TOP STORIES
Incensed Baptist University students rally against arrest of broadcast journalism student
- 2019-09-16
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Rachel Yeo、Anna Kam、Phoebe Lai、Jo Ng、Yanni ChowEdited by: William Tsui
- 2019-09-16
Hundreds of Baptist University students staged a march to rally against the arrest of broadcast journalism student Boaz So, which later escalated to heated verbal shouting towards various school authorities. Mr. So, a student reporter from BNN, a student-run news station based in the university, was arrested in North Point last night for suspicion on possessing an offensive weapon. He was later released on bail earlier this evening. Police found a butter knife while searching through So's belongings and was taken to a private car by riot police. So said that the knife was used to cut mooncakes, which was later confirmed by his girlfriend Rachel So Ching-yan. Kelly Lam and Sharon Tam, two of the other student reporters who was out with Boaz So in North Point last night said they felt "hopeless and furious" about their classmate's arrest. "They seem to be targeting at student reporters. They also seem to be targeting at young people," said Ms. Lam and Ms.Tam. Ms. Lam described they were being requested by the riot police to show their press cards and identity cards in North Point last night. The police passed around their identity cards among themselves while taking notes of their information. Their bags and identity cards were also searched by police at the scene. During the march which started out peaceful, students demanded for the university to provide assistance for arrested students, condemn the police for arresting people without reason and stifling press freedom and ensure physical safety of students. Teddy, a year 3 film student at Hong Kong Baptist University who does not want to reveal her full name and a friend of Boaz So thought the arrest of Mr. So was pointless. "As a friend of his, I don't think he is going to use the knife to …
Airport protests fail to take off with enhanced police presence and limited transport
- 2019-09-08
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: EditorEdited by: Karen Kwok
- 2019-09-08
Heavy police presence, stringent checks and limited public transport has made it harder for protesters to stage a sit-in protest at the Hong Kong International Airport. Initiated online by netizens, dubbed as "Airport Traffic Stress Testing", they called for the public to go to the airport to create disrupt traffic and airport operations. Dozens of riot police were stationed at every entrance and exit of the transport hub and demanded people wandering at the airport to leave. Passengers needed to provide valid air tickets and travel documents for checking at the entrance of the departure halls before entering the terminal buildings. Some thought the police's behaviour was inappropriate. A Belgian tourist who only wishes to be known as Hazma, was in the bus on the way to the airport when police conducted bag searches checkpoints at the toll plaza. He added that the police asked for his passport. "It's a little intimidating, I am not used to this situation (riot police patrolling everywhere at the airport)," he said. Students known as Mr. Ha and Ms. Wong, aged 21 and 23 respectively, were spotted at the bus terminus holding up their mobile screens showing slogans that said "Fight for freedom, Stand with Hong Kong" and "5 Demands Not One Less". Both criticised the act of clearing people out as “over the line”. "People are just voicing out their opinions. The police are stamping out Hong Kong citizens' freedom to do so. I highly doubt that they know what they are doing," said Ha. A 59-year-old woman, who gave her surname as Chin, was arrested this afternoon. She claimed she was sitting by at the bus terminus finding her way home when a female police officer suddenly ordered her to leave. "I was just here to dine out," said Chin, having no clue …
Goodbye, To Kwa Wan
- 2019-06-01
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Yoyo ChowEdited by:
- 2019-06-01
After a fatal building collapse in To Kwa Wan, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has announced a number of redevelopment projects in the district since 2016. While most residents accepted the government's compensation, many say moving away from the neighbourhood is not about money.
Creative writing — a journey of self discovery and breaking stereotypes for marginalised foreign domestic workers
- 2019-05-30
- Culture & Leisure
- The Young Reporter
- By: Katherine LiEdited by: Phoebe Lai
- 2019-05-30
As a foreign domestic helper in Hong Kong, Anni Juliana works in her employer's home six days a week up to 13 hours a day. On Sunday, her only day off, the 37 year old from North Sumatra in Indonesia spends this time on studying English and participating in creative writing. Ms. Juliana is one of the over 360,000 foreign domestic workers in this competitive city, around 41 percent of whom are Indonesian. She is also one of 10 whose work was featured in Java Tales and Voices, a creative writing magazine published last December by local charity TCK Learning Centre for Migrant Workers. "Back when I was in school in Indonesia, I always loved to write in English," said Ms. Juliana, sitting cross-legged on a lush carpet in TCK Learning Centre's study room, while her friends outside put on makeup and sequined dresses in preparation for their angklung traditional Indonesian music performance later that afternoon. "I had to go find work, but I still try my best to find these opportunities." Under the instruction of Becky Mitchell, their creative writing instructor, Java Tales and Voices was published as a compilation of creative works by migrant workers. Despite high operating costs, a number of workshops around the city have also been encouraging foreign domestic workers and ethnic minorities to tell their stories and take pride in their culture through creative writing. In her personal memoir titled Rainbow, Ms. Juliana tells a poignant personal story of struggle and hope, about how she fought to keep her family afloat and give her three children a future. "Tick tock… Tick tock… Days, months, years go by, my kids growing up. Time moves so fast. No one can control or stop it, or even push the pause button. A million tears fall. A million prayers …
Hong Kong Fishermen's Ballads: A history in songs
- 2019-05-27
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Zinnia LeeEdited by:
- 2019-05-27
Fishermen's ballads are a form of oral history of Hong Kong's dwindling fishing community. Our reporter, Zinnia Lee tells the story of how these songs have become a form of Intangible Cultural Heritage for Hong Kong and what the younger generation is doing to preserve them.
Animal cafes in Hong Kong: welfare experts call for licensing
- 2019-05-10
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Maisy MokEdited by: Tomiris Urstembayeva
- 2019-05-10
At The Cat Tea room in Tsuen Wan, cats jump from table to table, sometimes lying beside a cup of tea while being petted by customers. The owner of the shop, Albert Lee, said he was inspired by a trip to Japan and Korea. Mr. Lee observed a lack of animal cafes in Hong Kong and seized the opportunity to open one. Most of the cats were once strays. Wanting to create a safe haven for cats, Mr. Lee took them under his wing to provide healthcare, food and shelter. "Before my business partners and I opened up this place four and a half years ago, there was only one cat cafe in Hong Kong," said Mr. Lee. "Now there are around 10 or more cat cafes and a wide variety of animal cafes." Animal cafes have sprung up in Hong Kong in recent years. Although it may seem like a dream come true for animal lovers, for one animal welfare expert, it is a nightmare. In Hong Kong, the government does not require a licence to run animal cafes. In fact, the Labour and Welfare Bureau released a statement that they have no plans to regulate pet restaurants. So instead, an animal cafe that serves food follows the health guidelines for restaurants, which only prohibit dogs or they are regulated as a licensed club. If the cafe only serves drinks, then they do not have to follow any rules at all. Owners have used these loopholes to introduce all kinds of animals to cafes. The Cats Tea room is only licensed by the Business Registration Office. There is no kitchen in the cafe and only beverages are prepared. Food that is served is not made by staff but instead ordered from nearby restaurants. "If they (animal cafes) are allowed …
Is Hong Kong a safe place for men to crossdress?
- 2019-05-10
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Stephanie MaEdited by: Rachel Yeo
- 2019-05-10
The frilly, dark lace trimmings embroidered around Tsang Ching’s knee-length, eccentric red dress stood in stark contrast to the modernity of the bustling streets of Mong Kok. With immaculate makeup and long, soft curls fanned over her shoulders, Tsang Ching strutted past the sardine-packed markets in a pair of black suede knee-high boots. Biologically male, Ms. Tsang identifies and dresses as female. She first started crossdressing began when she tried on her first pair of stockings at the age of six. During secondary school, she would crossdress at home borrowing clothing from her family members, only to put them back when she felt satisfied. But as she did not have the money to buy shoes and wigs until she turned 23. Now, Ms. Tsang, 33, works as an organising secretary for a labour non-profit organisation and dresses as a woman every day. Her colleagues are largely accepting of her identity, she says, and adds that the major objection comes from her wife. "Some think crossdressers are gay, and that’s the reason why they do crossdressing. Or they would straight up think that I am a pervert because I was dressing so femininely", said Ms. Tsang, "I want to be treated as a female even though I don’t hate being male." With increased LGBT exposure in recent years, whether or not Hong Kong has progressed into a safe place for men to publicly crossdress remains a question. "Each time crossdressing is used in Hong Kong and Chinese media, it is sometimes laughable. It is used as comedy." said Brenda Rodriguez Alegre, a transgender lecturer of Gender Studies at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Hong Kong. "I think socially, logically and psychologically, safe is a complex term to use. Maybe you will be safe in the sense that you …
A taste of Central Asia culture
- 2019-05-03
- Photo Essay
- The Young Reporter
- By: Tomiris UrstembayevaEdited by: Katherine Li
- 2019-05-03
Central Asia has always played an important role in connecting the East and the West both during the Silk Road period and now by joining the One Belt One Road Initiative. Rich Turkic and Persian history and culture later affected by Soviet diversity are reflected in the wide variety of cuisine. The Central Asia Centre is a non-governmental organisation aiming to provide Hongkongers a chance to explore the history, culture, traditions and nature of Central Asia. It has organised a cooking workshop to demonstrate Uzbek culinary art. The cooking class instructor from Uzbekistan, Ms. Munira, shows how to make golden-crispy buns with juicy meat — Uzbek samsa, which is a must-have on each table in her home country.
Art review: Artists discuss video art in the 90s at Art Basel
- 2019-04-17
- People
- The Young Reporter
- By: Stephanie MaEdited by: William Tsui
- 2019-04-17
Technological improvements gave way to video art in the 1990s, and serve as the new gateway to film and new media art forms. "[After] the post-film period [and entering] into the period in which video was more easily accessible in terms of equipment, what became important [for the development of video art] was the fact that video cameras became cheaper," she said. "The Final Cut Pro was a very important element that any artist could have just as one had tubes of oil paint," Ms. Malani, whose work expanded from the realms of painting to film and video since the 1990s, added. Final Cut Pro is a video editing software released by Apple in the early 1990s that is packed with features such as colour correction, sound mixing and special effects. Priced at a mere US $1000, the programme was significantly cheaper than those released by the film industry's then superpower, Avid, whose systems ranged in prices from US $50,000 to $100,000. "My idea for making video art was because the language of the moving image is much better understood. Montage is very quickly understood by an Indian public because they are used to seeing it in advertisements, television and all of that," she said. The emergence of video arts in Asia during the 1990s was attributed to technology and culture, Zhang Peili, a Chinese contemporary artist and the Director of the Embodied Media Studio at the School of Intermedia in Hangzhou, China said. "Technology is being imported to China and is known by the people in China and used here. On the other hand, people's awareness of arts and culture changed. And because of that, they would abstain from what they did before," he added, "That's how video art came into being." Barbara London, an American curator and founder …
Hundreds marked the 30th anniversary of the June 4th incident
- 2019-04-17
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Fang-Yi Chen、Hailey ManEdited by: Wallis Wang
- 2019-04-17
Around a hundred people joined a 15-kilometre long-distance running from Causeway Bay to Sai Wan last Sunday, marking the 30th anniversary of the June 4th incident. With another 15-kilometre previous run completed by the "June 4th Long Distance Team", the total distance added up to 30, which is the anniversary year of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Crackdown. "The route is set upon two meanings: the historical background of 1989 Democracy Movement and the accusation to June 4th Crackdown," said Mr. Lee Cheuk-yan, the Secretary of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China (HKASPDMC). Throughout the 5-hour-run, participants passed by 18 checkpoints, which were all landmarks related to the 1989 Democracy Movement, according to Mr. Lee. For example, the Pillar of Shame at The University of Hong Kong was a memorial sign for the movement. And the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government was the place where people expressed their accusation to the Central government, hoping one day the June 4th movement can be successfully vindicated. Runners shouted "Vindicate June 4th! We are getting closer to the success!" along the run to raise the morale and support themselves to carry on the tough long run. "Joining the long-distance run is a way to demonstrate my determination to the rehabilitation of June 4th," said Wong Nga-man, one of the permanent members of HKASPDMC. "Same as the long-distance run, it has a long way to go and takes great perseverance." The participants laid flowers at the Pillar of Shame and at the gate of LOCPG to express their respect and solidarity to the sacrificed students and activists during the movement. Led by the organisers, they paid silent tribute in front of the Pillar of Shame for one minute. "Many people with great aspiration were sacrificed back then. If …