GST-related articles

Hong Kong drops sales tax plans

The Hong Kong government has dropped plans to introduce a new sales tax in the face of public opposition.It had hoped that a goods and sales tax (GST) would bring in an extra $3.8bn (£1.9bn) in revenues to boost the city's public services budget.
Hong Kong currently has one of the world's lowest tax regimes, with a 16% personal rate and 17.5% for businesses.
Critics said a new sales tax would hit lower income groups disproportionately and could also hurt tourism.

Budget deficits
The government had held a nine-month consultation on the planned tax reform.
It has said that the territory needs to boost its sources of public revenues in order to cope with the welfare burden of an ageing population and any potential economic downturns.
The city ran up large deficits in the late 1990s after the Asian financial crisis.
"Although the public understands that GST can broaden our tax base, it is clear from the views collected that we have not been able to convince the majority to accept GST as the main option to address the tax base problem," said Financial Secretary Henry Tang.
At the moment only 35% of Hong Kong wage earners pay income tax, and the government has previously suggested that it could look at reducing personal allowances to get more people into the tax net.

Hong Kong backs off on sales tax - Business - International Herald Tribune

Widespread public opposition forced Hong Kong's government to back down Tuesday on a proposal to introduce a sales tax on goods and services.

"We accept that at this time we do not have public support or the right conditions" to introduce the tax, Financial Secretary Henry Tang said.

A goods and services tax of 5 percent was proposed to broaden Hong Kong's tax base. A nine-month consultation started in July and the government has so far received 2,200 written comments.

"For the remaining part of the consultation we will not be advocating" the planned sales tax, Tang said.

Tang and Chief Executive Donald Tsang have said that government costs are rising and that a sales tax would be a more stable source of revenue than taxes on salaries and profits. Opponents say sales taxes hurt the poor and small businesses.

Tsang said that he and all members of the government's executive council backed Tang's decision.

Retail sales growth unexpectedly eased in October as tourist arrivals increased at the slowest pace since China loosened visa rules for visits to the city three years ago, a report this week showed.

The consultation on the sales tax will continue as scheduled.

Tang said, "By March next year, upon conclusion of the consultation, we will draw up a report for consideration by the government of the next term."

The government and credit agencies say the tax base is too narrow, making public finances vulnerable during economic downturns.

Such a downturn occurred as recently as in the years after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, when the government ran up a series of large budget deficits.

Government finances are now back in surplus after three years of robust economic recovery, but the government says that an aging population will put further pressure on the budgets in the future.

Retailers and other business groups have vehemently opposed a goods and services tax, saying it would hurt tourism.

At the same time, many members of the public say that there is no need to introduce a tax now that the economy is doing well.

UNESCO-related article

Heritage plea for TST bus terminal

Joyce Ng
Activists have taken their campaign to save the Tsim Sha Tsui bus terminal to new heights - asking Unesco and international scholars to consider its historic value. Until now, the campaign has focused on the terminal's convenient access to the Star Ferry pier.
Our Bus Terminal, a four-member group, will fly to Hanoi next month to present a research paper at an annual Unesco seminar on heritage issues. Their paper will argue that the government is destroying the city's historic urban landscape by removing its first public transport interchange.
Meanwhile, the Central and Western Concern Group and an architecture professor from Hong Kong University will speak at the Unesco seminar about the Urban Renewal Authority's redevelopment of Central's historic Graham Street market.
The terminal activists formed a network on the social networking site Facebook to promote their cause last year, after the government announced a plan to turn the terminal into a piazza with a five-storey shopping mall. It has gathered support from over 3,000 netizens.
Its chairman, Leslie Chan Ka-long, said the bus terminal, which has been in operation since 1921, was the first of its kind in the city - a connection between a ferry pier, a railway station (since torn down), taxis and minibuses - which contributed to Tsim Sha Tsui's development.
He is glad the forum will draw international attention to their cause.
'I hope this will exert some pressure on our government to think twice before destroying the terminal and turning it into a soulless, open space.'
The terminal is used by as many as 3,000 bus passengers per hour on weekdays, according to a count made by his group last month.
The transport flow comprised an impressive part of the urban landscape, he argued in the paper, and the government's piazza plan would 'delink the historic fabric'.
Mr Chan's paper has won three As, one B and one C from an evaluation committee of scholars on heritage preservation organised by Unesco.
'An interesting paper, especially in the choice of transport infrastructure as the unit of analysis,' said a committee member who gave it an A grade.
A spokeswoman for the Tourism Commission said the piazza plan was supported by the Yau Tsim Mong District Council and the tourism industry, and that a new transport interchange would be created near the adjacent Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
Transport hub
The Tsim Sha Tsui bus terminal has been in use since: 1921

Heritage preservation grips Hong Kong amid building boom

HONG KONG (Reuters) - In the dim confines of the time-worn Wing Woo grocery, a short hop from Hong Kong's gleaming financial towers, Kwan Moon-chiu, 73, quietly arranges supplies of salted-fish and eggs, knowing his store's days are numbered.

"This shop is 130 years old, I have deep feelings for it. But if the government wants to tear it down, what can I do?" he said.

The plight of Kwan's rickety store, which faces demolition for a massive urban renewal project, embodies the dilemma faced in Hong Kong -- one of the world's most densely populated places with 7 million residents -- of whether to raze or save.

While development has long taken precedent over heritage preservation -- the recent demise of two iconic colonial-era piers sparked widespread public outrage among Hong Kongers tired of seeing their history effaced in the name of progress.

"I would see it as a major social movement in Hong Kong and it's an emerging attitude among the young," said Lee Ho Yin, an architectural conservation expert at the University of Hong Kong.

Activists who chained themselves to the doomed piers and who wrote protest banners in their own blood helped foment heritage-preservation an emotive, hot-button civil cause, alongside other long-established Hong Kong issues like the push for greater democracy and social equality.

"Our city would be identical to any other, lacking personality. It would just be blasts of glass, steel and concrete blocks," said Hong Kong resident Bonnie Yiu.

Kwan's shop stands to be demolished in a controversial HK$487 million redevelopment that rips the heart out of one of Hong Kong's oldest neighbourhoods centered on Central's last surviving street market on Graham and Peel Streets.

Thirty-seven mostly post-war tenement blocks will be replaced by four 30-40-storey skyscrapers including a hotel and new shops that will displace the quirky, old stores including noodle-makers and incense sellers lining the narrow, sloping streets.

The numerous, boisterous street hawkers selling all manner of produce from broccoli to live crabs in wicker baskets and pig trotters hung on metal hooks also face an uncertain fate.

"This market must really be preserved for its historical, economic and social value," said Katty Law, an activist with a network of social and heritage groups who have been campaigning against the project.

"Other countries have charters guiding the preservation of old areas but Hong Kong has never done this," Law added.

In the 1950s -- Hong Kong's waterfront was still filled with red-brick Edwardian and Victorian buildings with columns and elaborate facades. These have since been largely demolished.

A historic Victorian building called Murray House was dismantled and rebuilt in 1999 on the other side of the island in a manner which critics say was tasteless and failed to preserve its original character.

Neighboring Macau on the other hand -- which is even more densely populated than Hong Kong -- has managed to preserve much of its historic Portuguese core -- and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The chairman of Hong Kong's Urban Renewal Authority, Barry Cheung, defended the development project by saying it would create more open, greener spaces, resettle residents now stuck in the decrepit buildings and generally gentrify the area.

"If somehow through what we do or what we haven't done, that street market dies, then I'll take it upon myself as having failed," Cheung told Reuters. But he said he was also "touched" by the wave of public concerns regarding heritage preservation and was willing to rethink existing plans for the market.

"Not everything has been cast in stone," he said.

MATURING SOCIETY

With Hong Kong marking its tenth anniversary since returning from British to Chinese rule, observers say the city's growing civil activism -- of which heritage preservation has become a part -- is tied to a greater sense of belonging and a desire to preserve the city's cultural roots and unique identity.

"Up to 1997, people were not focused on the living environment because Hong Kong had a sell-by date," said Paul Zimmerman, an expatriate activist opposed to the reclamation of large chunks of Victoria harbor for redevelopment.

"The whole mentality has changed," he added.

But for activists like Chu Hoi-dick -- who fought to save Queen's Pier -- Hong Kong's heritage activism boils down to a simple lack of democracy and the government's heavy-handed policy-making without adequately involving the public.

"I do not deny this is just the beginning of a new political movement. It is a movement to re-establish the identity of Hong Kong people, not controlled by the British and not controlled by Beijing," said Chu.

Hong Kong's Urban Renewal Authority has said it will preserve several older buildings in the area including the facade of the Wing Woo grocery -- but some say the development will still bleed the district of its vitality and color.

"What makes Hong Kong such a unique city is all the local markets, otherwise it's just the same as any other city," said Aaron Martin, one of many tourists who flock to the market daily to soak up its quintessential Hong Kong charm.

Cancer Foundation-related articles

Arts foundation hopes workshops will get more young people to open up about cancer

with Andrew Sun. Additional reporting by Vivian Chen.
In polite company, cancer is not usually a topic of conversation. But the Youth Arts Foundation wants more young people to talk openly about the often hushed-up disease.
With funding from Operation Santa Claus, the arts group is moving forward with a project to empower young adults who are either living with the illness or have (had) close family members who are.
Through a series of workshops due to begin this month, participants aged between 15 and 30 will be encouraged to interpret and explore their feelings about the disease though visual art forms, digital mediums or in good old-fashioned words.
One of the artists facilitating the project is Rae Leung Wai-hon (left) who has been living with the disease since 2007.
The results will be put on display at the end of the programme, hopefully to demystify the disease and promote more public awareness. The workshops are free but you do need to sign up and the deadline is tomorrow. We suggest you contact the foundation to let them know you or someone you know might have an interest.


Donation helps young cancer patients explore artistic talent

Adrian Wan
About 100 people fighting cancer will be able to take part in a six-month art workshop, thanks to Swire group's HK$150,000 donation to the Youth Arts Foundation yesterday.
In its 15th year of sponsoring Operation Santa Claus, John Swire & Sons - one of the longest-serving corporate donors - raised the money through its charitable trust, for the foundation's new project targeted at 18 to 30-year-olds with cancer, The C Word. Hunter Crawford, staff director of the Swire group, said: 'The company has had a long-time relationship with the foundation. And the project is a great cause, so we're happy to help them get the publicity in the English media they need.'
The Swire group, which comprises about 80 companies with 70,000 employees, 'will continue to support Operation Santa Claus as long as possible', he said.
Rae Leung Wai-hon was diagnosed with cancer in 2007.
She will be the artist in residence for The C Word, a free workshop not only for the young people living with the disease, but also relatives struggling to deal with their own feelings.
The C Word will be open to about 100 people, run for approximately six months, and comprise workshops on audio recording, writing, photography and collage-making.
Leung said she came up with the idea after noticing there was not much support for cancer patients in her age group.
Last month, the foundation and the Little Life Warrior Society, another OSC beneficiary, sat down to talk about the benefits of art for people living with cancer. Dr Matthew Shing Ming-kong, a founder of the mutual-aid organisation for children with cancer, said he used art as a way for his patients to express their thoughts and feelings. 'It lets them understand themselves and others,' he said. 'And it undoubtedly lets people who care, like me, to get a glimpse of their inner feelings.'
He recalled treating an 18-year-old avid badminton player two years ago. 'The moment he knew he had cancer,' Shing said, 'the first question he asked was, 'Can I still play badminton?' To be frank it wasn't optimistic because his right hand was losing agility.
'Later, I saw his drawing of himself playing badminton with his left hand. His strong desire to continue playing badminton was amazing. But if it hadn't been for the painting, I wouldn't have known.'
The young man regained strength in his right hand.
'Our children engage in lots of painting, singing, writing, arts and crafts, or even photography, in their leisure time,' Shing said.
'By no means is their artistry sophisticated, but it's certain that the arts provide avenues for them to give vent to their feelings.'
Yick Ling-yan, visual arts manager of the arts foundation, agreed that art was 'a nice way to express one's thoughts'.
Knowing the benefits art could bring to children with cancer, the foundation conducted a puppet-making programme for the Little Life Warrior Society a year ago.
She said: 'It inspired uncertain children to share with people around them their happiness and their sadness.'
You can help make a difference


Santa brings hope to little warriors

Adrian Wan
It is a diagnosis everyone dreads: cancer. And the reaction can range from stoic acceptance to despair and thoughts of suicide.
Dr Matthew Shing Ming-kong, senior medical officer with the Lady Pao Children's Cancer Centre at Prince of Wales Hospital, Sha Tin, has seen it all.
One Hong Kong mother considered jumping out of the window with her five-year-old son when he was diagnosed with cancer.
Shing tried to reassure her, telling her that nowadays more than 70 per cent of children with cancer were cured. A counsellor encouraged her to look on the bright side.
There was one person in that room who lifted her spirits - a young leukaemia survivor, who had recovered from the disease more than 10 years earlier. The survivor gave the woman the hope she needed.
That experience prompted Shing to form a support group, Little Life Warrior Society, in 2002. Children with cancer, their families and medical staff can fight the battle together.
About 20,000 people in Hong Kong are diagnosed with cancer each year, of which about 200 are children. Cure rates were much higher than for most adults, Shing said, adding that more than 70 per cent of children could be completely cured.
'It's true that treatment of children's cancer has been improving, but their sadness can't simply be resolved with advanced medical facilities, high-quality care and counselling services,' he said. 'Our group lets the little warriors and their families get together and support each other.'
Anson Lau Cheuk-lam, 12, developed leukaemia last year and had to skip school for more than half a year to receive treatment. 'It was so tough getting chemotherapy and radiotherapy - my face turned purple sometimes,' she said. 'The worst thing was it tired me very easily, and I couldn't participate in my PE lessons even after the treatment.'
Treatment for Anson's cancer ended two years ago, and she had three years to go before she was considered cured, Shing said.
The society organises regular ward visits, tea gatherings, parties and other events for its more than 800 members. It held a four-day childhood-cancer camp last year, and Shing hopes to do it again when he gets new funding.
'We'll make use of the money collected and help children with cancer on the mainland, because fewer than 10 per cent of them can afford the cost of treatments,' the doctor said. 'Most of them get diagnosed and go back home.'
The society is one of the beneficiaries of Operation Santa Claus, the annual charity drive organised by the South China Morning Post and RTHK. It intends to use donations to continue providing services to child cancer patients and survivors in the city, and to do more work and set up similar groups on the mainland.
Shing said: 'We manage our finances transparently and use every dollar to help children.'
Other charities receiving Operation Santa Claus support are Suicide Prevention Services, Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Elderly Home, conservation body WWF, Youth Arts Foundation, Autism Partnership Foundation, Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy Charitable Trust, the Nesbitt Centre, Po Leung Kuk, The Intellectually Disabled Education and Advocacy League, Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service, the End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation and Operation Dawn.
You can help make a difference

Paparazzi-related articles

Watchdog investigates racy photos of activist


Anita Lam
Media watchdogs have received more than 110 complaints against a magazine in the past two days over the publication of racy pictures of a student activist.
The Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority has launched an investigation after the latest issue of Chinese-language magazine, Oriental Sunday, featured on its cover photographs of University of Hong Kong student Christina Chan Hau-man in a tight top and a thong in her Cheung Chau home.
The authority will determine if the photographs breached the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance. Most of the 111 complaints received by the authority and the Press Council since Tuesday concerned obscenity and indecency.
However, Obscene Articles Tribunal adjudicator Mervyn Cheung Man-ping said the pictures might pass scrutiny if they did not reveal the subject's private parts.
'It is unethical to publish such shots especially as they were taken of her inside her house. But it is more a question of an invasion of privacy than the pictures' obscene nature as Chan had her clothes on,' he said.
In 2006, the tribunal ruled as indecent a picture published by the now-defunct Easy Finder magazine that showed Canto-pop star Gillian Chung Yan-tung changing her clothes back stage at a concert.
The tribunal said that although the pictures exposed no intimate parts of the star, they were presented with text that was 'extremely detailed, graphic and provocative' and meant to be sexually arousing and pornographic.
Oriental Sunday, in the text accompanying the photos, said it acted on complaints by Cheung Chau residents who were shocked by the activist's wild behaviour.
But Chan said she never received nor ignored any complaints. She said the pictures were not recent and the story had forced her to consider moving. She plans to stage a protest outside the authority's offices today.
Oriental Sunday, which is owned by the New Media Group, did not comment last night.


Press Council condemns photos' publication



The Press Council yesterday condemned Oriental Sunday for publishing in January paparazzi photographs of student activist Christina Chan Hau-man in underwear at her Cheung Chau home. The council, which received 49 complaints over the photos, said they infringed her privacy and breached the code of practice. Oriental Sunday, owned by New Media Group, made no response to the judgment.

Rice pudding (年糕) delicacy won't dethrone king

Rice pudding, a traditional Chinese delicacy on the Lunar New Year table, is expected to see a strong boost in sales this year, but will continue to lag mooncake as the No 1 festival food in Hong Kong.
For the past month, staff at Wing Wah Cake Shop's kitchen in Yuen Long have been working day and night to mix rice flour with various ingredients, steam it, package the pudding and then deliver them to its 40 shops and restaurants across the city.

Wing Wah is expecting rice pudding sales to show double-digit growth this year but says mooncake - with industry-wide sales of around HK$700 million a year - will remain the king of festive cakes.

Food has been always been at the core of Chinese festival culture. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncake is a must-have snack that represents family reunion. At the Dragon Boat Festival, people are accustomed to eating rice dumplings as a way to commemorate the ancient poet Qu Yuan, who died for his nation.

Rice pudding, also known as rice cake, is considered an auspicious food to consume at Lunar New Year. Its Chinese name is nian gao in Putonghua or nin gou in Cantonese. Nian is "year" or also "sticky", while gao is "cake". Together they indicate a wish for a "higher year" ahead.

Although the three major Chinese festival foods are equal in cultural value, they vary greatly in commercial value.

Wing Wah general manager Lee Ying-kuen said rice pudding generated less revenue than mooncake due to the keen competition among cake makers and the food's shorter shelf life.

He explained that making rice pudding was simpler and involved fewer ingredients than mooncake, so many small bakeries and also housewives would also make supplies.

"At this time every year, you can find rice pudding sold in every corner of the city, from street shops, restaurants to big hotels," Lee said. "We cannot expect it to generate sales volumes as big as mooncakes, which are only available at big bakeries and  hotels."

Rice pudding usually can only be stored for a month in a refrigerator, whereas the shelf life of mooncake is as long as two months. "This is important if we want to develop the overseas market," Lee said.

Wing Wah's mooncakes are sold in Europe, the United States and Australia, and are also available throughout the year at its counter in the Hong Kong International Airport. But rice pudding is only produced for the Hong Kong market.

The city's largest catering group, Maxim's, says Lunar New Year is the second-biggest festival food market.

Maxim's sells mooncake in more than 80 locations around the world, but this year for the first time it will promote its Hong Kong-made rice pudding outside the city. Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Foshan have been chosen as the first batch of cities to sell the products.

Angela Chan, Maxim's branded products manager, said the turnover of rice pudding would increase this year due to bigger demand in Hong Kong and the new market across the border. But the group did not expect sales to exceed mooncake sales.

"It's hard in terms of the demand and value," Chan said. "A box of mooncake is priced at HK$200 on average," yet rice cake usually sells for between HK$30 to HK$100.

Even so, retailers have gone to great effort to innovate, with new pudding flavours and packing in order to attract more buyers.

In addition to the traditional turnip, taro and coconut pudding, novel products being marketed this year include "bird nest" pudding from Wing Wah, durian-flavoured pudding from Taipan Bread and Cakes, and Hello Kitty-shaped cakes from Maxim's. Some retailers are also following the green trend and packing their products in boxes that can be reused instead of vacuum-sealed plastic bags.

Designer-turned-cook Xu Yuan is trying to turn the annual delicacy into art. Saying traditional rice pudding is "boring", Xu started to apply her imagination to the cakes six years ago.

This year, about 100 of Xu's puddings were snapped up by friends and customers at her restaurant in Wan Chai a couple of weeks before the Lunar New Year. The most popular ones are "star pudding" and "tiger pudding", which feature colourful stars and tiger skin patterns with carrot, water chestnut, sesame and other ingredients - all from Xu's own organic farm in the New Territories.

Xu has stuck to tradition, using a stone grinder to produce the rice flour and firewood to steam the pudding which, she said, creates a much better taste.

As a result her products are more expensive, ranging from HK$200 to HK$350 each.

"Honestly, I cannot make much money from this since it takes too much time," Xu said. "For me, it's a statement of my food philosophy rather than a business."

A lover of traditional food since her childhood, she said the little cakes always reminded her of happy moments celebrating the festival with her family.

"Although my puddings are fancy in appearance, their flavour is 100 per cent traditional. I think people love this traditional flavour because they do love the warm feeling of sharing with their loved ones," she said.

SCMP. Feb 13, 2010.

Poor schoolchildren shut out of the Web

Needy students who don't own computers are finding it tough to do their homework



For more than two years, while other children played in the schoolyard at break time, Ching has been lining up outside a computer room with 30 or 40 poor children.
They wait to use the internet to do their homework. Sometimes the break ends before Ching has had her turn. "Often after I type in the password and go to the internet, the bell rings," the Primary Three pupil says.


Back at her Mong Kok home, her mother Fung Hin-mei, 38, calls the public library each day to book a computer for her daughter.


When Ching returns home, she quickly finishes her hardcopy assignments, then hurries with her mother to the library to do her online homework. In the one-hour limit she does English, Chinese and mathematics, and searches for information.


"Sometimes I forget to make a booking and we have to wait for an hour to get back-up places," says Fung, a single mother.


Ching has even resorted to using a computer at a mall which allows limited access.


She is one of an estimated 12,560 poor children, aged six to 14, struggling to do their homework because their families cannot afford to pay internet fees. For every 100 children from low-income families, seven to eight have no internet access, according to government research by the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong.


The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) says 157,000 children, aged six to 14, live in poverty.


For most children, using the internet to do homework is a normal part of life. But for poor children it is a daily struggle.


"Each day they line up for school computers, or rush after school to community centres, libraries, or shopping malls, to use the computer to do homework," says Au Yeung Tat-chor, an organiser at the Concerning CSSA Review Alliance (CCRA).


Social workers and academics say homework announcements and submissions of the work, as well as information searches over the internet, have become routine at all schools. Au Yeung says some children who cannot do online assignments have marks deducted while others have their conduct's marks cut.


While poor children can get second-hand computers from social projects they receive no help to get online. Social workers want the Education Bureau to provide free internet for poor children, arguing that the lack of such availability means the children are deprived a basic right to study. "It is a violation of children's rights," says Peace Wong Wo-ping, a policy research and advocacy officer at the HKCSS.


Wong Hung, an associate professor in the department of social work at Chinese University, says that in an information society students who have no access to the internet are being deprived of basic facilities.


Wong is worried that if the government does not help the problem will make poor children less competitive and contribute to cross-generational poverty. He says suggestions by the government that such children can use computers in public libraries and community and youth centres are "not viable".


In his policy address last year, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen pledged to help students with digital learning. Initiatives are expected to be announced in the budget this month.


Peace Wong says: "We expect that the budget will create some kind of co-operation with an internet service provider to ask them to provide discounts to poor children. It will be short term and have quotas."


The CCRA is organising a march by 200 poor children and their parents in Central today to raise awareness of the problem.


Au Yeung says many of the poor families he has helped have to cut costs in other areas, such as food, to pay for internet connection.


Fung, who gets HK$3,700 a month in welfare payments, eats cheap food to save money. She says she has no way to cut her expenses.


Ching says internet assignments account for a third of her homework but she is often unable to submit them. She says her academic results have suffered because internet homework is taken into account.


Things are even worse for Wong Tin-yau and his twin brother Tin-lok, eight. They do not have a computer. Their mother, Lau Iu-sin, 36, says the public library is a 45-minute walk from their Kwai Chung Estate home, so she can hardly take her boys there.


For a mother who earns HK$960 a month as a part-time market stall cleaner, the internet seems a luxury. Her husband Wong Tak-kuen, 59, is an iron-bender. He earned HK$5,000 last month but is often out of work.


Lau, who came to Hong Kong in 2008, is not eligible for welfare.


The HKCSS, CCRA and Wong Hung have called for the Education Bureau to cover internet fees for poor families.


An Education Bureau spokesman said they put a lot of resources into helping the needy. "An annual subsidy is provided to schools to put in place computer rooms and facilities for use of needy students."


There is also a programme to give a recycled computer and a one-year free internet line for children of welfare recipients and those getting school textbook assistance. But social workers say this is a short-term programme offering 20,000 places and cannot solve the problem.


Both Fung and Lau worry that their children will be left behind. "I am worried that they will be poor when they grow up and our poverty will be passed to the next generation," Lau says bitterly.


SCMP. Feb 7, 2010.

It was saved last year, but tree now faces final chop

Maryknoll Convent School alumni are making a last-ditch effort to save a 70-year-old tree on the campus after what the school described as a "painful" decision to fell the tree because drainage work had damaged it.
About half the roots of the 20-metre Norfolk Island pine, which leans to one side but was declared safe last year, were damaged last month by a contractor digging a trench. Work was suspended when the Kowloon Tong school discovered the damage.

The tree cheated death in July last year when the school, which is a declared monument, was forced by public outcry to drop a plan to fell it. The school said it feared the tree was a threat to the safety of pupils and traffic in Waterloo Road. The government said at the time it would draw up a plan to preserve the tree and set aside HK$500,000 for the purpose, but there has been no further action.

Preparations have been made to fell the tree on Saturday, but some alumni have spoken strongly against its removal and plan to stage a protest outside the school on Saturday. One, Winnie Chu, said she was "fed up" with the school's lack of transparency. "I don't know if it is really something about the stability of the tree or something else," she said.

Some observers are asking whether negligence by the school or government led to the damaging of the tree's roots. "Someone has to be responsible for that and we are determined to drag him or her out," former legislator Tanya Chan, who has been following the case of the tree since last year, said. She suspected government approval would have been required for the drainage work because the tree was on the grounds of a declared monument.

University of Hong Kong tree specialist Professor Jim Chi-yung said digging under the tree clearly violated international standards in tree care. While damage had been done, there was no convincing evidence to suggest removal was the only solution, he said. "We can stabilise the tree first before finding other ways to save it," he said.

However, the supervisor of the school's primary section, Helen Yu Lai Ching-ping, said the school stood by its decision to remove the tree.

The school had always wanted to preserve the tree and the decision to remove it had been a "very painful one" to make, she said.

"I graduated from this school 50 years ago and I grew up with the tree, too. I feel as heartbroken as anyone does to see the tree go," she said.

Yu said the government had advance knowledge of the drainage work because it was carried out to meet a Buildings Department order issued in 2004, and half the funding came from the government.

She said discussions involving the school, contractor and Antiquities and Monuments Office took place before the work started, and the work tender clearly stated the contractor had to protect school property. But she could not say whether the school was aware of the work's potential to damage the tree.

Wood from the trunk would be used to build furniture for the school, while the smaller branches would be turned into souvenirs, Yu said.

A new tree would be planted on the campus on "worldwide reunion day" on February 19 to mark the school's 85th anniversary, she said.

The Development Bureau said last night it had no advance notice of the drainage work, and that there was no need for the school to seek permits from the Buildings Department or the Antiquities and Monuments Office for minor renovation work.

It said two independent consultants had been hired to inspect the tree after the damage was done to its roots. They ruled out the options of building a support for the tree or trimming it because such work would take six to eight months - and would still not completely rule out the risk of the tree collapsing.

The bureau said it "understood and concurred with the decision" of the school to remove the tree.

SCMP. Feb 5, 2010.

Hung Hom building collapses, 2 dead

Firefighters were scouring the remains of an old five-storey residential building in Hung Hom for survivors after it suddenly collapsed on Friday afternoon - in a tragedy which has claimed two lives.
Rescuers have already pulled five people from the rubble of the collapsed 50-year-old building, three men and two women.

Of the five, two people have now been confirmed dead, including a 40-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man.

One person, with serious injuries, was rushed to hospital.

At least four people are still missing; and police are continuing to search the mound of rubble.

Director of Fire Services Gregory Lo Chun-hung said the rescue work was difficult and dangerous.

“Our colleagues, including 20 staff from urban search and rescue teams, are doing their best to get people out as quickly as possible.

“But there are dangers, as the remains of the building itself are not stable. It, and the buildings next to it, might also collapse,” Lo said.

Director of Buildings Au Choi-kai agreed that two old buildings next to the collapsed one were dangerous. “We have to close them immediately and residents are not allowed to enter them,”Au said.

Over 20 nearby residents have already been evacuated, television news reported.

The incident occurred when most of the external wall of the building, at 45 Ma Tau Wai Road, crashed down about 1.43pm, a police spokesman said.

Firefighters and police rushed to the scene about 2pm. Witnesses said the wall had collapsed instantly.

Police closed off the scene and are investigating.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, who visited the area on Friday afternoon praised the rescuers.

“Some people are still trapped inside the building and the firemen are doing their best to save them,'' he told reporters.

Tsang said he, and colleagues from the Social Welfare Department and Home Affairs Department, had met with nearby residents.

“Naturally they are frightened, scared, worried. I spoke with them,'' he told reporters.

“Definitely we will look after their accommodation tonight and whatever is needed to ensure they have alternative accommodation and will look after their livelihood.''

He said the building collapse had been a “real tragedy”

“We will do whatever we can to ensure this sort of accident will not happen again.”

The rescue work is expected to continue overnight.

SCMP. Jan 29, 2010.

Hundreds protest costly railway project in Hong Kong

Hundreds in Hong Kong ringed the city's legislature on Friday as public frustration mounted over government attempts to bulldoze through a high speed railway, an issue that has also catalyzed a fresh push for full democracy.

The HK$66.9 billion (US$8.6 billion) high speed railway linking Hong Kong to the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has been championed by officials as a vital infrastructure project that could bring upwards of HK$87 billion in economic benefits over 50 years by vastly cutting travel times to Chinese cities.

Public bitterness has grown, however, over the planned razing of a village and rural swathes to make way for the project, along with growing cost estimates that now make the rail link one of the most expensive in the world on a per kilometer basis.

Outside the city's legislature, Hong Kongers ranging from grizzled activists and villagers facing eviction, to young protesters feverishly posting updates on Twitter and Facebook, appealed to lawmakers inside not to approve funding for the rail-link that will augment a slower existing one to Guangzhou.

"The government has never asked us what we want," said Chu Hoi-dick, a young activist who opposed the demolition of Hong Kong's historic Star Ferry clock tower several years ago.

The rail link has also become a lightning rod for the venting of broader discontent at Hong Kong's lack of democracy and government accountability for major policies.

Pro-democracy politicians are poised to resign en-masse from the city's legislature this month in frustration at what they say is too slow a pace in political reforms.

"Hong Kong's role is changing in that no longer are we a so-called economic city. Hong Kong is fully aware that to stand up for our rights is the only way to safeguard our future," said Albert Lai, chairman of the Professional Commons.

The Commons is an influential coalition of working professionals, whose detailed proposal for a cheaper alternative rail link with fewer disruptions has so far fallen on deaf government ears.

A vote on the rail link wasn't expected until late evening.

Earlier this week, Leung Chun-ying, a senior member of Hong Kong's cabinet, warned of growing public discontent, fueled in part from a yawning income gap and high property prices.

"Such a politically-alienated majority may perhaps at present have little capacity to disrupt economic life or political decision-making but within 10 years ... this will no longer be so," he wrote in an article in the Hong Kong Journal this week.

An average of 99,000 passengers are expected by 2016 to travel daily on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong link, which will join Hong Kong to China's high-speed rail network.

Officials have warned of great costs of further delays, while a fresh wave of Chinese visitors are expected to bring tourism, retail, logistics and other economic benefits.

Construction worker unions have also marched in support of the rail-link, saying it will bring thousands of new jobs.

Reuters. Jan 8, 2010.

The boulders they concrete in place, to be sure

A hiker examines a large boulder on a hiking trail from 

Sok Kwu Wan to Tung O on Lamma Island that has been 

supported by concrete slabs. Someone in Hong Kong's 

vast bureaucracy believes rocks that have stood on outlying 

islands hills for more than 100,000 years now pose a danger to hikers.

The huge boulders scattered around the hills of the outlying islands have stood for more than 100,000 years. But someone, somewhere in Hong Kong's vast bureaucracy, believes they may suddenly roll down the slopes and injure hikers. And so to that truly Hong Kong solution - concrete and paint. One instance of such work is the hiking trail that cuts along a slope in Tung O, Lamma Island. Large boulders along the trail increase the beauty of the landscape that has been designated an area of special scientific interest. But now concrete slabs, painted light blue, have been pegged under some of the boulders. Short concrete barriers have been built in front of the rocks. Does it help hikers better enjoy the scenic beauty? No, says Laura Ruggeri, chairwoman of Living Lamma, a local conservation group. "[These works] are tantamount to vandalism. It is totally out of proportion," she said. "The area is uninhabited and intensive development would not be permitted under the current land zoning restrictions." Young Ng Chun-yeong, chairman of the Association for Geoconservation, said the granite boulders were naturally formed by weathering over at least 100,000 years. "[It may take] another 10,000 or more years to break down to smaller pieces [as it is]." Spokeswomen for the Development Bureau and the Home Affairs Department say they are trying to find out why the work was carried out and who is responsible. If the concrete slabs are intended to stop the boulders from rolling downhill, it won't work, Ng says. "They may never roll downhill unless there's an earthquake or a really heavy downpour which may trigger a massive landslide, [and under such circumstances] the whole area will collapse because of the landslide." Hikers are miffed. "[They] destroy the natural beauty of the location for all hikers for centuries to come. It is truly a shame," said Melanie Moore of the Lung Fu Shan Environmental Concern Group. Ruggeri, a regular hiker in the Alps, says there are better ways to secure maintain slopes, such as using plants and wood. The work on Lamma Island reflects a lack of awareness and understanding of aesthetics among the city's engineers and contractors, she says. "Hong Kong should learn from others. The [United Nations] Food and Agriculture Organisation organises conferences [on slope maintenance] that are attended by forest experts from around the world, China included. [But] my friend, who attends these events, told me he never met any Hong Kong delegates." Ruggeri said concerns were raised with a district councillor, but she felt the councillor was more interested in pursuing more of these minor public works to keep contractors busy. "These are jobs for the boys," she said. "If the government has money to pay the contractors, it may as well pay them to do their work properly."

SCMP. Jan 3, 2010.


Has the government done the right thing? Tell me your opinion.

Teacher killed by drink-driver, three injured

A secondary school teacher was killed early on Thursday morning after being hit by a car in Sau Mau Ping, a police spokeswoman said.
The incident happened at around 8am. A car driven by a 23-year-old man was travelling along Lee On Road in Sau Mau Ping, when the driver suddenly lost control and the car mounted the pavement.

A 44-year-old man named Chu Chi-shing – a secondary school teacher in Putonghua and Chinese history at Ning Po No 2 College – lost consciousness when he was hit by the car. Chu was certified dead by ambulancemen at the scene.

Three other people – a 38-year-old female pedestrian, a 22-year-old female passenger and the driver of the car – were also injured. They were sent to the Union Hospital for treatment.

The car was seriously damaged.

Police have arrested the 23-year-old driver for drink-driving, after alcohol levels in his blood were found to exceed the prescribed limit.

One eyewitness said the car was travelling at 80km to 90km per hour before it crashed.

Investigations by Special Investigation Team of Traffic Kowloon East are under way.

The police spokesman urged anyone who may have seen the incident or who has any information about it is urged to contact the investigating officers on 2305 7500.

The victim who died in the tragic accident was a discipline master – one who dealt with difficult students – for the school. Chu was on the way to join the school's Christmas party before he was hit by the car, said Wong King Hung – vice-principal of Ning Po No 2 College.

Speaking at a press conference, Wong described Chu as a responsible teacher who was highly respected.

“Chu was a popular teacher. After the accident, many students feel very upset and some have been to the scene to mourn. Many have written note cards to express their condolences,” he said.

School teachers and social workers provided counselling to Chu's immediate students and those who witnessed the fatal accident.

Wong appealed to the drivers not to drink alcohol before they drive.

SCMP. Dec 26, 2009.


Question for discussion:
As there have been several accidents caused by drink driving, do you think the government should increase the penalty?

Troubled ATV files complaint over TVB

Troubled terrestrial broadcaster ATV has lodged its first complaint of unfair competition with the Broadcasting Authority, against its rival in the free-to-air television market, TVB.
On Monday, Linus Cheung Wing-lam resigned as chairman and a director of ATV, after a dispute emerged between its two big stakeholders - Taiwanese snack-food tycoon Tsai Eng-meng and the family of Mingly Corp chairman Payson Cha Mou-sing.

ATV's production, administration and public relations vice-president, Ip Ka-po, yesterday said the complaint filed by the broadcaster on Thursday made five main allegations, including some against RTHK.

Ip said TVB had been monopolising the talent pool by signing contracts with actors and singers barring them from making appearances in Hong Kong except with TVB. He said that even actors who had signed the "one-show" annual contract, which guarantees an actor only one half-hour segment of television a year, could not appear on other television stations.

Ip added that ATV even had to re-dub imported dramas it aired if they had been dubbed using TVB actors.

ATV also suspected that TVB had been offering large discounts to advertising clients, discouraging them from placing adverts on ATV, Ip said.

ATV accused public broadcaster RTHK of facilitating unfair competition by TVB against ATV. Ip said RTHK's popular public affairs programme Hong Kong Connection, which has a 30-year history, has never made any appearance on ATV, and RTHK had never explained why. Further, RTHK never let ATV be the first to broadcast its annual music awards show, because singers appearing on the show had contracts with TVB, he said.

The Broadcasting Authority acknowledged that it had received ATV's complaint, and said it would be processed in accordance with the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance.

TVB said it welcomed ATV filing complaints. A TVB spokesman hoped the authority's investigation would clear the air, saying TVB would co-operate with it.

However, Tsang Sing-ming, TVB's deputy controller of external affairs, defended the dominant broadcaster, saying that contracts signed between artists and TVB were willingly agreed by both parties, and it was normal for TVB to lay down clauses protecting its interests.

When it came to advertising, Tsang said, clients requested the best package. And if clients could not afford to place adverts on multiple channels, they might stick to the most effective channel.

When asked about ATV's allegations, an RTHK spokesman said it had been in close contact with ATV to ensure that programmes of various genres could appear on ATV.

The Broadcasting Ordinance prohibits anti-competitive conduct and abuse of dominance.

Despite this, ATV's complaints might not hold up, said Dr Cheuk Pak-tong, head of Baptist University's cinema and television department. ATV should try to do a good job before accusing others, he said.

"It changes management every few years; its financial status is not healthy; its shareholders are fighting with each other. How can the staff feel secure and do a good job to produce quality programmes?" he said.

Cheuk added that the government should listen to the public, and consider action against ATV's licensee status. "If they can't do a good job, maybe they should give the licence to other, capable people," he said.

Samson Tam Wai-ho, chairman of the Legislative Council's information technology and broadcasting panel, said ATV would also be able to file complaints to the panel if the panel later felt that the Broadcasting Authority did not handle the complaint effectively.

SCMP. Dec 12, 2009.

Kao gets special royal treatment at Nobel awards ceremony

Physicist Dr Charles Kao Kuen received his Nobel prize from Sweden's King Carl Gustaf with a special honour.

Because he suffers from Alzheimer's disease, the physicist did not have to approach the king to receive his medal and award.

Instead the king came to him, leaving the podium and walking down to the stage where the beaming "father of fibre optics" walked forward a few confident paces to meet him and shook his hand firmly.

The special arrangement was made by the organisers because of doubts whether the Shanghai-born, 76-year-old retired head of Hong Kong's Chinese University could negotiate the full distance to the podium, where the other laureates were to receive their prizes.

Various parts of the ritual including bowing to and shaking hands with the king, bowing to past prize winners seated on the stage, and to the 1,500-strong audience, were all dispensed with.

A day before the presentation ceremony, Kao's wife of 50 years, Gwen Wong May-wan, after delivering a speech at Stockholm University on behalf of her husband, hinted to media he might receive the prize in person.

Kao, who had been in Stockholm with his wife and children since Saturday said excitedly to the press on Wednesday in a rare complete sentence in English: "The only thing you have to do is practice."

Hours before the ceremony his wife said he did well in rehearsal. Kao won the physics prize for what the Nobel jury said were his "groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibres for optical communication, that has shaped the foundations of today's networked societies".

The award comes with a cash prize of 10 million Swedish kronor (HK$10.8 million), of which Kao will receive half. Two American co-winners of the prize, Willard Boyle and George Smith - for their pioneering work on semiconductors and digital imaging - will split the other half.

It was the third time Kao had received an honour from the Swedish king, after winning the Ericsson Prize in 1979 and becoming a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in 1988.

SCMP. Dec 11, 2009.

BMX hero set to strike commercial gold

Hong Kong's first Games winner has marketers salivating over the possibilities

When Steven Wong clinched gold for Hong Kong in the men's BMX final of the East Asian Games yesterday, it wasn't just the spectators who were thrilled.
The marketing industry suddenly found themselves with their own coveted prize - a young, hip sports star they could use to sell everything from sodas to running shoes.

Many brands have already approached the 21-year-old to offer sponsorship and product endorsement deals.

Banks and insurance companies have also expressed an interest in recruiting Wong as an adviser for their internal sports programmes.

With more sponsors, Wong will have access to better training and more events, giving him a chance to climb to a level of sports celebrity that only a handful in the city have reached before.

"Hong Kong previously did not have any young and stylish sports icons. He will be one," said Daniel Chan Yan-nang, director of Action House International, a local sports marketing consultant. "Teenagers will see him as an idol."

Part of that appeal lies in the sport itself. BMX racing is young, emerging into the mainstream largely in the 1980s. Most of the sport's followers are in North America, but Wong's win will boost its profile in Hong Kong.

He couldn't have asked for a better platform: Wong was the flag bearer for the Hong Kong team in the opening ceremony last night.

"To marketers, visibility is essential in choosing a brand spokesperson," Chan said.

He said Wong was interested in getting sponsors for future competitions in Europe and North America. Only when he did well in these races would he have a shot at the 2012 London Olympics, Chan said.

With a Chinese father and a Belgian mother, Wong can barely speak Cantonese - save to introduce himself.

He was born in Belgium and grew up there, but in his youth visited Hong Kong to see family.

He has been spending more time in the city lately.

An athlete does not have to have a Hong Kong passport to represent the city in the Games.

Wong is likely to spend even more time in the city since the construction of the BMX Park at Kwai Chung - built with a grant of HK$20 million from the Hong Kong Jockey Club - will allow him more opportunities to train.

Wong grew up a soccer fan and BMX did not enter his life until he turned 12, when his father gave him a second-hand bicycle.

Before capturing yesterday's gold, he was already a four-time Asian BMX champion.

Wong is expected to shine for years to come as BMX riders can still be in top form when they reach 30.

Chinese University marketing professor Leo Sin Yat-ming said Wong was on the path to becoming a rising star.

"People will definitely remember him after making headlines today," he said.

Asked whether Wong would face a language barrier, Sin said: "The fact that he does not speak Chinese might make him look even more stylish."

The professor said Wong would be the ideal person to promote "young" products, such as soft drinks, gym shoes and sportx equipment.

He said Wong also interested marketers because he was cheaper to sponsor than Olympic gold-winning windsurfer Lee Lai-shan and Asian champion cyclist Wong Kam-po.

"Some might want to invest in him before he gets famous," Sin said.

SCMP. Dec 6, 2009.

A harbourfront for the people - just a dream?

The people are the rightful owners of the harbour. But they have often been left lamenting what has been done with it and around it without true consultation. It sounds promising therefore that representatives of the harbour's owners - the public - have been promised a say in the development of prime waterfront land in Central, a move that could be a model for other projects. Two sites between IFC and the Central ferry wharves will be the first waterfront project to be developed by a public-private partnership. Members of the public will be included on a committee to advise on design and operation. In a city known for building on its most famous natural asset, and giving little access to the people, it remains to be seen how much weight will be given to public opinion, and how developers feel about being restrained by it. Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor does not strike an optimistic note when she talks of appealing to developers' sense of social responsibility. We hope they have an abundance of it, but it would be bad policy to depend greatly on it.
The government, after all, is to provide the land for a developer to design, build and operate the sites. Granted, the developer will have to reserve 3,000 of the project's 22,000 square metres for non-lettable public facilities, provide a public piazza and a landscaped deck, and build extra commercial space over ferry piers. But Lam has signalled that she might also offer HK$200 million for work on the piers. Hong Kong makes poor use of its harbourside compared with many other cities. As a result, what we have to show are office blocks, luxury housing, shopping malls and a few promenades. In a perfect world, the Central sites would be turned over entirely to landscaped public space integrated with IFC, Exchange Square and the ferry piers. In the real world, public-private development may give us the best deal. It may be too much to expect developers to curb their appetites.

But the harbour is worth daydreaming about now and then on the off-chance such dreams might come true, and even hold good for the development of open space on newly reclaimed land in Wan Chai and two harbourfront sites in Quarry Bay.

SCMP. Nov 30, 2009.

New rules don't cover drink-label sweet talk

The Consumer Council has warned that misleading claims such as "less sweet", "unsweetened" and "reduced sugar" on drinks will not be regulated by the food-labelling law that goes into force in July.
The council examined 80 beverages. Yakult contained the greatest amount of sugar - 16 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres. The sugar content in one 100ml bottle of the Live Yakult Lactobacillus drink accounts for 32 per cent of an adult's recommended daily sugar intake.

A Yakult spokeswoman said the sugar in the drink was there to feed the live bacteria in the drink. Lactobacillus is the drink's main selling point. "We will forward the report to our head office in Japan to follow up," she said.

Seven out of 80 different drinks tested by the council bore wording related to sugars such as "less sweet" or "unsweetened", "slightly sweetened", "reduced sugar" or "no-added sugars".

"These wordings and expressions were not considered to be nutritional claims on sugars and as such they are not covered by the law," Professor Ron Hui Shu-yuen, vice-chairman of the council's publicity and community relations committee, said.

The Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) (Amendment: Requirements for Nutrition Labelling and Nutrition Claim) Regulation 2008 stipulates that "sugar free" food must contain not more than 0.5 grams of sugar per 100 grams or 100ml.

The legal definition of a "low sugar" claim on solid food or liquid food means there must not be more than 5 grams of sugar per 100 grams of solid food, or 100ml of liquid food.

"But the wordings such as 'less sweet' and 'reduced sugar' is description of a beverage's sweetness and is a matter of subjective judgment varying from individual to individual and without a standard measurement," Hui said. "Since these expressions are not considered to be nutritional claims about sugar, they are not covered by the amendment regulation which will come into effect next year."

Ribena Blackcurrant Drink ("less sweet") is one of the examples that might cause confusion, as it contains 9.1 grams of sugar per 100ml - only 0.9 grams less sugar than a can of Coca-Cola.

"Expressions such as 'less sweet' or 'no-added-sugar' on their packaging do not mean that they really contain less sugar or have low sugar levels," Dr Anne Fung Yu-kei, principal medical officer of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, said. "Consumers should not be misled by these wordings, especially diabetes patients."

The council reminded patients that the term "no added sugars" only meant that no sugars were added to the product, but the food might still contain sugars. "The expression should not be taken as meaning the sugar level is necessarily low," she said. Other expressions such as "no MSG", "no hydrogenated oil", "caffeine-free", "with electrolytes", "no added" and "not a significant source of" are also not considered to be nutrient-content claims.

The council urged consumers to read food labels carefully before purchasing. "Do not believe the wording on the package," Fung said. "Read the labels to find out the nutritional facts before paying for a food product." If many manufacturers used subjective expressions as a way to bypass the law, the council said it would suggest that the government legislate on the use of such words and expressions.

Two drinks that bear the words "less sweet" are Low Sugar Vitasoy soymilk and Low Sugar Vitasoy Malted soymilk. A spokeswoman for Vitasoy International Holdings said the two products, containing 4.8 grams of sugar per 100ml and 4.7 grams of sugar per 100ml respectively, complied with the law. "As these products contain less sugar compared to the traditional version, we describe the taste as 'less sweet' on the side of the pack," she said.

The food labelling law will require packaged food to carry "1+7" labels, declaring the product's total energy value and that of seven core nutrients.

SCMP. Nov 17, 2009.

Slice of city named national geopark

A 49-square-kilometre tract of some of Kong Kong's most rugged land and seascapes has been designated China's 183rd national geopark in a move that officials hope will boost tourism and lead to World Heritage status as early as next year.
The park boasts one of the world's biggest collections of hexagonal rock columns, formed by volcanic activity, among eight distinctive features.

Speaking at a ceremony, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said gaining national status meant the city's geological resources were unique and world-class, and that legal and administrative systems to protect and manage the park were adequate.

"I hope that when people think about Hong Kong, they will not only admire our skyscrapers and be attracted to our busy shopping areas, but also the unique geological formations and natural beauty," he said at the ceremony at the High Island reservoir, site of the hexagonal columns.

Recognition follows an application to mainland authorities earlier this year. Next step, the government said, was to seek World Heritage status from the United Nations next year for the park, the two sections of which stretch from Tung Ping Chau in the north to the Ninepins in the south.

Tourism Board chairman James Tien Pei-chun said the park had great potential to attract visitors but, having spent half an hour travelling from Central, he said transport arrangements needed to be improved to make it easier for people to get there.

"Natural attractions aren't a great source of income, but they diversify the activities for tourists in Hong Kong," he said.

Senior geopark officer Dr Yeung Ka-ming said the park was not very big but was "the largest in the world in terms of the number and the diameter of hexagonal rock columns". The columns were formed 140 million years ago when volcanoes erupted. The volcanoes eventually collapsed, leaving vast depressions called calderas that eroded over millions of years to their appearance today.

The park's features will be covered by three zones - core protection, special protection and comprehensive protection - with different levels of access. Sensitive or hazardous areas will be restricted to boat trips, while hiking trails will be provided in others, such as Tung Ping Chau, Tolo Channel and High and Sharp islands.

Yeung said more work had to be done before an application could be made for the park to join Unesco's network of geoparks. "More than HK$1 million will have to be spent on finding a competent management team that puts conservation before anything else, and on raising Hongkongers' interest in earth science before we will stand a chance," he said.

No new law was required as the geopark areas would be protected by the Country and Marine Parks Ordinance by next year, Yeung said.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department is organising educational activities, including guided tours on Sundays and public holidays, from later this month to March, and "rock classroom" activities will be held for schoolchildren at the Lions Nature Education Centre in Tsiu Hang, Sai Kung.

Department director Alan Wong Chi-kong said 20 staff would be hired to manage the park and prepare for world geopark status next year. The department had already provided training and guidelines to the tourism sector. "The park offers the city a chance to keep up its international status," Wong said. "Eco-tourism can boost the economy, as a shopping paradise might no longer be attractive enough to mainland visitors."

The Tourism Board will promote the park overseas, including Japan, as the city's eco-tourism attraction.

SCMP. Nov 4, 2009.

Master motivator drums up inspiration

The children at Yew Chung International School remember Nick Vujicic not just for his inspirational message but also for his "chicken drumstick".
That is the name he gives his tiny foot with two toes that is his only functional limb and with which he has learned, among other things, to type more than 40 words a minute and play a drum machine.

The Australian motivational speaker, who was born without arms or legs, demonstrated his skills on his second visit to the school yesterday as he delivered his message that "there is hope until you give up".

He also showed video footage of himself swimming and playing golf and soccer, hoping, he says, to inspire his audience into thinking: "If there is destiny for a man without limbs, where is mine?"

Over the years, he has turned his struggle with a rare condition, tetra-amelia syndrome, into a message of hope and optimism with which he has travelled to 25 countries.

He also told how he had suffered so much from teasing at school that he contemplated suicide.

"The school isn't going to change until you become the change," he told the school assembly.

Vujicic will start a tour of the mainland today, visiting Beijing, Shanghai and Sichuan . Through the "power of unity", he hopes to work with the government to bring a brighter future for the people, especially survivors of last year's Sichuan earthquake. Vujicic will return to Hong Kong to hold a seminar, "Attitude is Attitude", at 8pm on November 4 at the International Trade and Exhibition Centre's Star Hall. Tickets costing HK$150 are available from PMA Music Foundation's website, www.pmf.org.hk.

SCMP. Oct 31, 2009.

Living in a cage in Hong Kong

Video: http://us.cnn.com/video/?/video/business/2009/10/28/yoon.hkong.cage.home.recession.cnn


If you have ever complained that your apartment is the size of a shoebox, consider the living space of Hong Kong resident Chung For Lau.

Chung lives in a 625 square foot (58.06 square meter) flat here with 18 strangers. The place is sectioned into tiny cubicles made of wooden planks and wire mesh. Everything he has acquired over the years -- clothes, dishes, figurines, a tired TV set -- is squeezed into this tiny cube, a modernized version of what is known here as a cage home.

With all the buzz over Hong Kong's exorbitant luxury property (like the recent record-breaking sale of a $57 million duplex), it may be hard to believe that people have been living in cage homes in this city for years.

But with Hong Kong home to some of the most densley-populated urban districts in the world, real estate has always come at a premium, no matter how small.

Chung's cage is a newer yet less-desirable model, we are told. The wire mesh one, which resembles an over-sized rabbit hutch, is apparently more comfortable.

Occupants have less privacy, but the temperatures don't get as high as in the wooden-mesh variety. A thermometer in Chung's home reached 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit). Sometimes it gets so hot, Chung said, that he wants to die.

Chung used to be a security guard. In the good old days he earned about $500 (HK$3,875) per month. But as the economic crisis set in, his full time job went to part time work until he was laid off this past summer.

As he stared into his bank passbook, Chung lamented that he wouldn't be able to make the $150 rent (HK$1,160) this month -- these cubes aren't cheap.

They are stacked on two levels -- $100 (HK$775) for a cube on the upper deck and $150 for the lower bunk.

The lower cubes are more expensive because you can just barely stand upright in them. Do the math and the apartment owner is collecting roughly $2,500 a month (HK$19,375) from these people.
The 19 occupants share two toilets. A small rubber hose attached to a leaky faucet is what they use to wash themselves. Social workers who monitor the apartments said the electricity is donated, so a few of them have TVs. One person on the upper deck has an aquarium.
One social workers said that because of the recession these homes are being occupied more frequently by those made jobless -- people in their 30s and 40s. The social worker said none of the younger people wanted to speak on camera for fear their chances of finding work would be hurt.
Chung, 67, is now waiting for welfare to kick in and is on a long list for public housing. The government says it is doing its best to meet its citizens' needs, but Chung says he has lost all hope. Economic recovery or not, he feels forgotten.

CNN. Oct 28, 2009.