By: Kiki LoEdited by: Bowie Tse

A member of the moderate political party and think-tank Path of Democracy, Wong Wing-ho, said he will run in the Legislative Council election after the party called on Election Committee members to nominate their four candidates yesterday. Environmental and sustainability expert Wong, with 10 nominations from the Election Committee, will fight for a seat in the New Territories North East geographical constituency, according to a Path of Democracy social media post on Monday morning. Candidates in the same district include Chan Hak-kan of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and Lee Tsz-king of the New People's Party. The party released an open letter on social media Sunday saying that none of their members had enough nominations to run in the Dec. 19 election. A minimum of 10 nominations is required to run for the election. Environmental and sustainability expert Wong, with 10 nominations from the Election Committee, will fight for a seat in the New Territories North East geographical constituency, according to a Path of Democracy social media post on Monday morning. “Since the release of yesterday’s open letter, we have been receiving calls from various constituents, some of whom, after learning about the think tank's philosophy, were so impressed with our aspirations and sincerity that they decided to nominate our candidates to run in the Legislative Council, ” the letter said. With nominations closing on Friday, the party continued to call on the Election Committee to nominate three other candidates to run in the Legislative Council Election in December, including Yao Jie-ning, Chan Chun-hung and Mak Hing-fun. Mak, who wants to run for the legal sector in the functional constituency, said she only got three nominations. “The election committee members I contacted told me to wait. But there are only four days left in …

The 21st Hong Kong International Literary Festival launched today is titled “The Rebound Edition”. The theme this year is  resilience, recovery and mental health amid the ongoing pandemic. The annual event features 50 online and on-site forums and webinars. “We want a theme that reflects the challenging times that the world is going through at that moment with the pandemic,” said Festival Director, Catherine Platt who went through three weeks of mandatory quarantine in Hong Kong. One panel titled “Behind Closed Doors: The Hong Kong Quarantine Experience” is moderated by Kate Whitehead,a journalist and therapist, who won the Mind HK Award for the best English-language journalism coverage on mental health issues in 2019 and 2020. Ms Whitehead will interview  three Hong Kong exporters who weigh up the long term impact of quarantine and their personal experiences of being locked up for 21 days in a hotel. They will also explore issues on mental health as a result of the longest quarantine in the world. “It's really obvious that some people find it very difficult to cope. A discussion can maybe help people and put forward some resources and some ideas for coping with it,” Ms Platt said.  This panel is available both online and on-site and ticket prices vary depending on the type of participation.  Chen Yuanxiang, a Hong Kong resident, finished a 14-day quarantine two months ago. She returned to Hong Kong from the mainland to take care of her husband who is in hospital. Ms  Chen felt anxious and was unable to do anything during the quarantine. She is considering attending the panel to listen to other people’s experiences and get some inspiration to survive her anxiety.  Ms. Platt said because of the current state of the global epidemic, the 21st HKILF cannot bring all of the event …

Halloween revellers dressing up as characters of Squid Game - the viral Korean dystopian drama on Netflix -  carry imitation guns on the streets on Sunday, despite police warning that possession of fake firearms may violate the law.  Phoebe Ng, 24, dressing up as one of the guards in Squid Game, wore a red hooded red jumpsuit and pair of black leather gloves - and held a fake gun labelled “TOY” by herself.  “The label can lower my risk of being suspected by the police. I don’t think it looks like a real gun,” she said.  Squid Game, the first Korean drama that hit the No.1 spot on Netflix, features a story of 456 indebted players completing a series of Korean children’s games to win a reward of KRW$45.6 billion (HK$301.1 million). The guards shoot the participants who lose in the games.  “According to past experience, some members of the public would wear costumes or pose as TV or movie characters during Halloween and bring all kinds of theatrical props with them. In this regard, police urge members of the public not to carry any imitation firearm as props,” a police statement released on Friday read.  Offenders may face a maximum of two years of imprisonment if convicted of owning any imitation firearms.  “I don’t think the police statement has stopped people from buying fake guns as part of their props to celebrate Halloween,” said Kelvin Li, a shop owner of a wholesale and retail of soft guns which he has run for over 10 years.  “The sales of our imitation and toy guns have grown drastically this month compared to September,” he added.    Firearms arms are defined as an air gun, such as an air rifle, air gun or air pistol from which a bullet or missile can …

Ocean Park’s Halloween Festival ended last Sunday without the traditional haunted house because of the pandemic. It’s the first time in  20 years that the spooky experience is missing  since the annual event started in 2001. Instead, visitors were treated to  “ghosts” performances in open space and three themed interactive games.  On top of the regular entrance fee, visitors who wanted to play the games had to pay an extra HK$280 for all three or HK$100 for one. "I lined up for more than two hours for a game, but I only played for five minutes, and it was over," said Christy Lau, 23, who paid for one of the interactive games. “I don’t think the games were worth my time and ticket money.” The three games include “Forbidden Rainforest Treasure Hunt”, in which participants have to protect their treasure maps from water gun attacks. The other two are “Survivors of the Undead” in which players go on a treasure hunt in a mock up wasteland while under attack, and “The Supernatural Ghost Tour,” where they are haunted by soul catchers.  “I don't think the Halloween events this year are as fun as the haunted house before,” said Yu Jin, 19, who had spent four Halloweens at Ocean Park in the past. “The games are all basic and not scary at all. I think Ocean Park is perfunctory about Halloween this year.” Tourists can also join the free outdoor attractions during specified time slots, and “ghosts” with different costumes will scare people in and around the park. Timothy Ng, executive director of Ocean Park said in a press release that Halloween events are mainly carried out in open space this year due to Covid prevention measures. Ticket prices have gone up because more resources and manpower were needed to host …

Scanning the “LeaveHomeSafe” QR code is mandatory for anyone entering government facilities from today. That includes wet markets, public libraries, swimming pools, police stations and much more. There are QR codes posted at every entrance of most government buildings. “This measure is useful in tracking Covid cases, but it may lead to long queues at many public facilities,” said Jenny Chong Hing-Lin, 59, a housewife. But the new measure did not appear to have caused any long lines or waiting time at Wing Fong Street market in Kwai Hing “Actually, there are already a lot of people inside. It would be very annoying if we need to line up. Maybe I would rather buy groceries in the supermarket,” said Suki Chan Lai-yin, 44, an office assistant who goes shopping three times a week.  In August, about five million people had installed the “LeaveHomeSafe” mobile application, but by Oct. 26, that has increased to six million, according to government statistics. “Everyone entering all government buildings is required to use ‘LeaveHomeSafe’ which is convenient for tracing close contacts of future infection cases,” the chief executive said on Oct. 26.  Children under 12 years and elderly people over 65 years are exempted from the LeaveHomeSafe mandate. But 74-year-old Szeto King, who goes to the wet market every day, was using the app all the same. “I’ll still use the ‘LeaveHomeSafe’ application to scan the codes which only takes a few seconds,” said Szeto. People who are exempted need to fill in a registration form when accessing government facilities. Government officers may call these visitors to verify their personal information.  Entry to public toilets, public bathrooms, cemeteries, grave gardens and garbage collection points do not require use of the app. 

Residents in Tai Hang Sai Estate rallied on Thursday with demands for proper placement and more communication with the developer and the government in the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate. "One house for one house, relocation needs common agreement," the crowd chanted before Man Lok House. "We do not object to the reestablishment, but we demand to reach an agreement with the company to care more about the seniors," said 64-year-old Tam Kwok-kiu, the former District Councilor of the region.  “The government should carry the responsibility to help our relocation." "There are no specific numbers of the money or any detailed application scheme," said 50-year-old resident Robert Chang. He works for a trading company and owns other properties. Apart from the subsidy problem, Chan said a larger concern is for the elderly to find places to live. He once asked a senior resident to rent a house with his grandchild, but the landlord still rejected the deal.  "The landlords probably worried about the old passing away in their properties, which would affect the future businesses," he said. "I could barely move anything downstairs. Not to mention no one would rent a house to me at such an old age," said 90-year-old Pun Git-fong, who has been living in the estate since its completion.  The government and the company offer residents six months to move out of the buildings, according to the reestablishment plan.  "It is not enough for the residents. We have more than 1000 people, and it's impossible to find enough house units within the period," said Au-yoeng Git-zan, commissioner of Residents' Right Concern Group of Tai Hang Sai Estate.  Established in 1965, Tai Hang Sai Estate provided 1600 units for the tenants for 56 years. None of the eight buildings in the estate has elevators, while 32% …

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 …