The Young Reporter
Chinese New Year speciality: Fish-shaped rice cakes
- 2019-02-04
- Photo Essay
- The Young Reporter
- By: Anna Kam、Nadia LamEdited by: Katherine Li、Anna Kam、Nadia Lam
- 2019-02-04
Following two families creating beautiful rice cakes in the form of fish at PMQ. During the Lunar New Year, the fishes symbolise having financial surplus while the rice cakes symbolise that children with grow taller and also do better in the coming year. Two families with two lovely girls prepare to start their craft with the help of Cordon Bleu graduate, Andy Dark, who teaches them how to create beautiful rice cakes.
IB and DSE: A Difference beyond numbers
- 2019-01-29
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Phoebe LaiEdited by: Candice Wong
- 2019-01-29
Five years ago, Vanessa Lee Wing-kai was in high school, she chose to study for an International Baccalaureate Diploma, a qualification which was less known in Hong Kong at the time. "The proportion of IB to Hong Kong Diploma of Education students was about 30 to 100. There were two classes of IB students, while there were eight classes of DSE students," said Ms. Lee. In fact, she does not think studying IB made her better than any DSE students. "IB will only become an advantage if its diverse and integrative learning style suits you," said Ms. Lee. Over the past few years, the number of students admitted to universities in Hong Kong through non-JUPAS (Joint University Programmes Admissions System) programmes such as IB rose significantly. According to data provided by the University Grants Committee, those with IB diplomas increased by 4% over four years. In 2013, Gabriel Matthew Leung, Dean of the Department of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, said in an open seminar that he hoped to take up the responsibility to ensure local DSE students their right to university education by increasing the overall departmental JUPAS admission quota to more than 75%. Previous record of JUPAS admission numbers online showed a total intake of 150 students for Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery programme at HKU in 2012. But this year, less than half of the 235 students admitted to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery programme at HKU were JUPAS high school leavers, according to data from HKU. That raised questions on whether non-JUPAS students were given an unfair advantage by Hong Kong's eight UGC-funded universities. Earlier this month, legislator Ip Kin-yuen released an official statement of reply from the Education Bureau which contained non-JUPAS student admission numbers from each UGC-funded …
Discovery Bay community outraged as boathouse families face eviction
- 2019-01-24
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Katherine LiEdited by: Michael Shum、Sharon Pun
- 2019-01-24
On September 9, the usual tranquillity of Sunday evenings in Discovery Bay was disrupted by thousands of residents participating in a demonstration, against the impending eviction of Discovery Bay Marina Club houseboat residents.The move is due to new plans initiated at Tai Pak Bay by the Hong Kong Resort (HKR), a company which owns most of the development projects in the area. All dressed in white shirts, the demonstrators marched from Marina Club on to Discovery Drive and up Sienna Road. They gathered at the centre of the North Plaza at around 6pm, right before the commencement of their community hall meeting. "We want the Hong Kong Resorts to understand that their actions don't just affect the Marina residents, but also this entire community," said Henry Moreno, one of the organisers of the demonstration, who is also the chairman of 208 affected boathouse members. Mr. Moreno moved to Marina Club with his wife and three children just two years ago because they could not afford an apartment in Hong Kong. His boat costed him around $4.4 million, of which he still has a $3 million mortgage yet to be paid. However, once evicted with nowhere to berth, his vessel will worth nothing. "I am close to facing personal bankruptcy," said Mr. Moreno, "I still have three kids that go to school here, two in Discovery Bay International School which is owned by Hong Kong Resort and one in Discovery College, who would be out of school if we can't make things work. I have a family to take care of, so leaving the marina with nowhere to go is definitely not an option. But right now I really don’t know where we can go." Discovery College and Discovery Bay International School are the two main schools in the area. In …
Hong Kong government misses the "Spark" on technology
- 2019-01-22
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Phoebe LaiEdited by: Vanessa Yung、Amy Ho
- 2019-01-22
"We may be losing out on talents because of gender stereotype, but the issue here is our government need to understand the importance of technology and make policy changes accordingly," said Charles Peter Mok, Legislative Council member for the IT functional constituency, last Sunday at a discussion panel. Four leading figures in the IT industry attended the SPARK discussion panel the other day commenting on gender biases and how to make technology meaningful to people in Hong Kong, including Mok, Esther Ho Yuk-fan, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Careers Masters and Guidance Masters, Liu Candy, general manager of the HKC Technology and co-chairman of the Hong Kong Computer Society FACE Club and Jacqui Speculand, course director at the School of Media and Performing Arts in Coventry University. Mok expressed that the slow changes on study curriculums’ policy were not encouraging enough students in Hong Kong because it has been starting to allocate funding to the innovation sector since last year’s budget. Speculand of Coventry University, who teaches in HK THEi, stressed that students were generally “single-minded” because the study environment in Hong Kong lacked “the freedom to choose.” "Some of my students once told me they were not as good as the others because they failed the exam (DSE) which was heartbreaking to hear," Speculand added. Ho emphasized that school curriculums need to change in a way which would help students make sense of their learning by building connections between the subjects they are studying and their future career. "You need to educate students that technology is a part of life," Ho explained. According to Liu, who first formed the Hong Kong Computer Society FACE Club together with her 9 other like-minded individuals, the significance of technology has actually been present in various fields of profession such as …
Investors unfazed over grey areas of Bitcoin regulation
- 2019-01-21
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: Rachel YeoEdited by: Jade Li
- 2019-01-21
Hong Kong has seen the rise of money laundering and illicit payments in this year. According to the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), there has been 3671 cases of deception-related crimes reported in the first half of 2018 -- including email scams and investment fraud. In addition, Hong Kong's anti-fraud squad has discovered that thousands of Hong Kong bank accounts have been used to launder about $4 million in the past year. Some of these fraudsters made use of Bitcoin -- a popular type of cryptocurrency -- to commit these crimes. First founded in 2009, Bitcoin does not need to rely on a central bank or single administrator to be sent from user to user. To ensure its security, Bitcoin also uses cryptography to secure and verify transactions. As such, it is possible to conduct transactions anonymously, allowing these fraudsters to make use of its anonymous nature for ransom or blackmail. This also makes it difficult for police to identify fraudsters. Due to these crimes, local banks are increasingly wary about cryptocurrencies, which makes it more difficult for investors to obtain bank accounts to trade Bitcoin. For example, local cryptocurrency exchange Gatecoin received a notification from Han Seng Bank that their company bank account is suspended without further explanation last year. The exchange was forced to create a foreign bank account to continue with their operations. Banks are also charging high interest rates for many cryptocurrency exchanges in order to discourage investors to mine Bitcoin locally. according to the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong. These concerns have prompted some nations to scrutinise their current cryptocurrency policies. For example, China is one of the most extreme regulators of cryptocurrency trading. The nation has started to ban Bitcoin miners, while also freezing bank accounts associated with cryptocurrency exchanges. They have even blocked …
A drive through the newly opened Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor
- 2019-01-21
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Anna KamEdited by: Rachel Yeo
- 2019-01-21
The Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor opens today, costing $36 billion dollars to build. The project began in December 2009 and aims to reduce traffic from the eastern corridor towards the city’s central area, which has previously been a problematic area for traffic during rush hour. This is caused by drivers and passengers going back to the Kowloon side via the Cross Harbour Tunnel and surge of traffic going towards the Sai Ying Pun area from Causeway Bay. Passengers that go by the route from the eastern corridor to the west side often have a 30 to 45 minute wait between 5:00PM to 7:30PM. Roads have now been changed in order to accommodate the brand new tunnel. One of our reporters drove through the tunnel this afternoon, taking about 5 minutes to drive through the entire 4.5km tunnel, with generally smooth traffic. However, the final "test" that should occur would be during the rush hours in the morning and evening. During the drive, there were no clear instructions indicated on switching lanes within the tunnel was not allowed, giving the Wan Chai North (going to the Wan Chai Convention Center) only one lane, but three lands while heading out to the western side of the island. Despite the three lanes leading up to the western side, there was also no clear route that connects the Western Crossing harbour Tunnel since the exit is currently closed. One of the main aims of the tunnel was to divert the traffic from the Cross Harbour Tunnel to the Western Crossing Tunnel and the Eastern Harbour Crossing. However, the unclear instructions and unopened roads made it very difficult to get to the Western Harbour Crossing. Overall, the experience of driving through the tunnel was smooth, despite some minor changes in the directions and some exits of the tunnel remaining closed.
The New Kick-off : Live sports and VR
- 2019-01-21
- The Young Reporter
- By: Phoebe Lai、Amy HoEdited by: Candice Wong
- 2019-01-21
20-year-old football fanatic, Tse Pak-hoi Tonny, had anticipated the VR live football match streaming experience for long, which eventually happened in the 2018 Russia World Cup last Summer. It was the first time ever immersive technology kicked into the field of football. Last Summer, the 2018 World Cup worked with Oculus, a US-based VR technology company, to offer VR live-streaming of matches through Oculus Go, the company's own VR headset goggles. Fox sports live-streamed four World Cup matches for free on Oculus Venue, while BBC Sports VR app broadcasted 33 live matches. The most ambitious of all went to Spanish company, Telemundo Deportes VR, which covered 64 live World Cup matches with paid TV subscriptions. As an experienced viewer who watches local and international live football matches four to five times each month both on TV and at scene, Mr. Tse explained he felt clueless and confused after having his first trial with a short 360 video of Madrid versus Juventus in the 2017 Champions League Final from Fox Soccer online. "The very first thing that I immediately knew when the game started was I did not know what to focus on. There were too many things happening around," said Mr. Tse. Chief operating officer of VR Educate, Ko Ping-yeung, explained the VR experience of a live-streamed sports game is different from what usual VR experience can offer because the nature of sports games viewing and playing video games are different. "You cannot think of them as the same thing. In VR videos and gameplays, they choreographed animated characters with a fictional plot, which users are guaranteed to experience interactions. However, I guess for live sports, there is probably not much you can do beforehand except making sure you have the equipment you need to make things as real as …
Operation Santa Claus: Food experiences for pupils with disabilities
- 2018-12-13
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Wallis Wang、Fifi TsuiEdited by: Michelle Ng
- 2018-12-13
With help from Operation Santa Claus, Caritas Jockey Club Lok Yan School plans to develop simple and healthy recipes for their pupils suffering from "complex medical cases". OSC is an annual charity campaign that aims to support the Hong Kong community and beyond, through the combined charitable fundraising power of two of Hong Kong's most respected news organisations - South China Morning Post and Radio Television Hong Kong.
Tournament needed for future development of Hong Kong's esports industry
- 2018-12-10
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: Erica Chin、Kobie Li、Elly WuEdited by:
- 2018-12-10
Hong Kong esports athlete, Lo Tsz-kin won a gold medal at the Asian Games 2018. However, since esports is not recognised as an official sport in Hong Kong, he is not eligible to receive the $400,000 cash award as other gold medalists under the Athlete Incentive Award Scheme. Hong Kong's esports industry has been developing slowly compared to other countries, experts say hosting mature tournaments is the key to the industry's future development. The city has a large amount of highly skilled players, yet the industry had started late and the development of the local esports industry is slow when compared to other regional countries which started around the same time as us like Japan and Vietnam, said Marbles So, manager of Kowloon Estadium, a company which provides practice venue and management for professional esports players. According to a report by Cyberport published in 2017, Hong Kong has more than 300,000 esports players. Professional esports teams have been set up by esports management companies such as Kowloon Estadium and Hong Kong Esports Limited. Many professional esports players, however, opted for developing their career outside of Hong Kong, mainly in mainland China and Taiwan. In 2012, Hong Kong League of Legends player Lau Wai-kin, who goes by Toyz, had won the Season 2 World Championship with his Taiwan-based team, Taipei Assassins. The Hong Kong government has been supportive of esports in recent years. In 2017, the government funded $35 million in the Hong Kong Esports Festival, the first esports and music festival organised by the Tourism Board. Acknowledging "tremendous potential" in the industry, Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced in the 2018 budget that the Hong Kong government will allocate $100 million to Cyberport for its development of an arcade for esports competitions and digital entertainment. Still, compared to the global esports …
Chief Health Inspector depicted Mong Kok turmoil as "chaos"
- 2018-12-07
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Cara LiEdited by: Anna Kam
- 2018-12-07
Prosecutors accuse four people of taking part in riot, during the Mong Kok unrest trial. The trial began at Hong Kong's High Court after jury selection on November 28, 2018. Chief Health Inspector Lai Yau-yu, of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department described the clash between the police-force and citizens at a Lunar New Year night in 2016 as "chaotic". Mr. Lai, a witness for the prosecution, notified the court that the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department planned to coordinate with police officers to maintain public order in Mong Kok on February 8, 2016. According to Mr. Lai, he received a message from a police officer, stating Hong Kong Indigenous, a localist group, would gather people to support food hawkers in Sham Shui Po or Mong Kok. "I saw a group of people standing at the corner of Portland Street and Shantung Street. They were about to put on blue jackets," Mr. Lai said."'Hong Kong Indigenous' were printed on those jackets." The Inspector added that the group of people walk into an alley of Portland Street after putting on jackets. He saw that two food trolleys were pulled out by hawkers from the alley, followed by a handful of people in blue jackets. They pulled the trolleys to Argyle Street. A lockdown happened in Mong Kok during a Lunar New Year night in 2016 - a police officer fired two gun shots while some protesters threw bricks at the police-force and set fire. The clash began after protesters intended to stop a clampdown on hawkers. Edward Leung Tin-kei, a former spokesperson of Hong Kong Indigenous, along with three others, namely Lee Nok-man, Lam Ngo-hin and Yung Wai-ip, are facing charges of participating in riot. They all denied the charge. "I was too far away from the crowd that I could …