McCoy had previously argued that the prosecutor failed to provide detailed information such as the identity of involved people. But the judge stated that the prosecutor had made it clear. "Adequate and appropriate information has been given," said the judge. There had been a discussion about whether the single trial for the nine defendants could be split. The judge eventually decided to stay as a bound trial, implying that all nine defendants are to be tried and testified together even though Raphael Wong Ho-ming and Lee Wing-tat were accused of committing the crimes in places different from the rest. The judge also compared the incitement to a …
Democracy activists Joshua Wong, Alex Chow and Nathan Law set free by Court of Final Appeal
- 2018-02-06
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Katherine LiEdited by: Angie Chan、Michelle Ng
- 2018-02-06
Alex Chow, Joshua Wong, and Nathan Law walk free as Court of Final Appeal accepts their appeal this afternoon. The trio was initially arrested for breaking into the Central Government Offices and for "civil disobedience" in September 2014, which triggered the Occupy Central. However, Wong said that even though they regained their freedom, this is by no means a victory for democracy. "This set the precedent of demonstrations being viewed as violent," Wong said, "which puts all future attempts of public assembly at risk. Those who attend may receive months or years of jail sentence." Furthermore, Chow said that the lines of what is considered as violent demonstration has been blurred through this case, which is unhelpful to Hong Kong's fight for democracy. He called the court's ruling "sugar coated". The trio raised concerns that with the recent disqualification of Agnes Chow, Hong Kong is going through a very tough time. Alex Chow ultimately said that it is obvious that people in the government are under pressure to behave a certain way. The trio is free for now. But Joshua Wong faces another appeal for "contempt of court" which will soon decide whether he remains free or goes back to jail.
People not satisfied with new scheme for low-income families
- 2017-12-07
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Susan Gao、Melissa KO、Kenji ChanEdited by: Susan Gao、Melissa KO
- 2017-12-07
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has introduced several policies to ease the plight of low-income families in her maiden policy address today, while many of those families are dissatisfied and argue for more. The city's first female leader proposed to "significantly enhancing" Low-income Working Family Allowance (LIFA) starting from April 1, 2018. Under the new policy, with a few more requirements being satisfied, the monthly payment for a four-person household with two children will increase by 23% from the current $2,600 to $3,200, said the Chief Executive. Ivan Wong Yun-Tat, the Vice Secretary of Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre and the district councilor of Kwai Tsing, said that Carrie Lam has responded to the grassroots' aspiration but "the benchmark duration of working hours for the scheme is still higher than expected." The new scheme requires all family members in a four-person household to have no less than 192 total monthly working hours, whereas Wong said 72 working hours per month is the most ideal amount. An open forum discussing Carrie Lam's first policy address was held in Kwun Tong Methodist Social Service today. It was jointly organised by 20 social welfare concern groups with Wong as one of the organisers. The neighbourhood, several political parties and concern groups turned out en masse the event, urging the government to do more for the disadvantaged groups. Mrs. Lam, a full-time housewife having been received the allowance for several years said she was not satisfied with the scheme because her daughter has autism. She suggested that the government should do more, especially to support those low-income families of a child with special needs. Anthony Wong, the business director of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, said the families of "N have-nots" tended to benefit the least from the updated …
Highlights on Carrie Lam's responses in her press conference
- 2017-10-12
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Sharon PunEdited by: Isabella Lo
- 2017-10-12
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor further justified her plans for Hong Kong in a press conference Wednesday afternoon, following the announcement of her first policy address in the morning. Responding to the saying that her policy address highlights only livelihood issues but avoids political matters, Lam said Hong Kong has not had a proper atmosphere for such a discussion yet. Lam mentioned the acts of some legislators that morning in the Legislative Council, which she considered as disrespect, are a sign indicating that the city is not ready for much political discussion. She said political reforms, especially those regarding Article 23 and universal suffrage, could only be progressed when time is suitable. Concerning measures to ease housing problems, Lam said the best way for now is to increase the supply of flat units. She promised to make transparent discussions in the near future to confirm how the schemes can work feasibly in detail. While public doubts if the "Starter Homes" plan could solve pressing issues related to housing soon, Lam clarified that it is more important to provide every the opportunity in purchasing flats. Another focus of Lam's address is regarding to innovation and technology. Lam agreed that the industry in Hong Kong has been lagging behind that in the Mainland for years. Apart from the increase in research and development funding, Lam said she will put in extra effort to this field by supervising the whole process of development herself. Regarding Hong Kong audience booing the national anthem at a football match on Monday, Lam thought the irrational audience are only the minority of the whole. She reaffirmed that Hong Kong is part of China and such acts are considered deeply disrespectful to the home country.
Highlights on Carrie Lam's First Policy Address
- 2017-10-11
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Sharon PunEdited by: Cecilia Wong、Isabella Lo、Daisy Lee、James Ho
- 2017-10-11
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor kicked off her first Policy Address of 2017-2018 by emphasising "one country two systems" this morning in the Legislative Council. She quoted President Xi Jin-ping's remarks during his visit to the city in July, that the framework of "one country two systems" is the best path for Hong Kong. Pinpointing on her maiden policy, she introduced the two-tier taxation system in which the profit tax rate is lowered from 16.5% to 8.25% for the first $2 million. Rate beyond $2 million remains unchanged. The government will set limits to big corporations, so that only one of the subsidiaries can be benefited. For housing, Lam put emphasis on the "Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Pilot Scheme" which is expected to offer more than 4000 public housing flats by the end of 2018. Lam detailed the "Starter Homes" plan in cooperation with private developers to help young families with the income capped by about 30% higher than the home ownership ownership limits get onto the housing ladder. To alleviate the existing pressure on housing, Lam suggested several measures to increase transitional housing supply, such as utilising idle governmental premises to provide rental housings, and converting industrial building into transitional housing with land premium wavering. Lam suggests providing a maximum of $300 monthly travelling allowance to each Octopus user who spends over $400 on commuting by MTR, franchised buses, green minibuses and ferries. The policy using the dividends from MTR Corporation is expected to benefit 2 million citizens territory-wide. In order to encourage the youth's voices in policy discussion, she said the government will increase the ratio of teenagers within her government to 15%. In addition, the government will recruit more than 20 young people to take part in …
Activists call for support of jailed mainland dissidents
- 2017-10-05
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Raphael Blet、Tracy Zhang、Jade LiEdited by: Lam Ka Sing、Tracy Zhang
- 2017-10-05
An activist group organised a temporary exhibition in Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui Wednesday evening, calling for support of jailed activists in mainland China. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China hopes the Democracy Lantern Action can make the public pay more attention to the "patriots" in custody and the human rights issue in the mainland, said Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, vice president of the organisation, referring to dissidents such as the 709 lawyers, a group of lawyers under government surveillance. The number 709 refers to the fact that the lawyers were arrested on July 9 in 2015. "The annual event we hold next to the Tsim Sha Tsui harbour every year at Mid-Autumn Festival is to advocate for those in custody who cannot get united with their family members," he said. "We also hope to increase awareness on the suppression on the defendants of human rights in mainland on the night of a traditional Chinese festival when people unite with their family members," he added. Chow Hang-tung, barrister and vice president of the Hong Kong Alliance, also regarded the Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbolic time to call for the activists' reunion with their families as it is when Chinese families traditionally gather to celebrate. "The most vocal lawyers have been either placed in jail or put on probation since the 709 crackdown, severely reducing the number of human rights lawyers who can still work effectively" said Chow, who believes that the situation for mainland human rights lawyers has worsened since the jailings in 2015. The alliance has delivered moon cakes to the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government on Chinese National day on Monday, asking for the release of jailed mainland dissidents to reunite with their families. …
Banning EdU students from taking up jobs would potentially be "not fair"
- 2017-09-13
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Zoya Zhao、Raphael Blet、Scout Xu、Windy LIEdited by: Lam Ka Sing
- 2017-09-13
Timeline of Education University's democracy wall saga Banning The Education University of Hong Kong's (EdU) students from taking up jobs would potentially be unfair, said a spokesperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), referring to the university's recent democracy wall saga. Employers should avoid applying non-essential requirements, conditions or making groundless assumptions, EOC said. Some school principals sent emails to EdU saying they would never hire the university's graduates, said the university's student union. "If these claims happened to be true, it would be unfair", said EOC. However, EOC also pointed out that due to the lack of details, there was no evidence to show that these possible actions would be against the Discrimination Ordinance. "To prevent discrimination in the workplace, the EOC encourages employers to make all employment decisions based on merit, job experiences and education qualifications regardless of a person's gender, marital status or other irrelevant criteria." Student unions of some other universities have been criticized for not openly denouncing the incident. However, some students also studying education did not approve of what was posted on the university's democracy wall. "I feel a bit ashamed actually. Cursing and mocking the deceased son of a person is never appropriate" said Joanna Wong, a student of English Language Education in a local university. Nevertheless, she does not think that the claims of internship cancellation will be true. " I don't think the principals who joined the petition really meant that they are not hiring those from EdU" About 10 internships at the university have been cancelled, said Lala Lai Hiu-ching, the president of the university's student union. "Some institutions claimed that they were "cancelling" internships and would "never" hire EdU students," Lai said. If these claims are true, this would affect all students in this university. "This is …
Special kids, Special Needs
- 2017-06-20
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- 2017-06-20
Legislators call for a review of education policies to help Special Educational Needs students Becky Liu is a year three student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was in kindergarten. That means Becky has a learning disability in reading, writing and speaking. Liu recalled her parents being told by the teacher that she could not tell the difference between the letters "A" and "B". "I cried every day when I was in primary school because I was not able to spell the word ‘apple' and ‘orange' properly," Becky said. There were more than 7,800 special educational needs (SEN) students like Becky in Hong Kong in 2016, according to government figures. Their conditions range from dyslexia to severe cases such as intellectual disability, visual and hearing impairments. For them to learn effectively, the Education Bureau reckons the pupil-teacher ratio cannot be more than 4.5: 1. For the first two years of Becky's school life, she had the benefited from teaching materials and a curriculum specially designed for SEN students. But the problems started when she was transferred to a mainstream school. She fell below average and school, in general, was a struggle "Luckily my parents always tell me to focus on the process instead of the result. That alleviates my pressures and I became less resistant to new things," Becky said. Becky believes that some teachers in mainstream schools assume that students who do not have good academic results are lazy. That, she says, makes it even tougher for SEN students to adapt to school life. "What we need," Becky said, " are patience and encouragement to build our confidence." Haven of Hope Sunnyside School serves students with the severe disability. Their intelligence quotients are sometimes equivalent to that of very young kids. …
Walking in Hong Kong
- 2017-04-23
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- 2017-04-23
It says something about the possibility of having a walkable Hong Kong when artificial grass mats, splash pools, picnic tables and benches were placed on what used to be a heavily-congested Des Voeux Road Central in September last year. The government is working with NGOs to turn roads into more pedestrian-friendly and it maysurprise many that the city is currently having seven full-time pedestrian schemes and 30 part-time ones. "Walking can be safe, comfortable and interesting," said Maura Wong Hung-hung, Chief Executive Officer of the independent public think tank Civic Exchange. "That's why walking is a pleasure and something that people enjoy, they don't have to depend on vehicles," said Wong. The "Walk in Hong Kong" initiative, proposed by the Transport and Housing Bureau, was officially announce in the 2017 Policy Address on January 18. It aims to promote walkability, which is related to connectivity of streets in Hong Kong. Working on pedestrian environment, the initiative will implement multiple new measures based on four themes. According to the Legislative Council Paper, it will provide user-friendly information on walking routes, enhance pedestrian network connection, make walking a pleasant experience and provide a safe and quality pedestrian environment. Civic Exchange introduced a new initiative in December 2016, "Walkability", to advocate walking in the city. The new initiative also encourages the government and different sectors to take a "people-first" approach in urban planning. For instance, meetings and seminars will be organized to foster citizens' understanding about the concept of walkability. "Pedestrian should play a priority role in the city's development, including the transportation strategy," said Wong. Civic Exchange also introduced the WALKScore in December 2016, a tool to measure walkability in Hong Kong. It takes into consideration the city's density, mixed-land use, constant traffic, hilly topography and other challenges. From its data, Mongkok …
Unleash it or not: an Uproar From Inside
- 2016-11-10
- Politics
- 2016-11-10
Gender equality activists advocate braless campaigns for women by Isabella Lo People in Hong Kong have seldom talked about women's bras, until last year when a Hong Kong girl was sentenced to jail for three and a half months for assaulting a police officer with her breasts during a cross-border trading protest, which caused a public uproar doubting the aggressiveness of women's wares. Bras have been deemed to be women's necessity for decades. Bras draw eyeballs globally, especially when sexy models with dazzling underwear walk on the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show. According to market research done by the firm Ibis World, lingerie is a $13 billion industry that is growing at a rate of 3.3% each year, with the glamorization of lingerie by manufacturers such as Victoria's Secret. The interior wears with rigid wires and straps, are still "painful" to many women. Back in 2013, French professor Jean-Denis Rouillon suggested that breasts gain no benefit in bras medically, physiologically and anatomically, after 15 years' of investigating the anatomy of 330 women. Hong Kong ‘Free the Nipple' Association, founded a year ago, said they hope to promote gender equality, popularise breast-feeding, and say no to commercialism, by encouraging posting photos of breasts on the internet. Founder of the association, Christine Yu Po-yan, said they have been thinking about turning the campaign from the virtual community into real-life actions. "Joanna Chan, another founder of our association, will consider running for the next Legislative Council Election in order to bring our voice into the Legislature," she said. The association will also apply for a seat to speak in the public consultation session in the coming term of LegCo meetings, said Christine. Over the year, they have gained around two hundred supporters on their Facebook page, with half of the supporters being male …