The Young Reporter
Education University of Hong Kong derecognises student union, keeps HK$ 9 million reserve
- 2022-01-21
- The Young Reporter
- By: Tracy LeungEdited by: Kylie Wong
- 2022-01-21
The Education University of Hong Kong announced yesterday it will derecognise its student union. It also said it would keep the union’s HK$9 million reserve. Representatives of the former Student’s Union of the Education University bow to express gratitude towards their supporters in a screenshot of yesterday’s press conference. The university sent an email to teachers and students stating the Student’s Union has governance problems and fails to represent students. Representatives of the Student’s Union said in a press conference yesterday it did not deprive or exclude any student from applying for membership and elected and appointed officers in accordance with established instructions and procedures. In 2016, the university revised the union constitution, resulting in a decrease of members. The university said the union has been run by a temporary administrative committee for more than four years. The representatives questioned the university’s justification and legal basis to confiscate the reserves, also asking why the university did not raise concerns in previous years. “The HK$ 9 million reserve of the Student Union should belong to the students. I hope the university will discuss with us how the money will be managed,” said Yeung Yat-ming, the president of the Student’s Union. The union is now prohibited from using the name of the university, collecting membership fees, governing campus facilities or managing its university online accounts and services. “The university is abusing its power. Without the student union, there are fewer chances for us to express our opinions,” said Jocelyn Kong, a 20-year-old student at the Education University. The Student Affairs Office, which will take up the function of the union, “obviously couldn’t represent the students and deliver our concerns to the university,” said Kong. The Finance Office of the Education University said it will keep the union’s HK$9 million reserve in custody. …
Edward Leung Tin-kei released after six years in prison
- 2022-01-19
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Karmen Li、Jayde CheungEdited by: Jenny Lam
- 2022-01-19
Edward Leung Tin-kei, a former spokesman for Hong Kong Indigenous, was freed from prison after serving four years for his role in the 2016 clashes in Mong Kok . Karmen Li and Jayde Cheung documented Leung’s route to “freedom” and recapped his story before jail.
Cancellation of Chinese New Year fairs leave farmers at a loss
- 2022-01-19
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Malick GaiEdited by: Nicholas Shu
- 2022-01-19
Flower farmers and florists are left with thousands of unsold plants after the government cancelled all Lunar New Year fairs last Friday because of the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant. It’s the second year in a row that the annual flower markets are scrapped because of the pandemic. The fairs are some of the biggest events in the run up to Chinese New Year in Hong Kong. Flower markets are usually held in public parks such as Victoria Park in Causeway Bay and in Mong Kok. “The flower businesses usually experience a seasonal boom during festive occasions, when particularly auspicious flowers and plants, such as orchids and tangerine trees are sold,” said Samuel Ng, owner of Green House Nursery, a garden centre in Sai Kung. "When Chinese New Year approaches, some businesses would order at least 50 tangerine trees, but not for the past two years. These will have to be thrown out now," Ng said. His plants are imported from Guangzhou in mainland China. But bringing the plants to Hong Kong, he said, is increasingly difficult because they have to be disinfected and transferred between delivery trucks multiple times. Customers are often concerned whether the plants would wilt, and that puts pressure on the vendors to make sure their goods look fresh. Tung, who only wanted to give his family name, works in another flower shop in Sai Kung. He sources flowers from a wholesaler who purchases goods from Japan, mainland China, South America, Africa and Europe. These supply chains have been affected by transport delays and travel restrictions, resulting in the goods having to be refrigerated for weeks or even thrown away. "I haven't had a day off for 21 months. My wife and I are working 11 hours everyday to make up for the financial loss. …
Hong Kong to kill thousands of hamsters after COVID-19 outbreak
- 2022-01-19
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Lokman Yuen、KOO Chi Tung 顧知桐Edited by: Tracy Leung、Malick Gai
- 2022-01-19
Hong Kong authorities will cull some 2,000 small rodents after hamsters in a pet shop tested preliminary positive for the Delta variant of COVID-19, the first to be discovered in a natural environment. Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Leung Siu-fai announced in a press conference on Tuesday that pet shops selling hamsters were required to temporarily suspend their businesses and handover the rodents to the department for euthanasia after testing, regardless of the result. He also “strongly advised” pet owners who had bought a hamster in Hong Kong from Dec. 22 to turn them over. The announcement was made amid concerns over animal to human transmission, after 11 hamsters at Little Boss pet shop in Causeway Bay, tested preliminary positive for the virus. Environmental samples obtained from its Tai Po warehouse, which housed the imported hamsters from the Netherlands, also tested positive. “Although there was no evidence internationally to prove animals can spread COVID-19 to humans, but for the sake of prudence, we will implement preventive measures on every possible route of transmission,” Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said. The virus was detected after a 23-year-old pet shop worker and a 67-year-old woman who visited the venue on Jan. 8 were infected. University of Hong Kong microbiologist and government advisor Yuen Kwok-yung told the reporters in the evening that it was essential to make such a decision and praised the judgment as “decisive and wise.” “I use this species in the laboratory for experiments every day, which are very sensitive towards the virus and are easily infected,” he said. He also said the hamsters will spread out a lot of viruses in the first 10 days, which means a long time for transmission. Yeung Lin-hing, who owns one of the 34 affected pet stores, said he …
Hong Kong stocks fall three trading days in a row
- 2022-01-18
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: Kylie WongEdited by: Serena Kong
- 2022-01-18
Hong Kong stocks continued to drop as technology stocks shrank and the market was concerned about upcoming tighter monetary policy in the U.S., in light of inflation. The Heng Seng Index closed at 24112.78, showing a 0.43% decrease. Though the market grew 0.69% to today’s peak, 24385.05, from its previous close in the morning trading session, the growth was erased by the drop at noon. The lowest of the day was 24009.71. The market was dragged down by losses in the technology sector. Tencent recorded a decreased 2.75% reduction to HK$HKD 452.8 from yesterday’s HK$HKD 465.6. This was followed by Meituan and Alibaba, declining 0.375% to HK$HKD 215.8 and 1.63%to HK$126.4 respectively. Several financial media reported that Morgan Stanley cut the target price of Tencent from HK$650 to HK$600 as the broker predicted that Tencent’s revenue will report a slower growth of 6% for the last quarter in 2021. This is due to delays in revenue recognition of new games. Regulatory policies regarding games and advertisements also came into play. Country garden from the property industry is the best performing blue chip of the day. It displayed a 4.94% growth, reaching HK$ 6.16. The company announced on Monday that it has repurchased US$ 10 million senior note (HK$ 389 million) from the market. HSCE fell 0.18%. The SSE Composite Index and CSI 300 Index inched up 0.80% and 0.97% respectively.
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 …
Ethnic Minorities, Discrimination, and being a Hong Konger
- 2021-12-31
- The Young Reporter
- 2021-12-31
By Jay Raju Ganglani
