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A year after : Umbrella Movement

  • 2015-09-28

By Janet Sun, Fred Lai, Tanya McGovern and Crystal Tse It is the one year after the police fired tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protesters in Admiralty, followed by a 79-day civil disobedience campaign named the Umbrella Movement. From September 28 last year, thousands took to the streets and occupied the busiest business districts. Yellow umbrellas representing the movement became a new logo of Hong Kong. The movement was an attempt to gain the right of electing Hong Kong's chief executive democratically. Protesters accused a Beijing-backed political reform proposal of being a "fake universal suffrage" for requiring the candidates to be filtered before entering the public vote. Earlier in June this year, the Legislative Council rejected the controversial proposal, leaving no timeline for future discussion on political reform. On the first anniversary of the Umbrella Movement, political groups and individual protesters are heading towards Admiralty again. Some are trying to bring back memories, and many are coming up with their own plans of what Hong Kongers should do next. People's Power Tam Tak-chi tells TYR why the party called off the occupy plan. Follow TYR reporters for the latest updates on the 1st anniversary of Umbrella Movement. Yellow Umbrella Blossoms @tyr_mag pic.twitter.com/eqNabAVkwJ — Fred Lai (@Fredlai_) September 28, 2015 Police warning Chan Tak Chi stop provoking ppl to crash into the police front line" @tyr_mag pic.twitter.com/xvKapMHprd — Fred Lai (@Fredlai_) September 28, 2015 Police warning protestors and journalists not to attempt to breakthrough the security at Harcourt Road pic.twitter.com/38OyLffR8L — Crystal Tse (@crystalttc) September 28, 2015 Participants gathering at Lennon Wall pic.twitter.com/m7X1DnZ58R — Fred Lai (@Fredlai_) September 28, 2015 Yellow Umbrella Christian Base Community pray in memory of OC outside LegCo Complex @tyr_mag pic.twitter.com/wRzVsgAW86 — Fred Lai (@Fredlai_) September 28, 2015 The group then set up sign-up station under Canal …

Culture & Leisure

[Video] Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance as a Mid-Autumn blessing for peace

By ShanShan Kao   Fire and smoke mix with festival atmosphere through the backstreets of Tai Hang, locals dancing a "fire dragon" accompanied with firecrackers and drum beats. It all started from a tale around 100 years ago in a Hakka fisherman village, Tai Hang, where a mysterious python brought a plague into the village. To ward off the disease, villagers made a huge dragon with straw and covered it with lit incense sticks and danced for three days and nights on the evening of the 14th, 15th and 16th of the eighth lunar month. The ritual keeps until today with a whopping 300 performers, 72,000 incense sticks and a 67-metre dragon, with its head alone weighs 48kg. Mr Vicky Wong, the dragon head leader said the most difficult part is that the fire dragon head is heavy. "You have to pass it to another person after holding it for a while." He said. "We do this to inherit and pass on the cultural heritage of China. I've been dancing the fire dragon fot many years." He added. This tradition has become part of China's official intangible cultural heritage since 2009.  

Culture & Leisure

[Video] Chinese Ghost Festival for Traditional Chiu Chow Community

By Sharon Tang   People celebrate Halloween, the Western "ghost festival", by putting up costumes and be a part of the crowd. Funny as it is, the Chinese ghost festival is treated with more restraints as some may see it as a taboo and wish not to talk about ghosts. This year's Yulan Festival of the Chiu Chow Community was held in Tai Kok Tsui, from Aug 23-25. Tracing back to 46 years ago, the Chiu Chow people has already started the "Yulan Festival". In the festival, descendants burn joss sticks to worship gods, burn paper money to their ancestors. Lots people, regardless their origins, also burn paper money for "street ghosts". This is to show their respects to the ghosts so that they could keep themselves safe. More interesting is, there is a special Chinese opera performance as a way to entertain the "ghosts". According to the Chinese tradition and the Lunar calendar, July is the month when the "ghost door" opens, which means the ghosts are allowed to come out to the human grounds. Never should you think this event is dark and depressing. In fact, it is meaningful and joyful where different Chiu Chow families gather and chat about their lives. It is also a significant symbol showing how united the Chiu Chow people are. "Standing in the shoes of us Chiu Chow people, we unite in such a event," said Mr Lum Wing-fat, a member of the Yulan Festival of the Chiu Chow Community Committee. "Sometimes we meet each other in the neighbourhood and forgot their names, or even do not know them." "But when all of us gather here, we get along and work together closely." He said. In the old days when lives were poor and people had few to eat, the Yulan Festival has …

[Video] Old Landscape, New Business Model

  • 2015-09-04

  By Arisa Lai   GoodPoint, a four-storey heritage complex, is a lifestyle hub newly opened on February 12, 2015 after its revitalization. Operated by four social enterprises and community organizations, it is located in prime area of Flower Market in Prince Edward. "With a French architecture design, GoodPoint is defined as a grade II historic building and it is managed by Hong Kong Council of Community Service (HKCSS) under the Heritage Preservation and Revitalization Scheme." said Ms Tuet, HSBC Social Enterprise Business Centre (HSBC SEBC) manager of HKCSS. Four operators, namely "Zen in Five Seasons", "WECONS", "Running Horse Lantern Limited", and "ELCHK Essence Hub", each occupied one floor from the ground to the third respectively in order to satisfying different social needs, Ms Tuet said. "Something special about social enterprises is that not only do they make business, but also promote a social value concept," said Ms Alison Yuen, HSBC SEBC Programme Executive of HKCSS. "Like we also organize public visiting tours [to bring people in]." "The best thing is that this heritage building is open to public, instead of being turned to a private property." Ms Yuen added. Some of the fascinating elements include the Art Deco in this building, which emphasizes simple lines, detailed carving and repetitive patterns as well as the ventilated ceiling. On the first floor WECONS collaborated nine communities to promote the idea of healthy living, with the aim of preservation and inheritance, according to Fair Circle Project Officer Mr Ernest Wong, the representative of the proprietors. "We hope this is not only a spot for selling goods but also a platform for people to engage in our concepts, like socioeconomic justice." Mr Wong added. In the renovating stage damage or modification to the building are avoided, Mr Wong mentioned. No nail was drilled into …

Photo Essay: Forgotten Corners

  • 2015-02-16
  • 2015-02-16

ACROSS the streets of Kowloon City, an old urban district, are hidden gems that once shone. "The whole street was filled with tailors back in the 1990s. Now, there's only me," said a tailor in his eighties who didn't want to be identified.

Photo Essay- Beyond the colours of Chungking Mansions

  • 2015-01-10
  • 2015-01-10

The world has long been captivated by the cultural richness in Chungking Mansions, the 17-storey building on Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, known as Hong Kong's "little United Nations" of for its clusters of residents and tourists of African and Southeast Asian origin.

One Moment

  • 2015-01-09
  • 2015-01-09

The Colour Run, a 5-kilometre paint race originating from the United States, makes its debut in Hong Kong with 16,000 runners dashing through the splash of colours at the AsiaWorld-Expo. By The Young Reporter Photo by Vicky Wan

Rallying call for change

  • 2014-10-21
  • 2014-10-21

[slideshow_deploy id='1629']   The class boycott is about: Refusing to watch with apathy; Taking the first step towards striking back against oppression; Re-grouping the masses at a fresh starting point; Urging Hong Kong people to reflect on their own fate; and Appealing to the older generation to heed the calls of young people. We absolutely do not accept our fate, as we are determined to get back our future and be the masters of our own destiny.  Excerpt from the Hong Kong Federation of Students' declaration on class boycott    WITH the release of this declaration, tertiary students launched the biggest-ever class boycott in Hong Kong's history on September 22. The class boycott was kicked off by a mass rally attended by estimated 13,000 students at the University mall of the Chinese University on September 22. With yellow ribbons pinned on their white clothes to symbolize their pursuit of "genuine" universal suffrage and peace, the students called for a revocation of the NPC resolution. While they boycotted classes, the students said they would not stop learning and announced plans to invite scholars from different disciplines to give public lectures. More than 10 lectures a day were held from September 23 at Tamar Park and two other protest sites near the Central Government Office and Legislative Council Complex. On September 26, some secondary school students joined the class boycott on the initiation of student-activist group Scholarism. Things took a dramatic turn in the evening, when Scholarism convenor Mr Joshua Wong Chi-fung urged the crowd to break into the front plaza of the government headquarters. Known as Civic Square, the plaza was recently closed to the public, and Mr Wong said the break-in was aimed at "recovering" the public space for the masses. Scores of students who managed to get into the …

The Umbrella Revolution

  • 2014-10-21
  • 2014-10-21

[slideshow_deploy id='1624']   SINCE September 28, umbrellas have become a symbol of the fight for democracy in Hong Kong. That day, occupy movement protesters fended off pepper spray and tear gas with umbrellas when police tried to disperse the crowd occupying a main road in Admiralty, the financial hub of the city. The movement has since been dubbed the "Umbrella Revolution". The movement was originally a pro-democracy campaign called Occupy Central with Love and Peace, scheduled for October 1. It called on people to stage a sit-in protest in Central aimed at forcing Beijing to give true universal suffrage for the Chief Executive election in 2017, as opposed to the one that Beijing proposed which screens candidates. University students staged a week-long class boycott and protested outside the government headquarters to demand true democracy. The protest took a turn when police tried to clear the scene using pepper spray and tear gas. More people took to the streets with their umbrellas condemning the police action.   Reported By Mari Chow Edited by Natalie Leung

[Video] Cash in on charitable donations

  • 2014-03-19
  • 2014-03-19

Reported by Tina Cheung and Yanis Chan According to the Law Reform Commission, the number of charitable organisations in Hong Kong has almost tripled from 1996 to 2010. With more and more charitable donations being made, the public has become increasingly concerned with where all their money actually goes. The video focuses on the legal issues related to the transparency of charitable funds and how donations raised by such organisations are utilised. The Young Reporter set up a vox pop interview at Kowloon Tong MTR station where a couple of charitable organisations usually set up booths to raise money. Randomly selected interviewees were asked about their perception of how charities use their funds and what they think can be done to make their donations worthwhile. Mr Sidney Lee Chi-hang, a lawyer and councilor of Central & Western District was also interviewed. Providing legal advice on the possibilities and restrictions for setting up a centralised law to monitor the finance of charitable organisations, Mr Lee also laid out some alternatives as to how these organisations can be regulated without a comprehensive law term. Edited by Giselle Chan For text story please click here