The Young Reporter
Waste-charging Scheme: Financial Burden Hits Underprivileged Elders
- 2021-12-09
- Health & Environment
- The Young Reporter
- By: Hamish CHANEdited by: Simran Vaswani
- 2021-12-09
Liu Siu-lan, 73, lives alone in a public housing flat and makes a living by scavenging for cardboard after her retirement. Liu worked as a garment worker in a sewing factory after she fled to Hong Kong from the mainland in the 1960s. She lives alone after her husband died a few years ago. She has no children or other family. “I can still work and contribute to society by collecting cardboard from shops and sending it to the recycling stations,” said Liu. “It cannot make me a huge fortune, but can subsidise my living.” She said she can go to Yum Cha with her friends once a week with the income from recycling. “It is tiring but I think it is the right thing to do,” said Liu. “It is always good for the elders to have something to do,” said Liu. “It makes me feel like I am not a burden to society.” However, she may need to pay for domestic waste in 2023. The Legislative Council passed the waste-charging schemes, named The Waste Disposal (Charging for Municipal Solid Waste) (Amendment) Bill 2018, on 26 August. There will be a preparatory of 18 months before the implementation of charging, which means the scheme will start no sooner than early 2023, according to the Environmental Protection Department. Under the scheme, households will need to buy “designated garbage bags”, which have nine sizes for citizens to choose from. For oversized waste, such as furniture, citizens will need to buy a HK$11 “designated label” to affix with the waste. “It is not reasonable to charge us money for having rubbish,” said Liu. “Obviously not everything is recyclable.” Wu Kwok-sang, 72, lives on a government subsidy and alone in a public housing flat. “The waste charging scheme will definitely increase my financial …
Ghost nets haunt Hong Kong waters, killing marine life and endangering divers
- 2021-12-09
- The Young Reporter
- By: Malick GaiEdited by: LI Chak Ho Samuel
- 2021-12-09
It took Harry Chan Tin-ming and a group of ten divers two hours under the sea in Tai Po to find and haul out 800 kilograms of abandoned fishing nets. “90% of the time I go diving, I see ghost nets and it’s a big problem for marine life including fish, crabs, sea turtles and other marine life,” said Chan. The large number of abandoned fishing nets, also known as “ghost nets”, is alarming and has become a major issue for marine life, its habitat and even commercial fishermen. Chan, 68, known in Hong Kong as the “ghost net hunter”, has been diving for over 30 years and started regularly hunting for these nets more than eight years ago. “The ocean is a mystery,” he said. Ghost nets are dangerous because marine life becomes entangled, affecting the health of the ocean and even divers who try removing them. They haunt the oceans and are a major contributor to the wider ocean plastic crisis. Made from a range of synthetic fibers, including nylon, polystyrene and other plastic compounds, ghost nets can travel vast distances. "From the biggest fishing nets to the tiniest pellets, plastic pollution is impacting the ocean," said Dana Winograd, Director of Operations for Plastic Free Seas, a charity focused on solution-oriented awareness about plastic pollution in the ocean. It is also involved in regular beach cleanups around Hong Kong. In October, Winograd and a group of volunteers found ghost nets washed up on beaches in two of their last three beach cleanups at Butterfly Beach in Tuen Mun and Cheung Sha Lan on Lantau Island. "It's not easy to recycle the nets if they have been in the ocean for a long time. Most companies claiming to use recycled fishing nets in their products are only using a …
Greater transparency needed as Hong Kong aims to transform into a green finance hub
- 2021-12-09
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: WANG Jingyan 王婧言Edited by: Vikki Cai Chuchu
- 2021-12-09
“Greenwashing” is a new buzzword featured at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. It’s part of the slogan of teeanger climate activist, Greta Thunberg. Greenwashing refers to a false impression or providing misleading information about how environmentally friendly a business of a product might be. Hong Kong has been trying to reposition itself as an international green financial hub since 2018. But the process finally stepped out this year as the government and industries seek to address disclosure issues in the green and sustainable investment market as a way to stamp out “greenwashing”. Stephen Phillips, director-general of investment promotion in InvestHK, a department of the government responsible for foreign investment in Hong Kong, told The Young Reporter that the city “has an important role to play as a green finance centre”. “A number of listed companies also, very strongly committed to both raising green capital, but also being compliant around bringing standards,” he said, “ and Hong Kong obviously serves not only Hong Kong and the rest of China, but also a place in which companies raise money from across the whole of Asia.” A report conducted by Standard Chartered Bank in 2020 found that among 1085 respondents from Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Arab Emirate and the United Kingdom, 59% of them who put money in sustainable investment said they would consider investing 5% to 10% in sustainable investing, and 75% said they would consider increasing their investment to 25% or more due to the pandemic. However, Alvin Li, Group Financial Consultant of TAL Group, said many investors may take a wait-and-see attitude towards green investment mainly because it is still under development. “The green bond market is still relatively new, still in the embryonic stage, and the secondary market is not fully developed. Investors have doubts …
“Cinema for the Climate”: Environmental Crisis through Camera Lens
- 2021-12-03
- Culture & Leisure
- The Young Reporter
- By: Clarice WuEdited by: TUNG Yi Wun
- 2021-12-03
The Hong Kong French Film Festival collaborated with Greenpeace East Asia to hold a special movie screening of Animal and a roundtable discussion today. Dr. Benoit Guenard and Dr. Janet Chan from the University of Hong Kong were invited to the roundtable discussion with the students. Students raised questions on multiple environmental issues and discussed solutions to alleviate the problems. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the HKFFF, the movie screening was held in Hong Kong City Hall. The HKFFF aims at promoting public engagement in creating positive impacts on the community and raising the public’s awareness of the environmental crisis. To achieve this, the HKFFF has curated a new series of movie screenings from today to 14 December, named “Cinema for the Climate”, taking the opportunity to connect with youngsters through this outreach programme. Tom Ng, Campaigner of Greenpeace, said this cooperation is a valuable opportunity to raise awareness among youngsters. “Through this cooperation with the HKFFF, we would like more people, especially the younger generation, to be aware of environmental issues such as climate change and water resources,” he said. There are a total of 170 students from more than 10 faculties from different educational institutions, including the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Baptist University, the Education University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the French International School. University students mainly come from the “French language", "Film and TV Directing" discipline who are interested in French culture and cinema. Directed by Cyril Dion, “Animal” is part of the “Cinema for the Climate” selection in this year’s edition of the Cannes film festival. The film is about young campaigners and their stories of travelling around the world to search for another way of living alongside other species, as co-habitants rather than predators. …
Shares in Hong Kong Technology Venture hit new low despite launch of online shopping site
- 2021-12-02
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: KOO Chi Tung 顧知桐Edited by: Sara Cheng
- 2021-12-02
Hong Kong Technology Venture (1137), also known as HKTV, rumbled to a one-year low on Wednesday. It hit HK$8.680 per share, followed by a slight rebound to close at HK$8.780, down 2.02%. That’s despite the launch of the company’s new online shopping platform EESE the same day. “Regardless of whether the platform is good or not, it will not be so easy to have an impact on the stock,” said stock commentator Ivan Li. “Unless its business achieves explosive success.” The drop followed a warning by HKTV on Monday that its unaudited profit for the first three quarters in 2021 slumped by about 78.5% compared to last years’ HK$186.3 million. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization dropped by 57% from HK$281.1 million. The company said the fall was due to a lack of government subsidies this year. The company also gave away approximately HK$84.4 million in coupons to customers in its “$350 for $500 eGift Voucher Program” to sustain the shopping momentum. HKTV’S e-commerce website EESE is developed by Shoalter Technology Limited, a subsidiary of HKTV, in cooperation with fashion giant I.T. It offers a wide range of products including clothing and furniture from over 300 stores, such as I.T-owned brands AAPE, double-park and IZZUE, as well as brand partners SKECHERS, PUMA and Logitech. “We are a dynamic platform that values synergies between brands,” the company said on its website. Hidee Chow, a YouTuber who posts videos of her unboxing purchases from local and overseas online shopping sites, said she would wait for reviews first before buying on EESE. Shadow Hui, a communication manager in her forties, buys groceries, clothes and electrical appliances online at least twice a week. “The layout of its website is simple and clear,” she said. “I will consider buying on the platform …
Hong Kong Park blooms with over 600 plants from the rose family
- 2021-12-02
- Health & Environment
- The Young Reporter
- By: KOO Chi Tung 顧知桐Edited by: Sara Cheng
- 2021-12-02
More than 600 flowering plants and 50 species from the Rosaceae, or rose, family are in bloom at the Forsgate Conservatory in Hong Kong Park, including the rugosa rose, China rose, loquat, peach and Hong Kong hawthorn. The exhibition hosted 600 visitors on its first day yesterday, a spokesman for the Leisure and Development Department told The Young Reporter in an email reply. It will be open to the public for free until Jan.9, 2022.
Hong Kong Health Code for travel to mainland launches next week along with update for LeaveHomeSafe; city still waiting for quarantine-free travel
- 2021-12-02
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Hamish CHANEdited by: SHI Ruoshui
- 2021-12-02
The government said the new health code app compatible with Guangdong and Macau to facilitate travel to the mainland will be available at 9am on Dec 10, though it has not yet announced when quarantine-free travel will begin. “The government is still negotiating with the mainland authorities but said it had come to the final stage after the visit of mainland experts to Hong Kong,” Alfred Sit Wing-hang, the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, said in a press conference today. The government said it will also provide an update for the LeaveHomeSafe app, which allows users to transfer visiting records to the mainland-compatible Hong Kong Health Code app. The app will be launched as a “pilot run” before quarantine-free travel starts with no need to rush, said Sit. Users will need to provide personal information, such as their address and HKID card number, and upload the visiting record from LeaveHomeSafe. The authorities said 31 days of record will be uploaded, but only the past 21 days of record will be used to generate the code required for border crossings. Users whose records do not show visits to high-risk places and are not close contacts or household contacts of close contacts of confirmed cases in the past 21 days will get a green code. For those who have no plan to travel to the mainland, Sit said they do not need to update their LeaveHomeSafe app. “The government has no plan, and did not see the need for real-name registration for the LeaveHomeSafe App,” Sit added. Li Yan-yi, 27, said she will not use the Hong Kong Health Code app. “I have no plan to go to the mainland, and have tons of privacy concerns for the app,” said Li. “When the government launched the app, they said it is all …
Sinovac jabs for 12-17 year olds start today
- 2021-12-02
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Tiffany MaEdited by: WANG Yichun
- 2021-12-02
From 9 am this morning, people aged between 12 and 17 years old can book for a Sinovac Covid vaccine through the Centre for Health Protection website. They need to bring along their identity documents, consent form signed by their parents or guardians and present the SMS message or the photocopy of booking confirmation at government vaccination centres. They can also get the vaccination through schools,, from private doctors or clinics, Community Vaccination Centres and the Student Health Services Centres of the Department of Health. Secondary student, Clayton Chan who was vaccinated today said he was only doing so because of a swimming competition. “I will not receive the Sinovac vaccination unless there is a strong reason such as participating in an overseas competition as I am afraid of the side effects of the vaccination such as fever and the swelling of the injection site,” Clayton said. His mother, Carrie Chan, was willing to let her son get Sinovac because she too has had the jab. “I only had mild side effects such as being tired and having a headache after receiving the Sinovac vaccination”, said Ms. Chan. She believed Sinovac will be safe for those aged 3-17 years because many teenagers were among more than 100 million people who got vaccinated in mainland China and there is no major safety concern. “It shows that there has been sufficient scientific research to prove its safety and protection,” Ms. Chan said. “It is expected that after the launch of the Sinovac vaccination, the vaccination rate among secondary school students will be increased to over 80%, which will help the secondary schools to resume full time face-to-face lessons,” said Professor Lau Yu-lung, chairman of the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases in an RTHK programme on Nov. 20. Schools can resume full-day …
HK Government tightens quarantine requirements for nine countries with Covid-19 Omicron variant cases, including Australia and Canada
- 2021-11-30
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Tiffany MaEdited by: Sara Cheng
- 2021-11-30
Hong Kong added nine countries with Omicron cases, including Australia and Canada, to the city’s high-risk group starting Wednesday over fears of the heavily mutated Covid-19 variant. Under the tightened requirements, only Hong Kong residents who are fully-vaccinated and hold a recognised vaccination record can enter the city from countries in the high-risk group, which already includes the United States. Arrivals have to undergo a 21-day quarantine in a designated hotel instead of 14 days. Alice Chan Lai-sim, 66, a retiree who has lived in Sydney for 26 years, said she and her husband canceled their plans to return to Hong Kong to visit her relatives during the Christmas holidays due to the new arrangement. “Though I have had two shots of AstraZeneca in Sydney before, I still have to quarantine in a designated hotel for 21 days and conduct six tests during quarantine in Hong Kong,” she said. Her husband, Duncan Ip Wai-kwong, 69, who works in the IT industry, said they are also uncertain about the spread of Omicron in the city. Hong Kong confirmed three imported Omicron cases discovered in arrivals during hotel quarantine. “There are fewer Omicron cases in Hong Kong compared to New South Wales. However, Hong Kong still shows potential danger to travellers like us as most of the Omicron cases found in Hong Kong quarantine hotels that we have to stay in,” Ip said. New South Wales, where Chan and Ip live, has recorded five Omicron cases. On Sunday, the World Health Organization designated Omicron a “variant of concern” days after it was first reported from South Africa on Nov. 24. There is little information on the heavily mutated variant, as the world waits to see if current vaccines will hold up. "Hong Kong's very stringent system of boarding, quarantine and also testing …
Secretary for Education denounces "lying flat" trend, emphasizes values education
- 2021-11-29
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Tracy LeungEdited by: BellaHuang
- 2021-11-29
Secretary for Education, Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, denounced the “lying flat” trend, the attitude of doing nothing popular among young people in the mainland, and highlighted the importance of values education in Hong Kong schools in an online post yesterday The “lying flat” movement started in April when a post on the Chinese popular website Baidu titled “Lying Flat Is Justice” went viral. It refers to young people who strive for nothing more than what is essential for survival. “The recent trend of "lying flat" is even more worrying. A negative life attitude can easily cause depression and hinder social development in the long run,” Yueng wrote in his post. “I am grieved for that, just the same feeling as many parents and teachers who love those kids.” Yeung also said the government will soon release the curriculum framework for the recently proposed values education, which includes moral and ethical education, civic education, and national education. The education bureau said promoting activities related to Chinese history will allow students to learn about the essence of Chinese culture, absorb traditional wisdom, and cultivate moral sentiment. “We must work together to promote values education rooted in Chinese culture together and support students to build positive thinking,” the online article said. “I think the new curriculum has a political agenda and I hope the teachers could be professional enough to tackle this,” said Lau, a local high school teacher who said he is responsible for executing the values education curriculum at his school. He requested anonymity over concerns about his work. In June, Yeung told the Legislative Council that the bureau will send teachers to mainland universities to enhance their understanding of the nation's development. Teachers will also attend training courses related to national affairs, the Basic Law and the National Security Law. The …