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Things you need to know about China’s 20th National Congress of CCP
- 2022-10-26
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Yixin Gao、Jiaxing LiEdited by: Ziyu Bruce Zhao、Summer Li
- 2022-10-26
The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China came to a close on Oct. 22 after a week-long meeting session in Beijing. 2,379 elected deputies from all over the country attended the conferences, reviewed major issues of the past five years, and outlined the future plan for the world's second-largest economy. A new top governing team was introduced with Xi Jinping securing his third presidential term. Here are the seven key takeaways you should know about China's historic Communist Party Congress.
Hong Kong losing power to retain mainland students after graduation
- 2022-10-26
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Yixin Gao、Jiaxing LiEdited by: REN Ziyi David
- 2022-10-26
Yang Yuhe will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in advertising from Hong Kong Baptist University in 2024, but she has no plans to stay. From Hubei Province in mainland China, she moved to Hong Kong to attend university in 2020. Yang said she plans to go to the United States for graduate school as soon as possible. “The housing here is oppressive, and I would not need to withstand it in the mainland or the US,” she said. “Besides, universities in the US can give me more and better internship opportunities with a higher salary.” Like Yang, more mainland students are coming to Hong Kong to study but fewer are staying after graduation. Students and experts say the reason for mainland graduates leaving Hong Kong is a weakened labour market and unaffordable housing prices. In 2020, the government issued 31,123 student visas to mainland students, an increase of 68% from 2015. But in the same year, 6,125, fewer than 20%, applied for an IANG visa, the work visa available to non-local students who graduate from accredited programmes in Hong Kong. This is down from a peak of close to 10,000 IANG applicants in 2019. Even fewer are applying for permanent residency, available after seven years of continuous employment in the territory. In 2019, immigration data showed that 3,117 were granted permanent residency under the IANG program, meaning around 10% of mainland students educated in Hong Kong end up making the city their home. “Mainland students are the bridge between the mainland and Hong Kong in business and many other fields. Their increasing leave means loss of connections,” said Kaxton Siu, a professor of social sciences at HKBU who has mentored students from the mainland for nearly eight years. “The number of mainland students leaving Hong Kong has increased because of …
“Brekkie, Arvo, Thong”: the challenges of Aussie English for Hong Kongers
- 2022-10-25
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Angela HuangEdited by: Clarice Wu、Hamish CHAN
- 2022-10-25
When Chan Pak-yu immigrated from Hong Kong to Sydney in 2021, she thought her fluency in English meant she could fit right in. But not so. She was 32, a professional in e-commerce and has been working in English. “Text me as ping me, Mcdonald's as meccas. I really didn’t understand when I first heard of these,” Chan said. Since the emigration started in 2021, Hongkongers have been facing all kinds of challenges in their new home. The language barrier is often the first obstacle. “When I heard my colleagues use slang like this, I had to ask them what they meant. It made me feel embarrassed,” said Chan. She believed it all boils down to cultural differences. “I don't know how to imitate their accents. But you can imagine when they are speaking too fast, I can only understand half of the conversation and then I need to guess what they are talking about,” she added. According to the 2021 Australian Census, 29.1% of the population were immigrants and 17.4% were Asian Australians. Sylvia Tam, 27, is a psychiatric nurse who moved to Melbourne from Hong Kong a year ago. Working in a hospital in Melbourne city centre, Tam meets patients from diverse backgrounds. She feels it’s important to improve her conversational English. “For my speciality, we mostly assess patients and provide tailor-made therapies for them through casual conversations,” said Tam. “The patients I'm taking care of struggle with mental health concerns, it is more difficult for them to express themselves compared to others.” Although Tam is comfortable with her English ability in her professional setting, she still feels the need to communicate with local people and understand their “talking styles”. Tam is not alone. Li Yan-yan, 30, is a theatre nurse who moved to Tasmania last year. She …
Ready for snakes? Hong Kongers bring pets reptiles to new countries
- 2022-10-24
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Zimo ZHONG、Yongyi CAOEdited by: Karmen Li
- 2022-10-24
When Bonnie Kan, 24, moved from Hong Kong to Canada in July, she spent HK$70,000 to take her seven pet lizards, snakes and frogs with her. It took eight months to make the arrangements with a reptile shop that helped her relocate her pets. Before boarding, the staff from the reptile shop put warmers between each plastic carrying box to maintain a constant temperature during the flight. "The body temperature of my lizard dropped to 26 degree Celsius when I arrived in Canada. Lizards may get pneumonia if they catch a cold. Therefore, I think the first concern of moving them is temperature," Kan said. Last year, more than 113,000 residents left the city, according to government statistics, many of them with pets. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department told The Young Reporter that the number of issued health certifications for pets that are needed when entering destination countries rose from 6,267 in 2021 to 9,622 permits as of August 2022. Reptiles are harder to move than cats and dogs, as they are banned from entering some countries and some airlines do not accept them. Kan, who ran a store selling hand-knitted clothing items for reptiles in Hong Kong, said her pets were the most important priority in considering which country she would move to. Some countries like Australia ban the import of pet reptiles to prevent bringing any exotic diseases to the local habitat. She eventually settled on Canada, which allows reptiles. If a pet falls under one of the more than 38,700 species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, then a permit is needed. Kan got the permits from the AFCD for her two endangered reptiles, the Tokay Gecko and the Ball Python. “After hearing about an owner who …
1,200 swimmers make waves in harbour race
- 2022-10-23
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Man TSE、Yuchen LIEdited by: WANG Jingyan 王婧言
- 2022-10-23
Over 1,200 swimmers made waves across Victoria Harbour on Sunday morning in the annual New World Harbour Race, with competitors expecting more places next year. Kwok Chun-hei, 18, a member of the Hong Kong team, won the first place in the men’s group, while fellow Hong Kong team member Wong Ching-lam, 21, won the women’s group in the approximately one-kilometre race. The race groups started at 7:05 am from the Golden Bauhinia Square Public Pier in Wan Chai and finished at the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, while the leisure groups began at 7:45 am. Participants had to present their vaccine pass and negative RAT results before entering the competition area. A queue was seen outside the Golden Bauhinia Square earlier in the morning. The organiser limited the number of participants in leisure groups by drawing lots to “reduce large gatherings of people” during the pandemic. Evelyn Wu, a mainland student from the University of Hong Kong, said she enjoyed the race, which was her first time swimming in Victoria Harbour. “The water was very clean. It was great to swim and enjoy the scenery at the same time,” she said. But she said she was sorry her friend was not in the race. “ She was supposed to go with me, but she did not get drawn (in the lucky draw), so I had to come alone,” she added. Another swimmer Clement Wong also said he was looking forward to more places at the Harbour Race next year. “I have done the Harbour Race before, but I didn't expect it to be so small this year,” said Wong. He added that it was very crowded in the past when swimmers came ashore at the Quarry Bay. “This year, although the venue is huge, it was a bit …
Youth Communication Event promotes Hong Kong young adults’ understanding of the Policy Address
- 2022-10-23
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Yixin GaoEdited by: Nick Yang
- 2022-10-23
The government created a focus group of those under the 40s to give opinions on policies and promote young people’s participation in public affairs at the “Youth Come Say” communicating event this Sunday. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, John Lee Ka-chiu, said in the 2022 Policy Address that Hong Kong would prosper only when its young people thrive and that the government would attach great importance to education and youth development. The “Youth Come Say” was held after the Policy Address this year was delivered. Its main organiser is the Hong Kong Youth Development Commission, YDC, an organisation which has close ties to the government and aims to support youth groups in various districts. This event is to provide youths from different stages and fields with a platform to show their thoughts about government policies, said Kenneth Leung Yuk-wai, a government councillor and the chairman of the YDC. This was the second time that the YDC held the “Youth Come Say” event, yet the first time to make the discussion core as the Policy Address. “It is a method to supply directions for the government to develop policies for Hong Kong youths. Youths can also broaden their understanding,” said Kelly Li, the emcee of the event. The number of participants was about 50, mainly members of youth organisations from different urban areas, aged between 18 to 40. All participants were divided into five groups, and each group discussed one topic from the Policy Address. The five main issues were encouraging youths to participate in public affairs, promoting youth employment, learning more about the Greater Bay Area, youth education and youths’ housing issues. “The communication atmosphere was active, and everyone was sensible,” said Vivian Chen, 22, a Yau Tsim Mong area participant. An issue that has been emphasised was the Greater Bay …
Venues struggle to survive despite revival of Hong Kong’s live music
- 2022-10-23
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Dhuha AL-ZAIDI、Aruzhan ZEINULLAEdited by: Malick Gai
- 2022-10-23
Live music returned to Hong Kong’s culture and entertainment venues after the government announced on Thursday that it is lifting the ban on live performances that was in force since April 2020. Performers must undergo Covid-19 PCR tests twice a week and conduct a Rapid Antigen Test before entering the venue, as announced by Under Secretary for Health Libby Lee Ha-yun in a press conference last week. The announcement comes shortly after the government recognised the “ardent expectations of the live music sector for relaxing social distancing measures," according to a spokesperson for Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chi. The lifting of restrictions will quickly generate about 20% to 30% of business increase, according to Chin Chun-wing, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar and Club Association. However, the rule that there should be no eating or drinking during performances remains in force, impacting certain venues’ opportunities to make the profit they did pre-pandemic. “We just want to go back to normal where people eat and drink when we have the live band because it’s a different experience,” said Michael Ng, the restaurant manager of Lau Bak Livehouse, one of the few music venues with approved licensing to host live events in the West Kowloon Cultural District. Ng said his restaurant loses around HK$20,000 to HK$30,000 a day, which they try to mitigate through approximately 7,000 takeaways a week. “Hong Kong is a step behind what the world is doing,” said Jasmin Sin, 26, a marketing executive at Chanel, who used to attend live music events at least once a week. The ban on live music has burdened many musicians, who have lacked job opportunities since the ban was put in place over two years ago. The Musicians Foundation surveyed 465 musicians in June and found that over half of Hong Kong’s …
Policy Address 2022 Key Takeaways: leveraging Hong Kong's unique advantages for economic recovery
- 2022-10-20
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Kiki Lo、Tracy LeungEdited by: Nick Yang
- 2022-10-20
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu delivered his maiden policy address yesterday after his swearing-in. His speech this year clocked two hours and 45 minutes, seven minutes longer than the previous chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s longest policy address last year. Using President Xi Jinping's speech on June 1 as a blueprint for the administration of the current government, Lee announced a series of policies to leverage Hong Kong’s unique advantage of “enjoying strong support of the motherland while being closely connected to the world under the ‘One Country, Two Systems.’” Here are key takeaways from his first policy address speech: Wooing talents More than 140,000 workers left the city in the past two years. To attract and retain talents, Lee said the territory will be aggressive in “competing for enterprises” and “competing for talents”. Lee said the Top Talent Pass Scheme will be launched for two years. Eligible applicants, including those who earned at least HK$2.5 million in the past year or graduated from one of the top 100 universities in the world, will be issued a two-year work visa. Quotas on the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, in which “highly skilled or talented persons” are able to apply for work visas, will be lifted for two years. Stamp duty for property purchased by non-permanent residents, which is 30% of the property price, will be refunded when they become Hong Kong permanent residents. Increasing housing supply Lee said solving the housing shortage is his top priority. Currently, applicants need to wait about six years to live in public housing. Lee said the government will “cap the waiting time immediately” by introducing new “light public housing” and increasing the supply of traditional public units. The government will build at least 30,000 simple light public housing for transitional homes …
Policy Address 2022: Government to push ahead with transforming Hong Kong into high-tech centre
- 2022-10-20
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Lok Yi CHU、Ho Yi CHEUNG、Kin Hou POONEdited by: Clarice Wu、Hamish CHAN
- 2022-10-20
The Hong Kong government will invest $10 billion to foster technological innovations in universities and formulate a plan to attract foreign high-tech companies to set up offices and R&D centres in Hong Kong to build it into a global high-tech hub. Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu said that the government will launch the "Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint" to formulate key policies on four development directions. “I&T (Innovation and Technology) provides key impetus for Hong Kong’s high-quality economic development,” said Lee. Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint I&T ecosystem Talent Pool Smart city International Development 1. Promote commercialisation of research and development outcomes 2. Promote the development of technology industry 3. Press ahead with re-industrialisation 4. Strengthening infrastructure 1. Introduce leading international innovation and technology talents by collaborating 2. Optimising the existing technology talent plan 3. Increase accommodation support 1. Expand 5G Networks 2. Share database to company in I&T sector 1. Strengthen the cooperation with Shenzhen 2. Attracting enterprises Under the proposal, the government will set up a $10 billion “Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme” next year to support the development of the technology industry in local universities. Matching funds will be provided to at least 100 research teams in universities, aiming to help them transform their ideas into products. "Although many scientific research teams in colleges and universities can obtain seed funds to start enterprises, they often fail to have further development or even commercialisation because angel investors and venture capital investors are more cautious, " said Shum Yu-yiu, an awardee of HK Tech 300 HK Tech 300 is a program launched by the City University of Hong Kong to help its students who are aspiring entrepreneurs. According to Startmeup HK, a government agency set up to promote startup companies in Hong Kong, …
Policy Address 2022: Hong Kong to invest HK$30 billion aimed transforming the city into a high-tech centre
- 2022-10-20
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Lok Yi CHU、Ho Yi CHEUNGEdited by: Hamish CHAN
- 2022-10-20
Hong Kong is planning to establish investment funds and a talent office to attract foreign technology companies and high-level technical talents, aiming to build the city into a global high-tech hub. A HK$30 billion Co-investment Fund was planned with the aim to invest in potential oversea technology companies to set up their business in Hong Kong. To attract technical talents under a five-year technology blueprint, the government also planned to collaborate with the newly established Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES). The government believes the policies will enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness and create better and newer rooms for economic development in the next five years, said Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu. “In terms of ‘grabbing enterprises’ and ‘grabbing talents’, we hope to increase our competitiveness. There are many practices that we can see are unusual, proactive, and focused,” said Lee at a press conference. The Co-investment fund will target five high-value-added innovation and technology (I&T) industries, including health technology, artificial intelligence, data science, advanced manufacturing, and new energy technology to strengthen Hong Kong’s I&T industry further . The number of local start-up companies increased by 38% to 3,755 in September 2021, compared to the same period in 2017, according to Start Me Up, a team under Invest Hong Kong to help overseas start-ups in entering the city. Financial technology, biological technology, and the artificial intelligence industry account for over 50% of all start-up industries. Under this approach, OASES will select potential overseas technology companies and invite them to operate in Hong Kong with a tailored investment plan. Lee expects the plan will attract over 100 high-potential I&T enterprises, and at least 20 leading enterprises to Hong Kong, which is expected to bring over HK$10 billion in capital investment. Chan Tik-yuen, chairman of the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Association, …