People
Police officer sentenced to four weeks in jail for upskirting
- 2022-01-26
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Jayde CheungEdited by: Clarice Wu
- 2022-01-26
An off-duty traffic police officer was sentenced to four weeks in jail for taking photos up women’s skirts. The crime took place in the chain store Don Don Donki in Tsim Sha Tsui on Jan 21 last year. So Yin-ho, 38, was charged with committing an act outraging public decency. He remained calm as Magistrate Jacky Yip Kai-leung meted out the sentence. The Magistrate ruled that upskirting is a serious and formidable crime that upsets women. So denied the charge despite security cameras recordings from the store and eye witness statements presented in court. “It was premeditated and abhorrent,” said the Magistrate. “You do not feel guilty and denied all the accusations, including refusing to admit owning the phone to sneak the photos, even claiming that the safety guards at the store were biased against you.” A psychological report stated that So was likely to repeat the offence. He also showed no remorse while remanded in custody. So plans to appeal and has been released on a bail of HK$25,000 with conditions. "Upskirting" is against the anti-voyeurism law which came into effect on October 8 last year. It prohibits "unlawful recording and observation of intimate part". Francis Kong, a social work supervisor of Caritas Specialised Treatment and Prevention Project of Sexual Violence, said that most people do not grasp the magnitude of the problem due to the absence of explicit legal accusation and punishment. “Clear legislation is important,” said Kong, “the punishment is just a way to compensate the victim. The law should also advocate respect for one another’s will on sexual contact.” Kong believed that upskirting is a form of intrusive sexual violence that neglects other parties’ will. He has called for more education on the issue because heavy penalties, he said, will not prevent similar behaviour in the …
Students learn together on Instagram as Covid-19 gets worse
- 2022-01-24
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Gigi ChongEdited by: Tiffany Ma
- 2022-01-24
The candidates of 2022 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education maintain their burning ambition to study by posting under #2022dsestudygram, a trending hashtag that has gained over 6,000 posts on Instagram. “Studygram makes me more concentrated on my studies during the class suspension period when I see how hard others study though their Studygram,” said Cindy Lam Pui-yin, a DSE candidate taking Physics and Economics as elective subjects, on top of the four compulsory subjects including Chinese, English, Mathematics and Liberal Studies. “The future depends on what you do today,” is one of the inspiring quotes captured by the student-managed Studygrams, where pupils keep a record of their study progress in Instagram accounts, to encourage peers amid class suspension due to rapid spread of Covid-19. The Education Bureau announced that all schools must hold classes online only on Jan.20, but schools can arrange in-person half-day lessons for form six students to prepare for the final examinations. Examinations and student activities in other levels should halt and postpone, according to the announcement. Although online lessons save travelling time and give students more autonomy in learning, Lam worries that the sudden amendment will affect her performance in the public exam. “We haven’t been taught the full curriculum for some elective subjects yet, and the class suspension is having an impact on my preparation for the public exam,” said Lam. Michelle Lam, also a candidate for the examination, owns a studygram with over 700 followers, said that online teaching always distracts her from focusing on the lessons. “I don’t dare to relax when I see so many people study hard even though the in-person classes are suspended,” Lam said. The 2022 DSE will start on Apr. 22 while the class suspension lasts until Chinese New Year holidays.
Two Jabs Required To Enter HKU
- 2022-01-17
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Clarice WuEdited by: KOO Chi Tung 顧知桐
- 2022-01-17
Students and staff from the University of Hong Kong are required to have two jabs in order to access campus starting from Monday. According to an internal email sent to students and staff, anyone who wishes to enter the campus will need either to be fully vaccinated or to take weekly self-tests. The same measure will also be applicable to HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPACE) premises throughout Hong Kong. No exemption is available. All HKU staff and students need to register their COVID-19 status via HKU portal or the HKU COVID-19 Control App. They will be allowed into campus after presenting their HKU ID cards to card readers installed at the entrances of HKU. People who choose to self-test will need to upload their records on a weekly basis. Presentation of original copies, photocopies, or screenshots of vaccination records and self-test records to security guards are also acceptable. Visitors will need to scan the QR code at the entrance to show that they have complied with the COVID-19 control measures before being granted access to the campus. Tam Siu-yee, a Year 3 HKU Science student majoring in Speech and Hearing Science said that the new measure does not really affect her since she has already been fully vaccinated. “I have been out in the clinic being in contact with patients since last semester so I have been vaccinated for a while,” Tam said. Although the measure does not affect her, she disagrees with the implementation. She thinks the new measure does not respect students’ personal wishes and the right to be on campus. Tam doubted the effectiveness of the two available vaccines in Hong Kong on combating Omicron and “doesn’t see the point for mandatory vaccination for COVID-19 control on campus.” Eight universities in Hong Kong have …
COVID-19 quarantine and travel restrictions challenge Hong Kong’s domestic helpers
- 2022-01-13
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Malick GaiEdited by: Robin Ewing
- 2022-01-13
Ybañez’s 68-year old mother, living in Cebu City in the Philippines, was hospitalized for high blood pressure and diabetes for two months before her death. Ybañez, 40, who has been working in Hong Kong for almost three years, would have to quarantine in both the Philippines and upon return in Hong Kong for five weeks in total. Employers of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong are required to pay for one trip home for each helper every two years. In response to the pandemic, the Immigration Department mandates that prospective employers sign the undertaking of the employer document agreeing to pay for their employees’ Covid tests and all quarantine expenses upon entry to Hong Kong. “My employer couldn't afford it," said Ybañez. "Even if I had gone, they could only wait for one week before burial and I had to do two weeks of quarantine in the Philippines, so it was impossible to see her.” Low availability of flights and quarantine hotel rooms, travel bans and vaccination requirements have made travel in and out of the city challenging for foreign domestic helpers. In April, Hong Kong banned flights from the Philippines, and in June this year another flight ban extended to Indonesia, significantly impacting the wait time for inbound employees. Both these bans were lifted in August. In September, the government opened Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre on Lantau Island to helpers who are fully vaccinated with non-Hong Kong available vaccinations for 21 days quarantine, allocating nearly 800 rooms with a price capped at HK$500 per night. Helpers vaccinated with either Pfizer/BioNTech or Sinovac can also quarantine in hotels upon their arrival. The pandemic has doubled the number of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong seeking help from local NGO Mission For Migrant Workers this year, the NGO said. More than …
Light rail passengers worried about safety after a woman was pushed onto the track
- 2021-11-29
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Kelly PangEdited by: BellaHuang
- 2021-11-29
Sarah Chan Miu-ching, 21, lives in Tuen Mun and takes the light rail transit three or four times a week. "I am definitely worried about falling on the track just like what happened to the woman yesterday as there is no platform screen door,” Ms. Chan said. A 47-year-old woman was walking on the platform at Tai Hing (North) station yesterday when a man whom she did not know suddenly pushed her onto the track. The woman’s left shoulder was injured. Police later arrested the suspect at Ching Chung station. Safety facilities at road junctions in the light rail system include traffic lights, road signs on light rail reserved area and vehicle height restrictions, yellow box marking and a bell before the light rail enters a road junction, according to the spokesman in the Legislative Council in 2011. Kitty Wong Yuen-yi, a secretary working in the MTR company, said that the automatic platform gates cannot be installed on the light rail because its operation system is different from other railway systems in the city. “When a train approaches a station, only the driver can stop the carriage and open or close the platform gates,” Ms Wong explained.”Since the road is shared with other vehicles, it’s technically difficult to install the gates.” “There are no platform screen doors like at MTR stations. It’s so easy to be shoved onto the track just like what happened to the woman yesterday,” Zoe Cheung Man-yi, 46, a Tuen Mun resident said. She urged the MTR corporation to pay more attention to accidents at railway stations and tackle them as soon as possible. In 2017, a man pushed a female cleaning worker off the track at the Yuen Long Light Rail Station. The worker had fractured elbows and injuries to her jaw and lips.
HK Philharmonic Swire Symphony Under The Stars back in-person after 2 year hiatus
- 2021-11-15
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Malick GaiEdited by: Simran Vaswani
- 2021-11-15
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra returned to the Central harbourfront on Saturday for its annual Swire Symphony Under The Stars, after being moved online last year because of the pandemic and cancelled in 2019 because of pro-democracy protests. The orchestra presented an exuberant programme of classical dance music with four philharmonic musicians performing as soloists: violist Andrew Ling and trumpeters Christopher Moyse, Douglas Waterston and Robert Smith. "This year's event is very exciting because all the pieces are classical dance pieces," host Harry Wong said in his opening remarks. Hong Kong conductor Wilson Ng led the concert after music director Jaap van Zweden was denied a quarantine waiver by the Hong Kong government. All of his remaining 2021 appearances have been cancelled. About 12,000 people attended the concert live at the Central harbourfront on Saturday night and around 2,000 attended the live screening at the West Kowloon Art Park, Wong said at the concert. "It's a very artistic weekend in West Kowloon as the concert also coincides with the opening of the M+ museum of visual culture and other events," said Paul Tam, executive director of performing arts at the West Kowloon Cultural District. "West Kowloon is not just an entertainment hub, also for civic engagement, you actually enjoy both inside and outside and it's pet-friendly.” "It's good that the event is free and it is socially distanced to give people access to the orchestra," said Marcus Scarlett, who watched the live screening of the concert from the Art Park. "It's really nice that the host engaged the audience to be involved in the dance music," said Vanessa Kwan, who also attended the live screening at the Art Park. The concert was also shown online via Zoom and live streamed on the philharmonic website, official Facebook page and YouTube channel. …
Panic-buying Emerges Before Typhoon Kompasu Hits the City
- 2021-10-12
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Jayde CheungEdited by: TUNG Yi Wun
- 2021-10-12
Hong Kong people scrambled for food after the Strong Wind Signal No.3 was in force, in order to have enough food before No.8 Gale or Storm Signal was issued today. Fresh meat and seafood in the Wellcome Superstore in Sha Kok Shopping Centre were sold out at noon, as Hong Kong people were panic-buying to get prepared for the approaching typhoon Kompasu. Chan Fung, a customer at Sha Kok Market, said she returned home empty-handed yesterday because of the stockout. She visited the wet market again this afternoon and bought more than usual, including two bags of vegetables, five oranges and a fish, which cost around HK$200. Prices were up for approximately 10%, Chan added. Still, she was not able to purchase any meat, as they were all sold out earlier. “I didn’t buy much, the food is just enough for tomorrow, because I guess the typhoon will only stay for one day,” Chan said. The second typhoon in the city this month is approaching after Lionrock’s visit on Saturday. Typhoon Kompasu will be nearest to Hong Kong in Wednesday's early morning, so the No.8 Gale or Storm Signal issued at 5:20pm will be in force at least before sunrise on Wednesday, according to the central briefing by the Hong Kong Observatory. “Strong to gale force north to north easterly winds, occasionally storm force offshore and on high ground,” said Yeung Kwok Chung, Acting Senior Scientific Officer of Hong Kong Observatory, in the central briefing at 9 pm. "Winds will moderate gradually tomorrow night, it will also be cloudy with heavy squally showers and thunderstorms." Queues in the Wellcome Superstore in Sha Kok Shopping Centre were extended to the back of the store. Tang Man-wai, a customer at the Wellcome Superstore, had only a box of sushi and four cup noodles …
Learning Through Lived Experience
- 2021-09-16
- People
- The Young Reporter
- By: Zhiwen TANEdited by: Jenny Lam
- 2021-09-16
Art opens our minds and shows us what could be possible in our world. Tan Zhiwen talks to a fine art teacher in mainland China who explains that learning is a lived experience.
Best African Cook In Town
- 2021-09-10
- People
- The Young Reporter
- By: Malick GaiEdited by: Jenny Lam
- 2021-09-10
Hong Kong has a small African population, but Malick Gai talks to the “best African chef in town” as he cooks up a storm!
The Disappearing Derung
- 2021-09-06
- People
- The Young Reporter
- By: Leone XueEdited by: Jenny Lam
- 2021-09-06
With a population of merely 7000, the Derung is one of the smallest ethnic groups in China. Most of them live remotely along Dulong River in Yunnan province. Some of the tribe members are trying very hard to preserve their unwritten language and unique culture amid the influence of the outside world.