The Young Reporter

Additional quarantine hotel rooms for arriving domestic helpers were snapped up in minutes, again, leaving employers and agencies upset over the lack of supply.  The government added 500 quarantine rooms for foreign domestic helpers at the Rambler Garden Hotel in Tsing Yi with booking beginning today. But many Hongkong families were left hanging. “I think all slots were snapped up within two to three minutes, like the other two quarantine facilities, ” said Chan Tung-fung, chairman of the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies. The hotel will release new rooms every day, the Labour Department said.  The Rambler Garden Hotel is the third facility, following the Silka Tsuen Wan Hotel and Penny's Bay Government Quarantine Centre, to be designated for the mandatory 21-day quarantine for arriving foreign domestic helpers, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia.  Chan estimated that it would take another six months for the 6,000 foreign domestic helpers waiting to enter Hong Kong to arrive, taking into account the current daily quota of a maximum of 50.  Chan also called the appointment arrangement “very unsatisfactory” as the hotel’s server had a system error when bookings began at 9:30 am today.  Yoyo Kwok, who has employed a foreign domestic helper currently waiting in Indonesia, said she was unable to make a booking for her to come to Hong Kong.  “I was very angry. When I reached the booking page at 9:30, there were already no room vacancies for 21 consecutive days, ” Kwok said. Rambler Garden Hotel did not reply to requests for comment.  Kwok added that she attempted to book the Penny’s Bay quarantine centre, another designated quarantine facility, several times but was unsuccessful, saying that there was a serious lack of quarantine rooms for foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong.  The 500 new rooms are in addition …

  NGOs warn that the homeless population of the city, especially those without a smartphone, might struggle to access government facilities and services as the government seeks to mandate the use of the LeaveHomeSafe app when entering government buildings. Anyone entering government buildings including government employees and the public will have to use the government-mandated “LeaveHomeSafe” mobile app for accessing government buildings and offices from 1 Nov, according to a press release.  “I usually go to the municipal services buildings and community centres nearby. I will take a rest in the library and take showers in the toilet of the stadium,” said Wong, who has been homeless for 30 years and sleeps on the Mongkok footbridge.  Nicole Yee, a volunteer of The Salvation Army Integrated Service for Street Sleepers said the homeless relied on government services and that the new measure would affect their daily lives. “Many of them don’t know how to write, using smartphones will definitely be harder for them to enter the facilities,” Yee said.  The measure comes after concerns from the government of potentially false information given in the forms which are filled instead of the app  "We notice that incomplete or even false personal particulars may be provided as we currently allow the registration of only the registrant's name and contact number as an alternative,” a government spokesman said.  The spokesman added that false personal particulars may “give rise to the risk of a community outbreak”. Under the new arrangement, people aged below 12 or aged 65 or above, and those with disabilities will be exempted from using the app. “The government has to let the homeless who do not have smartphones sign the form anyway and help them out from this issue,” said Sze Lai-shan, the community organizer of the Society for Community Organisation …

  The Pillar of Shame, commemorating the Tiananmen Square incident, is yet to be removed despite the 13 Oct deadline set by the management of the University of Hong Kong. The management gave the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China the deadline. However, the sculpture is still standing in university premises  "We are still seeking legal advice and working with related parties to handle the matter in a legal and reasonable manner," the University of Hong Kong said in a statement. The Pillar of Shame is eight metres tall. It has been standing outside Haking Wong building on the campus of the University of Hong Kong since 1998. The decision of demand for removal is speculated due to conflict with the Hong Kong National Security Law, but the spokesman of the university did not wish to comment on the speculative reports.   Chief Executive and chancellor of University of Hong Kong Carrie Lam Cheng yuet-ngor commented on the removal issue, stating it is the university's  matter, and expected the management team to follow the school’s policy on handling the issue. Jens Galschiot, the Danish sculptor of the pillar, said he has hired a lawyer to follow up on the ownership and placement of the art piece after the institution announced the deadline, according to local media reports. The sculpture commemorates and signifies the 1989 June 4th movement in Beijing. Also known as the Tiananmen Incident, students and teachers held a month-long protest from April 1989 to June 1989 with demands ranging from greater civil rights and the end to corruption among government officials. “I would argue that it is still me who owns the sculpture and that it is permanently on loan for exhibition in Hong Kong,” Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt told Hong Kong Free Press. …