TOP STORIES
Hong Kong bus companies roll out electric and hydrogen powered buses to meet carbon neutrality goal
- 2024-03-29
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: WANG Ludan、YANG Shuyi、WANG JingEdited by: Sze Kei WONG
- 2024-03-29
The first hydrogen double-decker buses in Hong Kong set sail in February for the Vodafone Road route. Starting from 2022, the electric buses are appearing on the Hong Kong’s street to reduce emissions more than diesel buses as part of the public transportation sector’s efforts to help Hong Kong achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
Easter eggs art installation light up Central Harbourfront
- 2024-03-27
- Society
- By: WANG Jing、AO Wei Ying VinciEdited by: Yau To LUM
- 2024-03-27
The “teamLab:Continuous” exhibition in Tamar Park, subsidised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department opened on Monday. The Central Harbourfront is the backdrop to the Easter egg theme art work More than 200 glowing ovoids and trees are on display on land and in the water, lighting up Tamar Park and extending into Victoria Harbour. Takashi Kudo, global brand designer of teamLab,who gave a speech in Tamar Park on opening day, said he wanted to make people think about nature, city space and their lives as a continuity since they are all connected. “As the ovoids change their colours when being moved, the wind and waves at the harbour continuously affect them,” said Kudo. “There are many cube-like buildings around which people cannot push or move, but for the ovoids here, you can touch and feel them,” said Kudo. “There is also another metaphor for the pushable ovoids: when people fall, they can stand up again.” Many visitors welcomed the exhibition as they took pictures and interacted with the ovoids. The first week of online reservations for the interaction area is already full. “I have visited many similar art exhibitions in other countries.This event is a good start for Hong Kong,” said Ed Tam, an exhibition enthusiast. “The exhibition uses Victoria Harbour as its backdrop and creates great scenery. I think this is what makes the art exhibition unique,” he said. Tam said he supported the government in setting up more mega art installations since Hong Kong seldom has such events. “It’s beautiful, but HK$50 million is a huge expense for taxpayers,” said Fanny Wong, a local visitor. “HK$50 million can support the government to do more things for the public.” “I will still recommend my friends to visit and appreciate these ovoid installations,” said Wong. “The colourful lights along …
Doctors Without Borders raises awareness on plight in Sudan
- 2024-03-26
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: AO Wei Ying Vinci、ZHANG YipingEdited by: Yee Ling TSANG、Yi Yin CHOW
- 2024-03-26
The Hong Kong chapter of Doctors Without Borders organised its first fundraising running race since 2002 at Plover Cove Reservoir’s main dam on March 17th The choice of the location aims to raise awareness of humanitarian aid and hardships in Southern Sudan.
Green building facilities a sustainable future in Hong Kong
- 2024-03-26
- Health & Environment
- The Young Reporter
- By: YANG Haicen、LIU Yutong、BO ChuxuanEdited by: Yuqi CHU
- 2024-03-26
Next to the Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, a leisure and entertainment business centre is about to be launched The exteriors of the three main buildings are all made of glass walls, which effectively gives insulation and increases light sources, just like an airship. Its extensive green walls and surroundings with abundant plants signal its uniqueness as a green building. “I am looking forward to the soon to be opened K11 Skies,” said Lai Wing-tsz, a passerby who just left the airport, “it amazes me and makes me wonder if it is still the Hong Kong I remember. ” In recent years, the concept of green building has been developing rapidly in Hong Kong with the goal of a sustainable future, a concept valued by the government and top developers. "Green building is not just about the building itself," said Vivian Ngan, the assistant manager of Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC), "it's about an organisational unity of the building and its surroundings." Green buildings are supposed to be environmentally-friendly and resource-efficient by reducing carbon emissions, increasing green coverage, reusing waste materials, installing rooftop solar panels and district cooling systems. K11 Skies for example, has been awarded platinum certification in several Hong Kong and international green building ratings, a recognition even higher than K11 Musea beside Victoria Harbour. According to HKGBC, more than 57% of the roof of K11 Skies is covered with highly reflective coatings and greenery to reduce energy loss. It also uses non-chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants in the heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigerating system in order to avoid ozone-depleting substances. In addition to K11 Skies, there are thousands of other green buildings in Hong Kong. In order to achieve the government’s long-term goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, green buildings are now a priority in …
World's largest pop culture exhibition ComplexCon debuts in Asia for Hong Kong’s Art March
- 2024-03-26
- Culture & Leisure
- The Young Reporter
- By: YANG Haicen、WANG LudanEdited by: Yuqi CHU
- 2024-03-26
The pop culture exhibition ComplexCon came to a close on Sunday at AsiaWorld-Expo as its debut outside the US, with an influx of local and other Asian fashion designer brands and musicians. The Asian debut was supported by the government’s HK$1.4 billion Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced in his policy address last October. ComplexCon, as the world's largest trend festival, was first launched in Los Angeles in 2016, gathering urban culture and music artists, with past performers including Snoop Dogg, Selena Gomez and Offset. “This exhibition used to be held in North America. I've had my eye on it for a long time, but never had the chance to attend,” said Tang Ziqi, 20, a trend culture enthusiast. He said he has been hooked on hip-hop, rap and fashion since he was in secondary school. "But today, I think ComplexCon has found a more suitable and Asian way to present its artistic effect in Hong Kong," Tang added. “You can see lots of trendy brands and designers from Hong Kong here, like my favourite Offgod, a 19-year-old teenage designer.” ComplexCon consists of a bazaar selling trendy fashion items and a music festival with ticket prices ranging from HK$380 to HK$4,780. Forty fashion brands and 12 artworks landed at the Hong Kong ComplexCon. Asian brands took the vast majority, including Thug Club, a Korean street fashion brand, local brand Lakh and GrowthRing & Supply and Taiwanese brand Goopy Made. Richard Chen Xiyun, a 19 year-old university student and also a fan of trendy sneakers, said he was very pleased with the variety of booths at the marketplace, which filled up three showrooms. “The artworks in the marketplace are very distinctive, including some contemporary and conceptual appeal, which allows me to have a variety …
“Art March 2024”: tourists welcome new ovoid installations with full bookings in the opening week
- 2024-03-25
- Culture & Leisure
- By: Chi On LIUEdited by: Ji Youn Lee
- 2024-03-25
teamLab:Continuous, an outdoor art project featuring hundreds of colourful illuminated egg-shaped installations at Tamar Park & Central and Western District Promenade, was fully booked by tourists on its opening week as part of the government’s new campaign. Around 200 ovoid installations changed colours with interactive sound effects with audiences. The installation is part of the government’s “Art March 2024” campaign, a program which aims to welcome tourists and locals to take part in various artistic events and “take the city’s vibrant cultural landscape to the next level”. In the opening ceremony, Tam Mei-yee, Deputy Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, said they were pleased with the public’s reaction to the exhibit. “The 100,000 reservations for the first week were sold out within 2 hours, showing the audience’s enthusiasm for this event,” said Tam. However, some visitors were disappointed in the amount of tickets and available amenities. Gao Xiaoqian, 28, a visitor from mainland China who has been to other teamLabs projects in Japan, said he had to walk more than 100 metres from the exhibit to the nearest vending machine for drinks and snacks. “I think the government can do better in this event, Gao said. “More tickets and valuable souvenirs related to Hong Kong may make this event more friendly.” To accommodate for high demand, Tam said the Leisure and Cultural Services Department would increase the number of booking quotes and would work with the travel industry to arrange group bookings. According to Klook’s official listing for the event, all tickets are fully booked until Apr.7. Richard Kim, 25, a local resident, said: “If an event has reservations to limit the people coming to the exhibition, I can’t see how it can attract more people to go out and more tourists to come.” The installations will be …
Labour importation threatens local job security
- 2024-03-25
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: AO Wei Ying Vinci、AU YEUNG JimEdited by: Ka Man Wong
- 2024-03-25
It has been six months since the government launched various labour importation schemes aimed at addressing a labour shortage in the construction and transportation sectors. Last year, Hong Kong saw a manpower shortage of 17,500-24,000 in the construction industry, and 3,600 public light bus and coach drivers, according to Legco figures. But labour unions say the government should instead focus on fixing the flaws in labour protection laws in order to promote local employment and sustain the workforce. Construction: Labour importation threatens local job opportunities According to a press release from the Hong Kong Construction Association in January, the first workforce demand survey result after the start of the importation scheme shows a shortage of 8,208 workers. The government has approved 4,680 out of the 12,000 applications in the first round for 20 construction contracts. HKCA supports the scheme as a supplementary measure to resolve the urgent labour shortage but expects the government to enhance labour sustainability by introducing multiple measures, including hiring new blood in the industries, utilising technologies, and providing more training to the existing workforce as the scheme is not permanent. Ng Wai-leung, Equity Director of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union said that the highly mobile work nature of construction work makes it hard to safeguard job vacancies for local workers. “We would only import labour when the workload exceeds the demand. We should only aim to fill up the short-term manpower gaps,” said Ng. “When the demand shrinks, it is really unacceptable that companies fire local workers before imported ones. Instead, imported workers should go home once they are not engaged in any projects.” According to Ng, many imported labour are working on the Third Airport Runway System at Hong Kong International Airport. He hoped that the agencies and government can provide language …
Hong Kong bus companies driving toward carbon neutrality
- 2024-03-25
- Society
- By: YANG Shuyi、WANG Ludan、WANG JingEdited by: KONG Tsz Yuen
- 2024-03-25
Electric buses are appearing on Hong Kong's streets starting in 2022, transforming the city’s image of traffic clogged up with old double deckers that belch out pollution. These buses use environmentally friendly new energy as fuel, which can reduce emissions better than diesel buses. Citybus will put Hong Kong’s first hydrogen bus into road commissioning this month, and it will soon come into the market. “We plan to test the performance of diesel, electric, and hydrogen buses by deploying five buses of each type on the same route in the second half of this year. ” said Lee Ka-ming, Citybus's Head Engineering Manager. “Based on the results, we will decide on the proportion of hydrogen and electric buses in our plans. We prefer to use data comparisons to support our decisions on which buses to choose,"Lee said. At present, there are 21 KMB routes serving the public with electric buses, accounting for about 56 electric buses. “Double-decked electric buses have been in service since 2023, and their performance has been very satisfactory. Since a bus can operate for 18 years, we will continue to monitor its performance and prepare to cope with any possible difficulties,” said Kenny Kan, Head of KMB's corporate communications and public affairs department. “KMB expects to replace diesel buses with fully electric ones by 2040,” he added. According to local think tank, Civic Exchange, Hong Kong's transportation sector accounts for the second largest share of total Greenhouse gas sessions, emitting 18.7%. Commercial vehicles such as buses only account for 20% of the total number of vehicles in Hong Kong but contribute over 90% of nitrogen oxide (NO) emissions, a significant contributor to roadside air pollution. “Compared with diesel buses, new energy buses do not produce harmful emissions, thus directly reducing the use of non-renewable energy such …
Noir & Blanc—A Story of Photography exhibition debuts at M+
- 2024-03-24
- Photo Essay
- The Young Reporter
- By: LI Sin Tung、CHEN Yik NamEdited by: Sze Kei WONG
- 2024-03-24
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Noir & Blanc—A Story of Photography is the first photography programme of the French May Arts Festival in Hong Kong opening in March. As the first stop of the travelling exhibition, M+ is collaborating with the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), the national library of France. It showcases photographic works from 1915 to 2019 and is the first major public exhibition of BnF’s photography collections in Asia. “Light and Shadow”, “Aiming for Contrast” and “Colour Chart” are the three main sections in the exhibition. It presents different perspectives for comprehending the creation of black-and-white images over the span of more than a century. The exhibition includes more than 250 photographs from BnF’s world-renowned collection, complemented by over 30 works from both mainland China and Hong Kong, drawn from the M+ Collections. The exhibition will be held from Mar. 16 to July 1. Tickets are $140 for adults, $70 for full-time students, children ages 7 to 11, senior citizens ages 60 or above, persons with disabilities and one companion, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients.
Hong Kong recycling industry faces uncertainty over waste charging scheme
- 2024-03-24
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: LI Sin Tung、CHEN Yik NamEdited by: James Ezekiel Kalaw MODESTO
- 2024-03-24
Yeung Man-ching, 21, a student at the Hong Kong Baptist University, starts her morning by bringing plastic bottles and waste paper from home to throw them into the recycling bin on campus. She has been recycling garbage for more than two years and says she has recycled over a hundred bottles. “I always ask my family to collect and clean the plastic bottles. From where I live in Tai Wai, there are no recycling bins downstairs at my house, so I can only take them back to school to be recycled,” she said. Yeung said that she once passed a food waste recycling machine in Sha Tin with a long queue, which intrigued her. She had never thought about recycling before and decided then to start recycling plastic bottles. “I believe that after the waste-charging scheme is officially implemented, more people will be willing to recycle,” she added. “It’s time for Hong Kong’s recycling system to improve.” Recycling in Hong Kong is finally on track, alongside many expectations of its continuous development with the introduction of a new waste charging scheme, whose implementation was pushed back until August this year. But experts say the city still has a long way to go before it can call itself green. “I have noted many discussions and questions raised by various sectors in the community about Municipal Solid Waste Charging, and many people expressed their concerns to me that the general public do not understand how waste charging will be implemented,” said Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan in a media session on Jan. 19. “As a responsible government, we would like to implement waste charging successfully and smoothly,” said Tse. “Therefore, I believe it is a liable act for us to put more time into public education.” The “pay-as-you-throw” charging scheme …