Domestic Helpers Singled Out for Tests, Jabs

People lined up to do mandatory testing in Tung Chung today

 

A residential block in Tung Chung on Lantau Island near the airport was placed under lockdown after it was found a domestic helper tested positive for a mutated strain she contracted locally, causing 950 people to be quarantined. 

All of them tested negative except for the helper's employer's daughter who also tested positive.

Law says domestic helpers are a "high-risk group"

This afternoon the government announced that all domestic helpers in Hong Kong must be tested for the virus by May 9, and they must get vaccinated if they want to apply for a work visa from overseas.

The authorities are concerned the mutated strain may have spread in the community, as it is unclear where the helper contracted the virus.

Labour minister Dr Law Chi-kwong described domestic workers as being a "high-risk group".

"They mainly hang out with their friends during their holidays. If they are infected, that can likely lead to cross-family infections," he told a press briefing today.

"In the long run, we need to think about how to get more domestic workers vaccinated. We will impose new requirements when they apply for work visas, including that they must get inoculated with recognized vaccines when they renew their contracts."

Many helpers gather outside on Sundays

Law doesn't seem to appreciate that these helpers work six days a week and only have one day to rest and socialize with their friends. Don't Hongkongers also meet up with their friends? That's how the fourth wave started, with people gathering in dance clubs and having fun.

And the vast majority of helpers spend their day off outside, not inside in shopping malls, restaurants and each other's homes.

So it's no surprise that news of the compulsory testing and vaccinations sparked an uproar among the 370,000 domestic helpers, with a union leader slamming the government for being "discriminatory" and "blackmailing" them into getting the jab.

Eman Villanueva, spokesman for the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, said he was shocked the government and made such "unfair" and "shameful" decisions regarding helpers.

"The government knows migrant workers are from a vulnerable sector and it is blackmailing us," said Villanueva, a domestic worker.

Residential block in Tung Chung was locked down

"You get vaccinated or you don't get your visa. This is blackmailing. Will the government do this to other people? Will the government do that to pilots and bankers? No. This is ridiculous."

Eni Lestari, chairperson of the International Migrants Alliance echoed the same frustration.

She pointed out when there are outbreaks in gyms or restaurants, the entire population is not tested, but "even one single domestic worker, if there is one who is infected, the whole community is being blamed and sacrificed... so this is very, very unacceptable."

She said mandatory vaccinations for helpers is also unfair treatment.

"The truth is, a lot of employers also do not get vaccinated because of health, personal or even political reasons, and therefore they do not even force their workers to be vaccinated," Lestari said.

"Why are domestic helpers always being targeted, every time there is an outbreak? There is no scientific evidence that migrant domestic workers, when we gather, or when we get together in the community, are actually causing the outbreak."

On Twitter, the Philippine Consulate General has advised all domestic helpers to comply with the mandatory testing order and get vaccinated to renew contracts.

One wonders if there was any kind of discussion between Hong Kong and the consulate before the announcement?

Convoluted "Vaccine Bubble" Starts

The "vaccine bubble" is very confusing and tedious

 

Today the government's "vaccine bubble" kicked off, with new regulations for restaurants, bars and nightclubs depending on if staff and customers have their first vaccine or not, and that people had to use the LeaveHomeSafe app.

For restaurants, if all staff have had at least one vaccine as well as customers, then people can sit six to a table until midnight in restaurants, and if both staff and guests are vaccinated with both doses, bars can have eight to a table and dine until 2am.

However, if not all staff or customers have at least one vaccine dose, then they continue as before, four to a table until 10pm.

Leung says the new plan not backed by science

All three options could be available in one restaurant space.

However, given that many restaurants in Hong Kong are relatively small, having spaces for people who have been completely vaccinated, half vaccinated and not at all is not possible.

Apparently the government did not think about this, nor did they realize eateries in this expensive town are tiny.

Nor is this convoluted plan endorsed by health experts.

Infectious disease expert Leung Chi-chiu warned yesterday this "vaccine bubble" plan is not backed up by science and can't be relied on to prevent coronavirus transmissions.

"The number of customers far outnumbers the number of restaurant workers. They [customers] are more likely to be the infection source, and they are also exposed to any customers who carry the virus," Leung said.

"If you only require people to have one dose of the vaccine and you also do not specify the timing, for example at least 14 days after the dose, I think that may not be effective," he said.

If more people get jabs they can dine out later

"Even if you specify the timing, that they need to have the first dose for over 14 days, the actual protective effective varies with different vaccines. It's only estimated at 20 to 70 percent and that may not be adequate to prevent transmission."

Leung also doubted the wisdom of setting up "clean" and "dirty" areas in restaurants based on which groups of people have been vaccinated, saying there may be no separation in the ventilation between the different zones.

"If you really want to reduce the risk of transmission inside an indoor environment, basically you need everyone to be vaccinated, with two doses and for more than 14 days," he said.

However, one restaurant group that has several dining establishments advertised on social media a list of restaurants where people could eat six to a table until midnight.

Someone asked if all their staff had had the two jabs, and the group explained that those who had received the vaccination would work in those specific restaurants, while those who had not would be working in their other places until 10pm. 

Osteria Marzia's staff are vaccinated

In a way this is discriminatory because those who have not received the jab would not have the potential to earn more tips because they would have two fewer hours to work; but at the same time, even those staff with two vaccine doses would still risk being exposed to the virus.

Other restaurants couldn't be bothered to try to implement the new regulations without the fear of being hassled by the police and just continued their business hours until 10pm with four customers per table.

The government is also releasing an app so that people can upload their vaccination records on there to show restaurants. This evening an acquaintance tried to download it and had the hardest time even doing the first part which was scanning his HKID three different ways. It was also only available in Android.

Why is the government making it so hard to prove to others you've had the jab?

And by the way the LeaveHomeSafe app is totally useless.

Last week I went to The Royal Garden Hotel and had that fabulous meal of white asparagus.

A hotel guest had the virus, everyone was tested

Then this past Tuesday it was in the news that anyone who was at the hotel from April 13-26 had to do mandatory testing otherwise they would be fined.

It wasn't the LeaveHomeSafe app that notified me -- it was my friend who dined with me.

So much for Hong Kong being a hi-tech city. 

Having a swab stuck up my nose left it very itchy and my eyes watered.

But less than 24 hours later I was notified I tested negative.

Phew! But what a waste of an app that I still have to use if I want to eat out...

Carrie Lam Hosts Talk Show

Bunny Chan talks to Carrie Lam about HK electoral reform

RTHK has quite a few holes in its programming lately thanks to its new director of broadcasting Patrick Li Pak-chuen going through them, and despite not having any broadcasting or journalism experience, has axed nine TV program episodes he has deemed inappropriate.

He also warned RTHK would charge the staff for the axed shows too.

But have no fear, a programming solution has been found -- Hong Kong's very own Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has begun hosting a show on what else? Electoral reform.

Li has axed several shows since starting his job

It's riveting viewing.

The first two prerecorded episodes were shown today, as part of "Get to Know the Election Committee Subsectors", where Lam talks to guests from various industries represented in the election committee that ultimately chooses the next chief executive.

Isn't this show a kind of conflict of interest, as Lam chats up people perhaps in a bid for them to vote for her?

In any event, this is the first time a sitting chief executive is hosting a TV program, and even better, a platform for her and her guests to praise Beijing for its foresight in initiating these electoral reforms.

With a plain backdrop with banners on either side of two armchairs and a pot of orchids in between, Lam was the one asking questions of her two guests, Wong Yuk-shan, a local deputy of the National People's Congress and a member of the Basic Law Committee, and then Bunny Chan Chung-bun, chairman of the pro-establishment Kowloon Federation of Associations.

RTHK is broadcasting Lam's 40 episodes

The two episodes touched on various issues related to Beijing's overhaul of Hong Kong's electoral system.

Wong felt honoured to represent Hong Kong in the National People's Congress, noting: "In the whole nation, there are about 3,000 NPC deputies. But for Hong Kong alone with a population of about 7.5 million, we can have 36 NPC deputies. It shows the central government attaches much importance to Hong Kong people's views."

Meanwhile Chan said according to residents he met, they did not think the electoral reforms were a step backward for democracy.

"They understand democracy is only the means, the goal should be for the people to enjoy better livelihoods and good governance," he said.

Strangely the show was only broadcast in Cantonese with no English subtitles. This is outrageous considering the programs are produced by the Hong Kong SAR Government, which claims Chinese and English are the two official languages of the city.

The show is in Cantonese and no English subtitles

Each show was 12 minutes long, and with 40 episodes in total, that means 38 more to go!

On Lam's Facebook page, many posted comments about the show, ranging from support, and saying they wanted her to be re-elected, to others urging her to have direct dialogue with the people.

How many of those comments were planted?

 

 

 

 

HK May Never be able to Mark June 4 Vigil Again

2019 candelight vigil may have been the last in Hong Kong

 

Hong Kong may never be able to mark the June 4 Tiananmen Massacre with a candlelight vigil ever again, now that the national security law was passed at the end of June last year.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Movements of China submitted its application for the use of Victoria Park to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department today, but hours later it said the application would not be processed, citing the coronavirus pandemic.

This year would have been the 32nd year of marking the event, the only large-scale public commemoration of the 1989 bloody crackdown in Beijing.

Last year people defied the police and gathered

In its statement the LCSD said: "In accordance with the latest Covid-19 situation, we have suspended the processing of bookings for our leisure and recreational venues for undesignated uses until further notice. We have also informed the [alliance] of the arrangement."

However, Richard Tsoi Yu-cheong, secretary of the alliance, said it had not received formal notice from the department, and its members would meet to discuss their next step.

"The Covid-19 situation has shown signs of easing and the government has also reopened many venues to the public. I find this ban on Covid-19 grounds a bit strange," Tsoi said.

Indeed.

The vigil was also cancelled last year because of the pandemic.

Nevertheless there are other possible reasons.

The group advocates for the end of "one-party dictatorship" which could make it run afoul of the national security law.

Lam says HKers should respect the ruling CPC

When Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was asked about the legality of the vigil during her weekly meeting with the media, she replied: "It depends greatly on what is going to happen at the gathering, whether participants fall into offences prohibited by the national security law."

While she stressed Hong Kong has a high degree of autonomy based on "one country, two systems", the city must respect the constitution.

"The constitution clearly spells out that socialism with Chinese characteristics is led by the Chinese Communist Party," she said.

"[Therefore] with the premise that we should respect the constitution, we should also respect the ruling Chinese Communist Party."

She added whether disrespect for the party constituted a crime, that would depend on relevant laws, evidence, and actions taken.

Last year Victoria Park was locked up for 6/4

But Chow Hang-tung, vice-chairwoman of the alliance, said the group would not abandon its call for the "end of one-party dictatorship" which it had made for 30 years.

"If we are genuinely fighting for democracy, there is no way we would agree with one-party dictatorship," she said, as she submitted the application to hold the vigil on June 4 to police.

Chow, who is a barrister, added it was impossible for the alliance to have a clear understanding of what was allowed under the national security law and what was forbidden, given what she called the legislation's moving red line.

"We can only act based on our principles, not on any legal advice," she said.

While Chow has some points the government should clarify, it's sadly a losing battle. The government will do some creative verbal gymnastics to explain why the vigil can't be held this year despite announcing today that there will be "vaccine bubbles" for those who have at least gotten one jab, and more privileges for those who have received two doses when visiting restaurants, bars, nightclubs and karaoke lounges. All these are indoors, and in some cramped spaces.

The annual candlelight vigil is outdoors, so why can't people attend wearing a mask?

 

Chloe Zhao's Big Oscar Win Muted in China

Zhao gives her acceptance speech with a saying in Mandarin

 

The results of the Academy Awards this year were such a breakthrough for Asian stars and films -- but no one in Hong Kong could watch them on television.

On March 29, pro-establishment broadcaster TVB announced it would not show The Oscars -- despite airing the awards show for the past 52 years -- saying it was a "purely commercial" decision.

Protesters shield themselves in Do Not Split

Perhaps it was following an edict from Beijing telling mainland Chinese media in February not to transmit live coverage of the Academy Awards this year because of the nomination of Do Not Split, a 35-minute documentary about the 2019 Hong Kong protests, and remarks made by Beijing-born director Chloe Zhao back in 2013 that were deemed controversial by Chinese internet users.

In the end China was the sore loser -- Do Not Split did not win after all for Best Documentary Short, losing to Colette about a French resistance survivor who returns to Germany for the first time since World War II, while Zhao, 39, won two Oscars for Nomadland. She is the first woman of colour and second female to win Best Director, and she also won for Best Picture, while actress Frances McDormand also won Best Actress for Nomadland.

While Asians on Twitter rejoiced Zhao's historic win, the Chinese on the mainland were completely silent, either unaware or instructed not to make any comments on social media, or if anyone tried to post something about her or her film, it was immediately censored.

A widow drifts around the US in Nomadland

Nomadland was supposed to be released in China on April 23 and it may not even happen.

Nevertheless, Zhao seems to have taken things in stride and in fact took the high road.

"I've been thinking a lot lately of how I keep going when things get hard. I think it goes back to something I learned when I was a kid," she said in her acceptance speech.

"When I was growing up in China, my dad and I used to play this game. We would memorize classic Chinese poems and texts, and we would recite them together and try to finish each other's sentences.

"There's one that I remember so dearly, it's called the Three Character Classics. The first phrase goes, '人之初，性本善', 'People at birth are inherently good'. Those six letters had such a great impact on me when I was a kid and I still truly believe them today.

Zhao's win was censored in China today

"Even though sometimes it might see like the opposite is true, I have always found goodness in the people I met, everywhere I wen in the world.

"So this is for anyone who had the faith, and the courage to hold on to that goodness in themselves, and to hold on to the goodness in each other, no matter how difficult it is to do that.

"And this is for you. You inspire me to keep going."

In that thoughtful speech Zhao demonstrated she was a well educated woman who learned Chinese classics and has kept those values as an adult. 

Why wouldn't Beijing want to uphold her as an example of a worldly and successful Chinese person who has conquered Hollywood? 

But no, it would rather not showcase someone who left China and became an independent person with an independent mind. And she's a woman.

Zhao's next movie is Marvel's Eternals, starring Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani and Richard Madden that is due out in November.

Will Beijing ban that too?

 

Review: Piazzolla: The Years of the Shark

Piazzolla (right) with his son Daniel in New York

 

A week after attending the Hong Kong Philharmonic's tribute to Argentinian composer Astor Piazzola, I went to see a documentary about him as part of the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Called Piazzolla: The Years of the Shark, it uses extensive film and recording footage from the family to reconstruct his life.

Before the movie started, we were supposed to be treated to a musician playing the bandoneon, the accordion-like instrument Piazzolla played, but this was cancelled due to social-distancing. Nevertheless we were told that the bandoneon is not like an accordion in that there is no keyboard, but lots of buttons on each side and you can't see them so you have to know how to play the bandoneon well.

Piazzolla and his bandoneon

It is also quite heavy, which is why many bandoneon players sit down, but Piazzolla preferred to stand. When playing the instrument moving the bellows in and out can result in key changes, playing one note then changing to another which was interesting to learn.

These tips helped us appreciate the film more, particularly watching Piazzolla play -- it's quite heavy and early on in Piazzolla: The Years of the Shark, after he was born, his right leg was disfigured because of polio and it took seven operations to fix it, though not completely; his right leg would forever be thinner and shorter than his left.

After having gone through so much when he was young, his parents decided not to have anymore children, but also his father may have felt Piazzolla learning an instrument would be better for him career-wise. After those operations in 1924, the family moved to New York from Buenos Aires by ship, and his father worked for a barber. 

He bought his eight-year-old son a bandoneon from a pawnshop and Piazzolla learned how to play it and was pretty good at it. He wanted to play JS Bach on the bandoneon as well as his teacher did on the piano.

Piazzolla's teacher Nadia Boulanger

When he was 17-years-old, Piazzolla was itching to perform and have his own orchestra and on his own moved back to Buenos Aires. He played with some bands -- the youngest of the group. Piazzolla had always had dreams of becoming a concert pianist and one time boldly met Arthur Rubenstein, who in turn introduced the young musician to teacher Alberto Ginastera, who taught him composition and the fundamentals of music.

In 1946 Piazzolla started his own band, though later focusing only on compositions, not wanting to play the bandoneon anymore.

It was winning a composing contest in 1951 that awarded him a scholarship to study in Paris under Nadia Boulanger, whose students include Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, Quincy Jones and Burt Bacharach.

She looked at the Argentine's scores and said this is not Piazzolla. She asked him what instrument he played and he said the bandoneon and she made him play some tango pieces.

This, she said, was Piazzolla.

He said from then onwards he never stopped playing the bandoneon.

In 1955 Piazzolla returned to Buenos Aires bursting with creativity and created his own style of tango, where the rhythm kept changing, more upbeat and experimenting with different sounds from instruments. 

Daniel did not speak to his father for 10 years

Traditionalists hated him -- even a taxi driver refused to pick him up for what he felt was ruining tango.

His personal life was also full of ups and downs. He married Dede Baralis and had two children, Daniel and Diana. But later on Piazzolla announced to the family he was leaving his wife and met his second love, Laura Escalada.

Needless to say the family was shocked -- his wife Dede sank into deep depression, after having supported her husband's career.

His son Daniel, shown in the film, had a falling out with his father at one point, claiming the music they were making was backwards. That led to a 10-year estrangement. Daniel goes over old tapes, recordings, family movies, as a museum prepares a major exhibition about his father.

Piazzolla perseveres, but not without health issues (smoking a lot and suffered a heart attack). One of the final scenes in the documentary shows him in a tuxedo performing with an orchestra, making his music legitimate in the classical music world, though he had been experimenting with all kinds of musicians and different styles throughout the decades.

Piazzolla is known for revolutionizing the tango

He was so passionate about his music, writing 750 compositions, many of them themed around the tango. In the end he was grateful to his father for giving him the bandoneon, for without it he would not know what he would have done with his life.

Director Daniel Rosenfeld went through a lot of raw material, tapes, recordings, family films, using archival footage to put most of the documentary together. Piazzolla's son Daniel is a vehicle to move from one aspect to another, and sometimes he says things, and other times it's recordings of his father and sometimes it was confusing to follow who is speaking. 

Not once does any subject do a straight-up interview to the camera. It is either narrated or clips are found from actual archival footage, which makes the film flow. And yes there's lots of Piazzolla performing, making it a film filled with music, music and more music.

Piazzolla: The Years of the Shark 

Director: Daniel Rosenfeld

94 minutes 

In Spanish, French and English with English subtitles

 

 

White Asparagus Feast

Poached white asparagus with Iberico and Hollandaise sauce

Earlier this week I was invited to try some dishes featuring white asparagus which are in season now. The Royal Garden Hong Kong's Sabatini Ristorante Italiano in Tsim Sha Tsui East uses the seasonal vegetable from the Black Forest every year and we got to sample it cooked in various ways.

White asparagus soup, cuttlefish and bottarga

Tasting those dishes immediately took me back to late April 2019 when my parents and I along with their friends visited Germany and whenever a restaurant we were in had white asparagus on the menu, we would try it. It was amazing to have it so fresh (and relatively inexpensively), and the thick white stalks were quite meaty too.

Here in Hong Kong our first course was poached white asparagus with Iberico ham. But before we ate it, the chef came out with a trolley and began making the Hollandaise sauce for us. 

He had cracked some eggs in a bowl and added salt, water, and reduction of white wine vinegar, and then put the bowl over a double boiler and began whisking it. He periodically took it on and off the heat to make sure it reached a maximum temperature of 80 degrees Celsius.

Then he took it off the heat and added some oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. And prego! It was done. The sauce together with the white asparagus was fantastic, an eggy, smooth sauce to complement the thick asparagus stalks.

Veal with deep-fried white asparagus

Next was a half portion of white asparagus soup with cuttlefish and bottarga. The soup wasn't too thick, nor too creamy, and the cuttlefish and bottarga added texture and flavour to the soup.

We also had a half portion of the bigoli pasta -- a thicker spaghetti that was homemade, together with chunks of white asparagus, zucchini flower and sea urchin. Everything combined well together, the creaminess of the sea urchin with the meaty slices of white asparagus and the sauce soaked up by the al dente pasta that had some bite to it.

Finally, my main was the veal that had been pounded and cooked in a white wine sauce with proscuitto, and paired with deep-fried white asparagus. This was too intriguing not to try. The white asparagus was chopped into two-inch chunks, lightly battered, and mixed in a fine bread crumb mixture before being deep-fried. The end result was a lightly crunchy exterior and soft, tender asparagus. Very delicately executed.

Sabatini's signature Saint Honore cake

I somehow managed to have room for dessert -- the restaurant's signature Saint Honore cake -- and requested as thin a slice as possible. It has a base of puff pastry and on top is chocolate mousse, custard, fresh cream and a mini cream puff. 

After the epic dinner we complimented the chef on his dishes and he said the white asparagus was really good this year. So glad I had a chance to try them -- in many different ways!

 Sabatini Ristorante Italiano

3/F, The Royal Garden

69 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East

2733 2000

 

Vaccinated Night Owls can Party

Vaccinated diners can sit six to a table until midnight

Remember what it was like being in a bar? Or a nightclub, or karaoke lounge?

Finally after over four months, or basically a year of opening and closing, bars are allowed to re-open on April 29 until 2am and only two people per table. Karaoke lounges can have four people.

Night owls and wannabe warblers must be rejoicing! 

Cheung (centre) says government made concessions

However, all staff and customers must have had at least one dose of the vaccine. If staff claim medical reasons, they must fill out a government declaration form explaining why they can't get the jab, and be subjected to regular testing.

Executive councillor and lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, who represents the catering sector, said the reopening of bars would be reviewed every two weeks.

"The permanent secretary for food and health told us that if there were a lot of staff from the bar industry who cited medical reasons for failing to take the shots, further restrictions would not be ruled out," he said.

"For patrons who would like to visit bars, they have to get at least one vaccine jab."

He also said as government restrictions ease, the authorities are backing down on its insistence that all bars, restaurants, nightclubs and karaoke lounges must make their customers use the LeaveHomeSafe app. 

Zeman says the new measures are "baby steps"

Cheung said the government originally only wanted bars to open until midnight, but made concessions to allow them to operate until 2am to give bars a chance to survive (belatedly).

It's hard to see how the government can implement "vaccine bubbles" in restaurants, (four to a table until 10pm if not vaccinated and six to a table till midnight if vaccinated) when many are tiny eateries where you can't really social distance at all. 

Nevertheless, one of the happiest people today was Lan Kwai Fong Group chairman Allan Zeman upon hearing the latest relaxing of measures. He said the government's "baby step" was a good start for the bar industry.

"The good thing is they listened to the industry and allowed businesses to open until 2am, which is a very important step... The important thing is for everyone to be safe," he said.

More jabs means less LeaveHomeSafe app

Today was also the first day those 16-29 years old could sign up for the BioNTech vaccine. One would have thought those spots would be filled up quickly, but except for the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, there's still many spots available.

Come on Hong Kong! What are you waiting for? The faster we all get jabs, more restrictions will be lifted. Or even better, there would be no need to use the LeaveHomeSafe app.

How about making that our end goal?

Hong Kong's Press Freedom Under Assault

After the verdict Choy said: "Uncovering the truth is not a crime"

 

Press freedom in Hong Kong was under attack again today, with journalists no longer able to use public records to do investigative reporting for the public good without being prosecuted.

Bao Choy Yuk-ling, 37, is the first person to be convicted related to the July 21, 2019 mob attacks in Yuen Long, and yet she did not carry a stick and violently beat people in the MTR station that night.

There were an estimated 100 men in white shirts with sticks who assaulted commuters, and yet only 63 people have been arrested and yet to be brought to justice.

White-shirted men assaulted people July 2019

But the first person to be found guilt is the journalist who told the truth.

Through security surveillance video footage of the attacks, Choy went to the Transport Department's vehicle registration database to find out who owned vehicles that ferried some of those white-shirted attackers to the station, and how the police were slow to attend to the scene where 45 people were injured.

That information Choy found was reported in a documentary called "7.21: Who owns the truth", that has just won the Hong Kong Journalists' Association's Kam Yiu-yu Press Freedom Award, with judges praising it for the journalists' "detailed and professional search on public records".

Notably RTHK declined the award, as its head is in the midst of overhauling the public broadcaster's programs for political correctness.

In her verdict, Principal Magistrate Ivy Chui Yee-mei found Choy guilty of providing false statements, that she sought details of car ownership for reporting purposes rather than transport-related reasons. Chui fined Choy HK$6,000, or HK$3,000 for two counts of knowingly making false statements. The maximum penalty would have been six months in prison.

Choy tearfully spoke to the media after verdict

Despite not being named in the documentary, one of the car's owners filed a complaint to the police, which led to Choy's arrest in November.

When requesting the car ownership information, there is no box to tick "for media purposes", but only "others", which she did.

"I am of the view that whether the defendant had sought the information out of good faith was unimportant," Chui said. "I can be sure that the defendant... knew clearly she made the applications for the purposes of searching, interviewing, and reporting, none of which falls under the three options offered by the Transport Department."

Outside the court, Choy was tearful, but defiant.

"Today the court found me liable for a crime, but I firmly believe searching public records is not an offence, and neither is [upholding] press freedom," she said.

Standing next to her was Chris Yeung Kin-hing, chairman of the HKJA, who said today was "a dark day for the Hong Kong press".

Choy's supporters: "Journalism is not a crime"

He criticized the government for undermining press freedom the public's right to know, adding officials were, in effect, sheltering people with something to hide.

Dozens of supporters behind them, many RTHK workers, held signs that read "Journalism is not a crime" and "Defend press freedom".

Needless to say Choy's former employer, the government broadcaster, is not footing her legal expenses -- she is left on her own.

The government is making it harder for journalists to do their jobs. Last month Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor saw no point in giving reporters the privilege to conduct record searches using government databases, stressing the need to prevent doxxing or weaponising of personal information.

In addition the government says other public registers, including those on marriage status, land ownership and company particulars are under review to determine whether further similar administrative measures to protect data privacy are needed.

This move just makes it easier for corruption to happen more easily in Hong Kong, with no ability to hold any one accountable for anything.

Yeung (left) says today dark day for HK media

While Lam thinks this will not affect the financial markets, she is wrong. Capitalism depends on freedom of information. When it becomes more opaque, there is less trust in the system, which will only make Hong Kong's strength in the finance and banking fields atrophy and eventually wither away.

In the meantime Choy deserves to be rallied around for her courage. "I hope as a profession we can defend our value and our role, we cannot give in," she said.

 

Lam Tells Youth to Go to Hainan

Lam (left) in Boao for the annual forum for Asia

 

Hong Kong's dear leader is in Hainan Island or "the Hawaii of China" for the Boao Forum for Asia. It was cancelled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but back on this year.

Lam suggested a solution for young Hongkongers looking for an alternative place to developing their careers in the Greater Bay Area -- move to Hainan.

Lam says HKers should enjoy the coconut trees

She said people could not only "enjoy the shadow of coconut trees", but they could also feast on Hainanese chicken rice -- a dish that has its roots in Wenchang, Hainan, but is more popularly associated with Singapore and Malaysia.

Lam said Hainan island's leaders have noted Beijing's plans to entice young Hongkongers to other parts of the Greater Bay Area, and they are also taking the initiative to give opportunities to them.

"My colleagues and I were very moved," she wrote on her Facebook.

She wrote that she hoped young people of Hong Kong would move to Hainan to pursue work or internships, and added the island has a friendly local population and is rich in agricultural products.

However, not everyone was impressed by Lam's suggestion.

The Singaporean version of Hainan chicken rice

While some thought the Chief Executive's idea was a good one, pointing out Hainan is a beautiful place and Hongkongers would love it there, others posted sarcastic remarks, accusing her of failing to "fact check" her promotion of Singaporean cuisine.

"Just because the name of the dish has the word 'Hainan' in it doesn't mean it is a Hainan specialty. It's the same with pineapple buns having no pineapples in them, or Swiss Chicken Wings having nothing to do with Switzerland," one wrote.

However that person is incorrect -- Hainan chicken rice is well known in Hainan, though it is a different version from the Singaporean and Malaysian one; it is originally from Wenchang in the northeast of Hainan, and it refers to the breed of the chicken which is quite lean and so the meat is tougher than what most would expect. There are also aren't condiments like chilli sauce or soy sauce, but is rather eaten bland with some chicken stock (and no chicken oil) flavoured in the chicken or the rice.

Meanwhile others had biting remarks like this one: "As an international city, we've got all sorts of different cuisines and we can get any food we want here. Hongkongers should stay in Hong Kong."

The original Wenchang version of the dish

Perhaps Lam could have a rethink another way of enticing young people to the Greater Bay Area? Hainan is basically a tourist mecca and not an economic powerhouse like say Guangzhou or Shanghai... unless her intention is for Hongkongers laze around coconut trees and eat Hainan chicken all day?

South African Mutant Strain in HK Community

Dr Chuang believes hotel hooks may have spread mutant virus

 

There are fears the mutated Covid-19 variant from South Africa is now in the Hong Kong community after a man who flew in from Dubai, did the three-week hotel quarantine and then was found to be infected with the N501Y variant.

Another woman, a domestic helper stayed in the same hotel, the Ramada Hong Kong Grand Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, but different floor, and two others on the same floor were also found to have the South African mutated variant.

At least four infected cases stayed in this hotel

According to the Centre of Health Protection's Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, it is believed they all caught the virus in the hotel, and a possibility is the hook on the handle of the door where meal boxes were hung for the guests was infected. Apparently those hooks were immediately removed since and replaced with chairs.

Experts assessing the situation said the hotel's ventilation and drainage systems were fine.  

Dr Leung Chi-chi, a respiratory medicine specialist, said he had reservations about the door hook theory.

"It's unlikely the guests would have touched the hook with a handful of sneeze and saliva. I think it's more likely the patients exhaled virus particles into narrow corridors when opening the door to get their meals, which had then stayed there for a long time."

It is also possible that staff are not cleaning the hotels thoroughly enough after each guest leaves, or pumping enough clean air in the hallways. Leung says quarantine hotels should install systems that ensured the air was changed six times per hour.

Meanwhile, while meeting local friends or chatting with them online, many have not gotten the vaccine and are still thinking about it.

People are still considering to get the vaccine

WHAT IS THERE TO THINK ABOUT?

They are now pushed a bit after hearing the news that the BioNTech jab will run out in September, but they are still not in a hurry to get it.

After weeks of nagging a younger relative who is in the education field, he is finally getting his on Friday.

It's hard for me to comprehend why the hesitation. There are only two vaccines to choose from, and one is better than the other.

Meanwhile my expat friends and colleagues have already gotten the first dose and eagerly waiting to get the second one despite the range of side effects from almost nothing to severe headaches and fever.

My argument is getting a vaccine -- whichever one you choose -- is better than none at all.

While it does not protect you 100 percent from Covid-19, the vaccine will lessen the severity of the symptoms when infected and in turn the long term health effects after recovering from the virus.

So... what are you waiting for?

Almost 130 Civil Servants Fail to Sign Oath

Carrie Lam (centre) led oath for senior government officials

 

The Hong Kong government's human resources department is going to be extremely busy these days, with almost 130 civil servants refusing to sign the oath of allegiance and some have resigned, while others will be sacked.

The vast majority of the 180,000 civil service have signed the declaration, according to Secretary for Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen. 

Nip said 129 people did not sign the declaration

At a Legislative Council public service panel meeting on Monday, Nip said 129 civil servants either neglected or refused to sign and return the declaration. Among them are 16 disciplined service officers, the rest were civilians.

He said 25 have resigned, while most will be sacked under civil service regulations.

"For those who ignored or refused to sign the declaration, we will doubt whether they are willing to bear the responsibilities as civil servants and whether they are fit to carry out their duties. In other words, we don't have faith in them," Nip said.

Since October all civil servants must sign the oath of allegiance, pledging to uphold the Basic Law, bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, be dedicated to their duties and be responsible to the government.

Civil servants who have taken the oath are also expected to support government policies, including implementation of the national security law.

Civil servants expected to support policies, laws

"For those who sign the pledge, if they act or say something against the government, such as promoting Hong Kong independence or colluding with foreign forces, they would be deemed breaching their pledge of allegiance and subject to dismissal," Nip said.

The explanations of some civil servants on why they didn't sign the declaration include claiming it infringes on their freedom of speech, disagreeing with the oath's content, and that it might conflict with the foreign passport they held.

However, Nip found these excuses were not acceptable.

"As civil servants, they should not say something in public against the government or the Basic Law. I don't see how the oath-taking would infringe upon their freedom of speech, or be in conflict with holding a foreign passport," he said.

Nip does have a point -- why have people in the civil service who are wavering or feel it's against their ethics.

But he will also find it harder to recruit people in future, particularly young people to keep the civil service going...

Hong Kong Worries of Mutant Strain Spread

Health workers tested residents in this building in Jordan

 

The latest update on the coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong is not good. Today the city logged 30 cases, 29 of which were imported, 22 of which were from India.

And reported today, shocking news of 47 passengers on a Vistara flight on April 4 from New Delhi to Hong Kong tested positive for the virus. Needless to say that airline, and from April 20 any flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines are banned from coming into Hong Kong for 14 days.

A mutant strain of the virus may be spreading

There are concerns the supposed tests they took before boarding were either false negative, or completely fake. They were found to be positive while in hotel quarantine. Four other cases today were from Indonesia, and one each from Egypt, Canada and the Philippines.

One new local case was a 31-year-old woman who is friends with a man who was reported yesterday to be the first locally to carry the N501Y mutant strain of the virus. It was discovered she was positive while in government quarantine and was a close contact of the man.

The 29-year-old man is an engineer who works in Dubai, came back to the city on March 19 and finished his quarantine on April 8, during which he tested negative.

After he finished the three-week quarantine, he went to stay with his friend, the woman who is the latest local case. He also ate in a restaurant in the basement of Chungking Mansions, and visited two banks on Nathan Road. He also went to Cheung Chau and ate seafood there.

Chan says man may have been infected in Dubai

It was when he was getting ready to go back to Dubai, that he got tested for his trip and found he was positive.

"We need to know how he got infected," said Dr Sophia Chan Siu-chee, the Secretary for Food and Health. 

"We have already tightened our passenger flight suspension mechanism on April 14 because even though some countries have seen a decline in infections after starting their vaccination programs, overall, mutant strains are still spreading and that makes us nervous [about importing such cases]."

Chan said the authorities are not ruling out he may have been infected in Dubai and carried the strain in an unusually long incubation period. He may also have been infected while in the airport or in hotel quarantine.

One man recently got three jabs instead of two

There are fears the mutant strain may have spread into the general population, and so it is crucial to test all the staff in the quarantine hotel, the banks, the restaurants and in the building in Jordan he stayed in with his friend. So far residents of that building have tested negative.

And then there are some really dumb people. A 32-year-old man got his first dose of the BioNTech vaccine on March 12, then on March 28 went to a private clinic to get the Sinovac jab, then on April 11 gets his second BioNTech jab. 

Why did he do that?

Either he loves injections or is completely clueless that you don't mix vaccines. If he thinks he is covering all his bases he's got it all wrong...

Perhaps a case like this was bound to surface eventually? 

Unbelievable...