Politics

The scourge of Liberal Studies
- 2015-01-09
- Politics
- 2015-01-09
While pro-government lawmakers call to reform Liberal Studies, subject teachers and academia criticise them for not tackling the problems at heart

Rising rents at factory buildings are pushing artists out
- 2014-12-09
- Politics
- 2014-12-09
TWO ageing thespians dressed head to toe in black gesture to the audience in one swift move. Their leveled voices project across the theatre, echoing faintly. Black box production "Occupy San Po Kong" is playing in the humble but creative community of San Po Kong in New Kowloon. Performing are members of We Draman, a drama group funded by the Hong Kong Arts and Development Council. The play centers on two new hotel buildings in the neighbourhood and paints an apprehensive and hopeless picture of artists fearing their creative sanctuary would soon become a commercialised district. The play highlights dissatisfaction with real-life 2010 policy measures to redevelop and convert old industrial buildings, resulting in rent increases and forced removal of artists and art groups. The government plans to pull the plug and withdraw the policy in 2016, according to an announcement by the Secretary for Development Mr Paul Chan Mo-po in November last year. The revitalisation plan came about because an increasing number of artists were illegally running studios out of industrial buildings. The HKADC called for the amendment of the revitalization policy, hoping to include art creation under the category "industrial usage" to enable local artists to keep their studios legally. Four years have passed and 90 revitalization cases have successfully been approved by the Land Department, yet the amendment is still in limbo. In hindsight, the local art community thinks little of the revitalization plan and believes the policy didn't help the arts and culture sector much. "I could say it's a total mess," said Mr Honkaz Fung Hing-keung, a freelance artist and creative director. Mr Fung recalls renting a 1,000 square foot apartment that has doubled in rent over the past eight years. "The policy had good intentions, but it didn't help, and instead left us in …

On the other side of the - Voices against Occupy Central
- 2014-10-20
- Politics
- 2014-10-20
As tens of thousands of people join the Occupy Central movement, others have complained that the campaign has hurt the livelihood of ordinary people by blocking roads and traffic. 1. Mr Allan Zeman Entrepreneur Former chairman of Ocean Park "At some point you need to open the roads. You're choking off the economy." 2. Ms Chan Ching-sum Caring Hong Kong Power spokesperson (Source: Mingpao) "They kept asking why the police did not enforce the law to protect the occupation protesters. I want to tell them. Those occupation people would not have been still occupying the road if the police had enforced the law in the first place to evict them." 3. Mr Robert Chow-yung Alliance for Peace and Democracy spokesperson "If the people say no, please don't disrupt our lives...... By all means fight with the government, by all means fight with China, but please don't make us hostages." 4. Mr Fu Chun-chung Defend Hong Kong Campaign convener "The central government made a clear framework for the further three-year discussions [on reform]. The central government should ‘shut the door down' and we should not waste time on civil nomination." 5. Mr Patrick Ko Tat-pun The Voice of Loving Hong Kong convener "They kept asking why the police did not enforce the law to protect the occupation protesters. I want to tell them. Those occupation people would not have been still occupying the road if the police had enforced the law in the first place to evict them." 6. Ms Leticia Lee See-yin Justice Alliance convener "The order of Hong Kong has been disrupted, traffic paralysed, stores forced to close, people cannot commute to work and students cannot attend classes."

Central Unoccupied
- 2014-10-20
- Politics
- 2014-10-20
The impact of Occupying Central on Hong Kong's financial hub has been minimal even though protesters have filled its streets. WHEN Occupy Central co-convener Mr Benny Tai Yiu-ting, a Univer- sity of Hong Kong law professor, con- cluded the first stage of Occupy Central movement as a victory, he said "civil diso- bedience has bloomed everywhere." He did not know then he meant it literally — protesters' footprints can be traced in the busiest districts of the city including Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Ad- miralty, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok. Even in Sheung Shui in north New Ter- ritories, small groups of people took to the street to call on Chief Executive Mr Leung Chun-ying to step down. The Occupy Central with Love and Peace website explains that Central was chosen as the location for demonstra- tion because it is the "most fragile point of Hong Kong" as the pivot of financial activities. Yet, Central seems to be the least affected area. There were no crowds swarming in the streets and no heavily jammed main traffic lanes. "I find it strange that they picked Central as the occupying location to bring about political changes," said Mr Alex Shiu Siu-tao, a commentator who published an article questioning the location of the occupy movement. Mr Shiu said financial clerks did not need much more than a laptop and access to the Internet for them to work. This means the financial system could still function even if nobody is physically working in Central. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority conducted a drill in June to test the stress capacity of 55 banks in Central if their offices became inaccessible. It found that back-up operating plans worked ef- ficiently for most banks, indicating that Occupy Central would not stop the core operations of the …

Where're The Protesters?
- 2014-10-20
- Politics
- 2014-10-20
John Tsang: Blessing HK in America Financial Secretary Mr John Tsang Chun-wah was supposed to explain to the United States on a recent visit how Hong Kong achieves revenue under a low tax system, but he ended up explaining the Occupy Central movement. In his October 5 blog titled "Bless Hong Kong," Mr Tsang said he and his colleagues wavered on whether it was appropriate to attend a US conference during the occupy movement. The 63-year-old official and his team ended up attending the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group annual meetings in Washington D.C., more than a week after the occupy movement, also called the Umbrella Revolution, began. It was seen as a diplomatic move from Mr Tsang: to describe the civil disobedience movement to Americans from the Hong Kong government's perspective. But when asked how the non-cooperation movement — the pro- democracy legislators' threat to boycott Beijing's election framework in the next Legislative Council meeting — might develop, he had to answer, I don't know. Despite Mr Tsang's inability to make prophesies, the financial secretary knows one thing for certain: the plug on the Umbrella Revolution needs to be pulled as soon as possible. "The ‘wall' we have built for many years, might not be able to withstand severe collision," Mr Tsang wrote in his October 12 blog post. "Democracy's prime purpose was to strengthen this ‘wall,' but destroying it for freedoms is more a loss than gain." The self-described insomniac isn't the only one worried about Hong Kong's future. A 2014 fourth quarter Hong Kong Macroeconomic Forecast by the University of Hong Kong shows that real GDP could drop next quarter. While the predicted percentage change in GDP is not drastic, co- author of the macroeconomic forecast Mr Richard Wong Yue-chim wrote in an article for the Hong …

Occupy in the name of Hong Kong people
- 2014-10-20
- Politics
- 2014-10-20
THE student storming of Civic Square lead by Scholarism leader Mr Joshua Wong Chi-fung ended up with 61 arrests, students pepper sprayed and an early start to Occupy Central. After Occupy Central leader Mr. Benny Tai Yiu-ting announced the official start to the movement in the early hours of September 28, protesters poured in to occupy main roads outside government headquarters in Admiralty. The pro-democracy protests escalated with thousands of people spontaneously occupying other areas of the city out of anger fanned by police use of tear gas to disperse protesters. The turnout was "totally unexpected," said Mr Tai. 1. Admiralty Admiralty is the first and most significant protest site since the occupy movement started at the Central Government Complex on Tim Mei Avenue and spread to Harcourt Road and Queensway. 2. Central Traffic is blocked at Connaught Road Central, the financial hub the Occupy Central movement originally aimed to paralyze. 3. Wan Chai Protesters gather at Gloucester Road and Lung Wo Road. Crowds take shelter in the Academy for Performing Arts the night tear gas is used. 4. Causeway Bay An escalating number of protesters spread to Yee Wo Street near Hennessy Road and Lockhart Road in Causeway Bay on September 29. 5. Mong Kok Protesters call on people to occupy Nathan Road and Argyle Street in Mong Kok with sit-in and blockades. 6. Tsim Sha Tsui Canton Road in business district Tsim Sha Tsui is blocked at midnight on October 1, China's National Day and the beginning of China's Golden Week holiday. The occupy movement in Tsim Sha Tsui comes to an end two days later.

Hong Kong turns a new page as thousands occupy main roads to press for genuine democracy
- 2014-10-20
- Politics
- 2014-10-20
Occupy Central has galvanised a whole generation of young people to stand up for their right to elect their leaders. WHEN law professor Mr Benny Tai Yiu-ting wrote in his newspaper column in January last year that a campaign similar to the Occupy Wall Street movement be launched in Hong Kong to press for genuine democracy, he could not have known what was to come next. As The Young Reporter goes to press on October 12, the Occupy Central with Love and Peace movement is in its third week and has disrupted parts of Central, Admiralty, Wan Chai, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay. Protesters, mainly tertiary students, have blocked key roads, causing traffic jams affecting local businesses and tens of thousands of commuters. Occupy Central, conceived as an adult-led civil disobedience campaign, has joined forces with a student-led movement to challenge the establishment's view that Hong Kong should follow what the government called a step-by-step approach in advancing democracy within a framework laid down by Beijing. The defining moment came shortly after 5pm on September 28, when police used pepper spray and tear gas to disperse crowds of protesters trying to break a police cordon outside government headquarters at Admiralty. Protesters' use of umbrellas to shield themselves from the spray has since prompted international media to dub the protests the "Umbrella Revolution," a misnomer, some say, in that the protesters are not trying to overthrow the government. The movement's trigger was a resolution passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on August 31 that would allow Beijing to decide candidates in future chief executive elections in and after 2017. Pro-democracy activists regard the decision as a "betrayal of universal suffrage," as candidates not favoured by Beijing would have no chance of being nominated. As the protests continue, …

Key Players
- 2014-10-20
- Politics
- 2014-10-20
1. Mr Leung Chun-ying aka CY Leung or "689", Chief Executive of HKSAR Occupy protesters gave Mr Leung the nickname "689" in reference to the 689 votes he received from the 1,200-person election committee in the 2012 CE election. Mr Leung urges lawmakers to accept Beijing's 2017 election framework saying, "We cannot afford a standstill in our constitutional development or else the prosperity or stability of Hong Kong will be at stake." Mr Leung said the occupy movement for democracy is "unlawful". Constitutional Reform Trio 2. Mr Rimsky Yuen Kwok- keung, Secretary for Justice 3. Ms Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Chief Secretary for Administration 4.Mr Raymond Tam Chi-yuen, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs The Hong Kong government formed the Task Force on Constitutional Development in October 2013 to carry out public consultations on reform of the chief executive election in 2017 and the formation of the Legislative Council in 2016. The trio faced criticism for not reflecting mainstream opinion in a July report submitted to the NPC. The second phase of public consultation, scheduled for October, was postponed after the occupy movement kicked off. Occupy Central Trio 5. Mr Benny Tai Yiu-ting Associate Professor of Law at the University of Hong Kong This 50-year-old democrat and academic initiated the civil disobedience movement Occupy Central with Love and Peace calling for democratic elections by international standards in January 2013. He has kept a low profile since students took the lead in the occupy movement. 6. Dr Chan Kin-man Associate Professor of Sociology at Chinese University of Hong Kong This 55-year-old academic with research interests in democracy and social movements became a co-leader of Occupy Central in 2013. He says the movement is "touching," and supports the use of non-violent resistance and the student attempts at dialogue with the government. 7. Reverend Chu Yiu-ming Baptist …

From Occupy Central to Umbrella Revolution
- 2014-10-20
- Politics
- 2014-10-20
January 16, 2013 –Mr Benny Tai's debut "To achieve genuine universal suffrage, we may need to prepare a more ‘lethal' weapon — Occupy Central," Mr Benny Tai Yiu-ting writes in his column in the Hong Kong Economic Journal. Together with Reverend Chu Yiu-ming and Dr Chan Kin-man, Mr Tai proposes to force the central government to implement an electoral system "in accordance with international standards" for the 2017 Chief Executive election by paralysing the economic and political centre of Hong Kong. The movement is later named "Occupy Central with Love and Peace". June 10, 2014 – White Paper released Ten days before an unofficial referendum held by Occupy Central activists, Beijing releases a white paper emphasising the central government's total control over Hong Kong. It says: * All the executive, legislative and judicial practices in the HKSAR must conform to the Basic Law. * China's central government has comprehensive jurisdiction over all local administrative regions, including the HKSAR. * The high degree of autonomy enjoyed by Hong Kong is subject to the level of the central leadership's authorisation. June 22, 2014 – Civil referendum Working with the Public Opinion Programme of The University of Hong Kong and the Centre for Social Policy Studies of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Occupy Central activists hold an unofficial civil referendum on the constitutional reform proposals and ask the public if LegCo should veto the government proposal if it cannot satisfy international standards by allowing genuine choices by voters. Of the 800,000 votes cast, more than 87% vote "yes" on the second question. August 17, 2014 – Anti-Occupy Central parade More than 100,000 people march from Victoria Park to Central to voice their opposition to the Occupy Central movement. Some participants reportedly receive money and other forms of rewards. The parade is the culmination …

[Cover Story] Most parents blind to psychological abuse
- 2014-06-16
- Politics
- 2014-06-16
Spotlight on Cinderella - The call for a new law to protect children from psychological abuse