TOP STORIES
13 years after Sichuan earthquake: looking back and moving on
- 2021-05-12
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: WANG Jingyan 王婧言、REN Ziyi DavidEdited by: Robin Ewing
- 2021-05-12
The Young Reporter looks back at the Sichuan earthquake 13 years ago today. The magnitude-8 quake devastated the region, killed nearly 70,000 and injured close to 375,00. Almost 18,000 people are still missing. People all over China as well as in Japan, Thailand and the Philippines reported tremors. Now, more than a decade later, the psychological effects are still being felt but China is more prepared. May 12, 2008 -- 2:28pm “I felt the sense of shaking but at first I didn’t care about it too much,” said Wang Zhangling, who was in primary school in Mianyang, Sichuan when the earthquake hit. “The whole building began to shake heavily, and teachers shouted at us to run,” he said. Now a 20-year-old university student, Mr Wang said he remembered many classmates were crying as they rushed to the playground. Close to 16,000 died, thousands of them schoolchildren, and more than 100,000 were injured in Mianyang. Seven schools in the city collapsed. Long Zhengyin, now 51, said he remembered clearly the landslide when the quake struck the rural college he worked in as a security guard in Wenchuan county in Aba prefecture. “Dust blotted out the sky, and it was very dark,” he said. “The first thought in my mind was ‘I’m definitely going to die’.” Peng Sien, now 19, experienced strong tremors in Chengdu, 80 kilometres away from the epicentre. “I’ll never forget that moment when I ran downstairs in our kindergarten, holding one shoe in my hand,” she said, explaining that it was nap time when the earthquake hit. The aftermath For a month, Mr Wang and his family lived in a temporary tent because of aftershocks that continued until June 1. Every night they placed an upturned beer bottle in front of the tent to alert them …
Use of Nanotechnology in Chinese Medicine Offers Hope in Breast Cancer Treatment
- 2021-05-11
- Health & Environment
- The Young Reporter
- By: REN Ziyi DavidEdited by: Jenny Lam
- 2021-05-11
A new method of delivering Chinese medicinal herbs may be useful in the treatment of a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer, researchers at Hong Kong Baptist University and Cornell University have found. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Dr Kwan Hiu-yee, an assistant professor at Hong Kong Baptist University’s School of Chinese Medicine explained that gambogic acid, which is derived from a local plant is useful in cancer treatment. But it does not dissolve easily in water. That limits its use in traditional Chinese medicine since most herbal treatments have to be boiled. Researchers tested two groups of mice with triple negative breast cancer cells. One using nanocarriers to deliver gambogic acid and the other without. The result showed that the weight of the tumor among the first group of mice decreased 67.6% on average after 17 days. The concentration of the drug was also three times higher two hours after delivery using nanocarriers. The new therapy also has reduced side-effects on the liver. “Treatment of triple negative breast cancer has not been effective and is very expensive, said Prof Bian Zhaoxiang, professor in Chinese Medicine Clinical Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. The nanocarriers may offer hope in effective treatment in future. But the cost for one dose of targeted therapy is between $2000 and $5000 US dollars. “The triple negative breast cancer takes up 25% among all the breast cancer,” said Prof Bian. “This new method for drug delivery with reduced side effects may help more people in future, “ Prof Bian added.
BNO migrants sell Hong Kong properties for UK tax reasons
- 2021-05-11
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: Yoyo Kwok Chiu TungEdited by: Zhu Zijin Cora 朱子槿
- 2021-05-11
Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BNO) passport holders moving to Britain tend to sell their properties in the city to avoid related taxes charged by the UK government on overseas properties and that may trigger a capital outflow of up to HK$280 billion from Hong Kong, based on banks and media estimation. BNO migrants will be subject to the UK's global tax system, under which their rental income from Hong Kong will be taxed and if they want to buy a residential property in Britain without selling their Hong Kong residence they have to pay an extra 3% of stamp duty. Therefore, Hong Kong residents emigrating to the UK are pondering what to do with their Hong Kong flats. Chan Siu-yi, 36, who moved to the UK several months ago with a BNO visa, has decided to sell her property in Hong Kong to avoid extra taxes. “The global taxation policy might charge us about €2000 (HK$18,717) every tax season if we don’t sell our property in Hong Kong after moving to the UK within 9 months,” she added. The British government launched a new policy after China passed a national security law last year, to allow Hong Kong BNO holders to live and work in the UK for up to five years and eventually seek citizenship. The policy is expected to spark a new wave of immigration. The British Home Office said in January that the number of immigrants via HK BNO visas is expected to reach between 258,000 and 322,400 over five years. Based on the estimation of Bloomberg Intelligence Research, up to 16,300 Hong Kong households may move to Britain via BNO visas this year and a maximum of HK$150 billion worth of properties from these families could be on sale in 2021 alone. A Bank of …
Slight Increase in Hong Konger’s Desire to Have Children after Maternity Leave Extension, Study Finds
- 2021-05-10
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: REN Ziyi DavidEdited by: Jenny Lam
- 2021-05-10
Tony He is 27 years old and has been married for three years. “For now I do not wish to have any kids and It depends on how my career goes,” he said. “Housing is a big problem here and we are not prepared.” Twenty-four year-old Polly Siu, who just graduated from university said the future is “unpredictable”, and she hopes to get a stable job first. “Whether I will get married or have babies is hard to say,” she said. According to a survey conducted last month by the Hong Kong Women Development Association, only 16 % of those aged 20-29 years in Hong Kong would consider having children. Hong Kong people’s willingness to have children has gone up by 2 percentage points to 44% since 2019, the survey found.. But more than half of 1254 respondents polled in April said they are not willing to have children at all. The slight increase comes three years after the government extended statutory maternity leave from 10 weeks to 14 weeks, and new mothers are now entitled to 80% of their salaries while on leave. But the Association believed maternity leave is only a minor factor when it comes to having kids. Those who do not wish to have children said financial burden is the main reason, followed by unaffordable housing and long working hours. Of those who said they would like to have children, women aged 30-39 years are most willing to become pregnant, followed by those aged 40-49 years. But only 16% of women between 20-29 years wish to have kids. “The educational level of women is improving and more of them are in the workforce,” said Lam-Wai-ming Vice Secretary of the association during a press conference. She also pointed out that the best reproductive age is between 20 …
Shorter Quarantine for Fully Vaccinated; No government quarantine for residents of building with only one covid case
- 2021-05-07
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Hamish CHANEdited by: Robin Ewing
- 2021-05-07
Residents of buildings with only one covid-19 case, including the mutant strain, will self-monitor instead of going to government quarantine centres, Dr Ronald Lam, Controller of the Centre of Health Protection, said today in a press conference. More than 1,000 residents are being released from quarantine centres, including from Kornhill and Caribbean Coast where mutant strain cases were found, after they test negative. “To prevent further transmission, a very cautious approach needs to be taken,” Dr Lam said in the press conference. Close contacts still need to quarantine, Dr Lam said, but the fully vaccinated will have seven days of home confinement plus seven days of self-monitoring. Department of Health clarified at night that close contacts still need to go to government quarantine centres plus seven days of self-monitoring. Fully vaccinated includes those with a “full course” after 14 days. People who have recovered from Covid-19 within nine months are also included. Onee Chan, a resident at Kornhill who was sent to the government quarantine centre at Penny’s Bay yesterday, said she was speechless over the new measure. She said it was not sensible to put all residents into the quarantine centre. “The requirements to release are also nonsense. It’s absolutely annoying to ask us to do testing at their centre on our own. How can they guarantee everybody to strictly follow? Self monitoring is a joke. We’ve been self monitoring ourselves for more than a year,” Ms Chan said. Shorter hotel quarantines were also announced for airport arrivals from designated countries beginning May 12. Measures for extremely high-risk and very high-risk areas, including the United Kingdom, remain unchanged. Control measures for quarantine hotels will also be reviewed, said Dr Lam.
Hong Kong top cyclists eager to join next week’s Nations Cup ahead of the Olympics
- 2021-05-06
- The Young Reporter
- By: WANG Jingyan 王婧言Edited by: Robin Ewing
- 2021-05-06
Next week’s track cycling Nations Cup, the city’s biggest international sporting event since the outbreak of COVID-19, will be a good “warm-up match” for the Tokyo Olympics, Hong Kong cycling coach Shen Jinkang said in an online press conference today. In April, the government approved a COVID-19 safety plan from UCI, the worldwide governing body for cycling, for the event, which will be held in the Hong Kong Velodrome in Tseung Kwan O. The plan, which UCI calls a “life bubble,” includes no audience during the competition and no quarantine for the 100 athletes arriving from overseas, who are required to have a negative COVID-19 test before boarding. The Hong Kong team will send five cyclists to participate in the competition, including Sarah Lee Wai-sze and Jessica Lee Hoi-yan, who will join the Tokyo Olympics. “We are very eager to join this competition,” Mr Shen said at the conference, adding that this is the best chance for the Hong Kong team to learn about possible competitors before the Olympics, especially for Sarah Lee, who is competing for the first time in 14 months. Sarah Lee, who won Hong Kong’s first Olympic medal in cycling in 2012, will participate in sprint, keirin and team sprint in this competition. She set the goal to become the top three in individual competitions and help the team for the top eight. “In the past, there were crowds of audience in Hong Kong, and I remember their faces and cheers so this time I will know they are there for me,” she said in a recorded video at the press conference. Cyclist Jessica Lee said the “life bubble” is an advantage as it will help the team get familiar with a similar model for the Olympics. The first international athletes will arrive in Hong Kong …
Hundreds of residents in Tsuen Wan building sent to quarantine after mutant strain found
- 2021-05-05
- Health & Environment
- The Young Reporter
- By: KOO Chi Tung 顧知桐Edited by: Editor
- 2021-05-05
Residents of more than 220 households in Block R of Allway Gardens in Tsuen Wan were sent to government quarantine for 21 days after a Filipino domestic helper tested positive for the mutant coronavirus strain. “The whole arrangement was very confusing,” Tsuen Wan District Councilor Chiu Yan-loy said. “I have received messages from the elderly living alone saying that they were unable to sleep for the whole night and felt worried about the next step. “Their worries are from the lack of support, no officials telling them what they need to do next and what they are going to encounter.” Fully vaccinated residents are also required to quarantine for 21 days, Mr Chiu said. The government will meet today to consider shortening quarantine time for the vaccinated. University of Hong Kong microbiologist Ho Pak-leung said in a Commercial Radio interview that it is safe to shorten the quarantine. “Vaccination is not only for protecting oneself. There is already strong data proving that it is effective to reduce the spreading,” Dr Ho said to Commercial Radio. But chairman of the Medical Association's advisory committee on communicable diseases Leung Chi-chiu said in an RTHK interview that it is dangerous to shorten the quarantine period. “None of the vaccines including the two that we are using cannot affect the spreading. There is a lack of information especially for variant viruses,” Dr Leung said to RTHK.
Hong Kong government mulls over mandatory vaccination policy for foreign domestic helpers
- 2021-05-04
- The Young Reporter
- By: KOO Chi Tung 顧知桐Edited by: Jenny Lam
- 2021-05-04
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Yuet-ngor said before the weekly Executive Council meeting this morning that the authority has yet to make any final decision on compulsory vaccination for foreign domestic workers when they renew their contracts. The announcement came after the Philippines Consul General in Hong Kong said any mandatory vaccination requirement should apply to all foreign workers, not just Filipinos. Mrs Lam said she has requested the Labour and Welfare Bureau to look into the details since it is the first mandatory vaccination policy in the city and some workers may have health concerns that might stop them from getting vaccinated. “I have asked the Labour and Welfare Bureau to review the reasons, feasibility, and to discuss with experts including consulates of countries where domestic helpers come from,” she said. “We will add new requirements when foreign helpers apply for visas including injection of approved Covid-19 vaccines,” the Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said on Sunday, “It is not a harsh requirement for granting them visas.” Secretary of foreign affairs for the Philippines, Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Twitter after the Hong Kong announcement that the proposed mandatory vaccine policy “smacks of discrimination”. “If it is a special favor, it is unfair to other nationalities. Hong Kong can do better than that,” Mr Locsin added. Mrs Lam said disease prevention measures are based on public health, science and objectiveness and there is no discrimination against any race, language or social status. The measures, she added, depend on the nature and the risks of the industry. “Foreign domestic helpers have a habit of gathering during weekends and their work nature involves closed contact including taking care of the elderly and children,” she said. The compulsory testing policy which requires all helpers to be tested before next Sunday will …
Hong Kong Press Freedom Index Drops to Record Low after introduction of National Security Law
- 2021-05-03
- The Young Reporter
- By: REN Ziyi DavidEdited by: Editor
- 2021-05-03
The Hong Kong Press Freedom Index has hit a new low for the second year in a row, according to the new annual survey published by Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) today . More than 96% of 367 journalists polled believed that press freedom in Hong Kong is worse than a year ago.They cited factors such as the enforcement of Hong Kong national security law, police search of the offices of Next Media, police redefining “media representatives”and the prosecution of RTHK producer, Bao Choy. The survey also included 1023 local residents. Of all the respondents, 85% said that the Hong Kong government is suppressing press freedom. The index for journalists plunged 4.1 to 32.1, compared with 36.2 in 2019, while the public one slightly increased from 41.9 to 42.6. Journalists aged between 30 and 49 years are especially pessimistic about press freedom, with the lowest index of 29.4. Concern about criticising the Hong Kong government and the central government has risen, but the worry about physical threats has declined since the social unrest ceased in 2020. Members of the public considered safety issues as a key factor when evaluating press freedom, while journalists took Hong Kong government, central government and self-censorship as the top three factors. Chris Yeung, the chairperson of the HKJA said he is worried about the future of the Hong Kong press. “The worst is yet to come,” he said, “the power of the media as watchdogs is weakened.” “Something fundamental has changed…we are moving towards the system of the mainland where the media is part of the government structure.” Professor . Clement So from the Chinese University of Hong Kong suggested that journalists should hold their ethical value in facing difficulties. “Upholding professional values is of utmost importance in times like this,” he said.
Running District Councils in absence of colleagues arrested under NSL: work and a doubtful fate
- 2021-04-30
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Sara ChengEdited by: GOH Kylan
- 2021-04-30
For Sai Kung district councillor Cheng Chung-man, the charging of 47 opposition activists and politicians with “Conspiracy to Commit Subversion” under the National Security Law - including 23 district councillors with three from his constituency whom he has known for ten years - came as a shock. As their trial continued, he proposed to adjourn a general Sai Kung Council meeting on March 2. He said delaying the meeting in order to support his colleagues in court was the most he could do as a way of showing his disagreement with the arrests. "We shouldn't have focused on the meeting at that time," Mr. Cheng said. The motion was voted down. So Mr Cheng took the day off and walked out. A few pro-democracy councillors also left. The meeting could not go ahead because they did not have a quorum. Those charged were involved in an unofficial primary election last June to select pro-democracy candidates for the Legislative Council election, which was postponed by the government for Covid-19 concerns. Only 11 of the 47 defendants were granted bail. Mr Cheng is among a hundred or so pro-democracy councillors who are taking over the work of those in custody, with fear that they might meet the same fate amid Beijing tightening its grip over dissent in Hong Kong’s languishing democracy. With over a dozen of district councillors not able to attend meetings, some pro-democracy councillors, such as Mr Cheng, say there is a gap in representation at meetings. "Missing one colleague is missing one colleague when we put up our hand to vote," said Fleco Mo Kai-hong, 30, a Yuen Long district councillor. “That means we might lose a person to channel the views of the constituents,” he added. His colleagues Wong Pak-yu and Ng Kin-wai, both district councillors based in …