By: YANG ZhenfeiEdited by: Editor

After completing the mandatory coronavirus test, passengers on China Eastern flight MU507 from Shanghai, one of the few flights arriving today from mainland China, gradually exited the arrivals hall around 5:30 p.m., reluctantly ready to accept latest quarantine requirements of the Return2HK scheme. "The government did not give us time to respond,'' said Xindy, a passenger on the Shanghai flight who came to work in Hong Kong and will stay in a hotel for her quarantine. "People who do not have a place in Hong Kong have to book hotels to quarantine, but many hotels are fully booked and many don't provide the quarantine service. The time left for us was too short, and the government did not provide any help." The Hong Kong government announced yesterday that due to the sudden increase of coronavirus infections in mainland China, from midnight today (Aug. 5), Hong Kong residents returning from the mainland, except Guangdong Province, are subject to 14-day compulsory quarantine at home under the Return2HK scheme. They are also required to be tested five times for a coronavirus infection during and after the quarantine period. "The previous policy, even if it is urgent, is usually implemented from ‘next Monday.’ It's on short notice this time," said Xindy, who was unhappy with the sudden change and only provided her first name. The new quarantine policy also affects university students arriving from the mainland. Many students who returned to mainland China during summer holiday have to adjust their return plans. "I originally planned to return to Hong Kong after August 20, but now I may go to Shenzhen these days," said Charlotte Wang, an undergraduate film student at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) who is now in Xi'an. "Since I have to either stay in Guangdong for at least 14 days or …

About 10 people lined up at a convenience store outside Tai Wai MTR station this morning, ready to claim their government consumption e-vouchers through their Octopus cards. Eligible people have been receiving the first batch of HK$2000 e-vouchers since yesterday. The second batch of $2000 will be issued in October followed by $1000 in December. Consumers must spend what they have received in order to get the next two rounds of handout. The e-vouchers can be paid through Alipay Hong Kong, Octopus, Tap & Go and WeChat Pay HK. The payments can be activated online or by tapping the Octopus card at a payment counter. Miss Wong was in the queue in Tai Wai this morning. She planned to use the vouchers to buy a television set. "I don’t mind waiting in line given the discount," she said, "and there are convenience stores everywhere in Hong Kong. So if you really don’t want to line up and wait, you can get the vouchers later." Thomas Tong was shopping for an air conditioner at Fortress in the Festival Walk mall. "I planned to buy an air conditioner, but the vouchers helped me make up my mind sooner," said Mr. Tong. A sales person at an electrical appliance shop told The Young Reporter that the consumption vouchers have really helped business.  Many customers have been visiting his store since the vouchers were issued yesterday and he has seen at least a 40% increase in sales. Some restaurants that accept e-vouchers display a poster outside to attract customers. Simon Wong, Chairman of Hong Kong Japanese Food and Cuisine Association told The Young Reporter that the e-vouchers have brought a10% increase in business since yesterday.  But the manager at Six Up Inn in Kowloon Tong has not seen a significant increase in clientele.  "More …

For the first time, two major jewellery shows in Hong Kong are open to members of the public and held in a hybrid format with a physical exhibition supplemented by an online matching service. The 37th Hong Kong International Jewellery Show and the 7th Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) opened yesterday. The physical exhibition for the twin shows held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre will run until July 29, while the online service will end on August 5. Because of COVID-19 restrictions on international travel, most of the 440 exhibitors are local companies, who have had to adjust their business strategy. Mr. Stanley Chu Kum-wing, an expert in jade from Anton Jewellery, said the shows used to be world-oriented, but had become a local exhibition this year. “We will select jewellery that is more popular with local people,” he said. “The number of exhibits has been reduced to one-third (of the original amount), and prices are very favourable. " An on-site helper of the HKTDC, who asked not to be named, said the previous jewellery exhibitions were always world-class trade shows, and there were usually many exhibitors from all over the world. However, almost all of the exhibitors this year were local companies, and the shows were being opened to the public to increase visitor numbers because there were few visitors from overseas. Singapore’s Leow Antique Watch & Jewellery is one of a few non-local exhibitors. Mr. Lik Szeto, told The Young Reporter that the company has great confidence in the Hong Kong market, where customs declaration procedures are relatively simple and tax is very low. He said Hong Kong plays a very important role to the company’s customers, who are mainly overseas Chinese from …

Neil Gaiman, of American Gods and Coraline fame, is working on his own version of the Chinese classic, Journey to the West, he told fans at this year’s Hong Kong Literary Festival. He joined Chinese history professor, Julia Lovell in a virtual presentation last week to discuss appreciation of the epic in the modern context and the character of Sun Wukong, the monkey king. Mr Gaiman has been working on his new book “Wukong and I” since 2009. He imagines himself joining the Tang monk and Wukong on a pilgrimage to collect the Budhhist scriptures. “There are many philosophies of life in Journey to the West. For example, the monkey king goes from being weird and rebellious to learning teamwork," Mr Gaiman said. "Although written 500 years ago, people are still so interested in the characters in the book, which shows its greatness," he told his audience. He first went to China in 2007. “People from all kinds of professions talked to me about Journey to the West, which gave me the initial budding of writing a book of the Monkey King,” Mr Gaiman said. Since then, he has visited China many times to collect materials and find inspiration. He travelled along the Silk Road, and recorded his experience and strange stories he picked up along the way. He met Liu Xiaolingtong, an actor who played Monkey in a popular television show in the 1980s. The actor told him that he too hoped the spirit of Monkey can be introduced to the rest of the world Prof Julia Lovell, has just produced a new translation of an abridged version of Journey to the West. Li Siyu, a Neil Gaiman fan, told The Young Reporter that she was looking forward to the new book. "I am so impressed, for example, when …

The Elderly Services Association of Hong Kong (TESA) is offering prizes totalling more than a million Hong Kong dollars for staff in nursing homes who take the Covid vaccine. They must have received two doses of the vaccine in order to take part in the lucky draw. TESA will also provide 100 free pre-vaccination health assessments for those who might be worried whether they are fit for the vaccine. Nursing homes which have at least half of the staff vaccinated can also participate. Those who qualify can register on the TESA website from 9pm tonight. TESA also hopes to encourage more elderly people to get the vaccine. Speaking at a press conference today, Mr. Kenneth Chan Chi Yuk, chairman of TESA, said the current process of getting the Covid vaccine is not convenient for many elderly people. "For example, the queues are very long at some vaccination sites, which is inconvenient for wheelchair-bound people," Mr. Chan said. "We hope the government can provide special help at the vaccination centres for the elderly, arrange vaccination at nursing homes or provide door-to-door vaccine services in the community," he added. He also suggested that public hospitals and clinics can provide vaccination and he urged the authorities to discuss how to deploy its manpower in order to do so. Government figures show that so far, less than 20% of people aged 60 years and above in Hong Kong have been vaccinated. As of the end of May, only 9368 members of nursing home staff had received at least one dose of the vaccine. That’s about 23 percent of the total number of nursing home staff in Hong Kong.

Local think tank, Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF) estimates that the land supply currently planned by the government is only half of what’s needed to satisfy housing demand over the next 30 years. The Foundation released a report today titled Building a Global City of the Future— Envisioning Sustainable Urbanisation of the New Territories. Speaking at a press conference organised by the Foundation, Richard Wong, a professor in Political Economy at the University of Hong Kong, said Hong Kong is bogged down by the “triple lows”, that is spade-ready land supply, housing completions, and quality of living reflected by the shrinking average size of new housing units. “If no resolute action is taken promptly, the society will continue to bear the poor living environment with great despair,” Prof Wong warned According to the report, it is estimated that at least 9000 hectares of land will be needed in the next 30 years. However, taking into account the Lantau Tomorrow Vision , and the two ongoing New Development Areas (NDAs), namely Hung Shui Kiu and Kwu Tung North / Fanling North , the land supply of 5080 hectares currently planned by the government is only half of what’s needed. Apart from reclamation, the report suggests that large-scale development in the New Territories is the only way to create more land. Mr Ryan Ip, the Head of Land and Housing Research of OHKF, considered the New Territories to have huge development potential. “For example, the New Territories can provide development space for industries that cannot afford the soaring rent in the core business district, making Hong Kong's economy more diversified. Moreover, with its superior position adjacent to the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong can further strengthen its advantages in connecting the mainland and the world market, ” Mr Ip said. The OHKF …

Passengers on Cathay Pacific Flight CX252, one of the last flights to arrive from London before the temporary prohibition of arrivals from the United Kingdom gradually disembarked at Hong Kong International Airport at 11.58am today. A Flight CX252 passenger, a student who just finished the coronavirus test and did not want to be named, called on the Hong Kong government to provide assistance to other students studying in the UK. "The government has not taken into account the feelings of we students," he said. "The sudden policy has prevented many of my friends coming back. They have been stranded in the UK for a year." The Hong Kong government announced Monday that there would be a "circuit breaker" policy for flights originating in the United Kingdom. Beginning July 1 all civilian aircraft from the UK will be prohibited from landing in Hong Kong. Additionally, passengers who have stayed in the UK for more than two hours will also be prohibited from boarding civilian aircraft bound for Hong Kong. Recently, the Delta variant, a more dangerous strain of the coronavirus, has caused a new wave of infections in the UK. About 95% of the sequencing cases in the UK from June 7 to 21 are due to the new variant. At the same time, infections of L452R, which is also a variant strain of the coronavirus, have been detected in more than 130 people arriving from the UK, which may worsen the epidemic situation in Hong Kong, said the government. This latest "circuit breaker" policy implemented by the Hong Kong government has affected some students currently studying in the UK who planned to return to Hong Kong. Eva CAI is a Hong Kong student attending summer school in the UK. She originally planned to return to Hong Kong on Aug. 8. …

Hong Kong’s unemployment rate has dropped from 6.4% between February and April 2021 to 6.0% between March and May 2021. The underemployment rate also dropped to 3.3% and 2.8% respectively during the same periods, according to government figures released today. But the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) urged the government to provide more aid such as unemployment benefits and temporary positions as soon as possible. The HKFTU interviewed 540 people between June 7 and 16. More than 60% of the respondents were unemployed or underemployed. In addition, a drop in income was also common among the respondents, with 80% of them having less income than the same period last year. Dennis Leung Tsz-wing, deputy director of the Vocational Training Committee of the HKFTU, said that the catering, service and entertainment industries were the most affected by the pandemic. "The survey shows that the unemployment situation is very serious. They are either laid off or unemployed because of COVID-19," Mr Leung said. Bella, a salesperson working at a luxury brand store in Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, preferred to be known by her first name only. She told The Young Reporter that she had to take five days of unpaid leave last year. She hoped that the government could provide higher unemployment benefits. She said that the epidemic and travel restrictions have caused sales to fall sharply. Many sales workers are unable to meet their companies’ targets and are forced to take unpaid leave and some have even lost their jobs. Michael Luk Chung-hung, a Legislative councillor and member of the HKFTU, urged the government to provide a half-year cash allowance for workers who have either lost their jobs or have been furloughed. He wanted the benefits to be extended to those who are underemployed or are forced …