Police Continue to Punish Businesses

Char siu pork ribs on the far right, pork shoulder on far left

Late this afternoon I met up with a restaurateur who insisted that I try his latest creation -- char siu pork ribs for an early dinner before his eatery closes at 6pm.

And they are delicious -- why hasn't anyone else thought of this before? Why just use the pork shoulder to make char siu when the ribs are just as good?

We asked him if he was excited to finally have dinner service back on April 21, but he shook his head.

Police in casual clothes out to fine people in TST

Then he told us that he was upset to find that his two restaurants (next door to each other) were recently fined when the police descended on them and checked everyone's LeaveHomeSafe app to see if they had scanned the restaurants' QR codes.

It turns out one diner did not scan the LeaveHomeSafe app, and both restaurants -- which are under one license -- are banned from operating for the next two weeks.

Now he has lost the opportunity to not only make money back from months of just serving lunch, and what is he going to do with kitchen and wait staff having nothing to do for two weeks. 

So please -- everyone -- scan your LeaveHomeSafe app in restaurants and other establishments if you want to support these businesses! A fine is a minor financial hit compared to being banned from running a business for two weeks.

In addition, anyone who has been out of work for 30 days can apply for HK$10,000 compensation from the government, but since hairdressers were out of work for 28 days, they are not eligible for this money. 

So basically the government looks like it is helping people, but when looking at the fine print, it really doesn't.

Use your LHS app when supporting a business!

The same goes for the police raking in some HK$90 million from fines, some from jumping in the bushes to ambush runners on trails who aren't wearing masks, to making domestic helpers pay HK$5,000 -- more than their monthly salary -- for being in what may look like groups of more than two.

There is talk that the sixth wave could come in a few months -- how much more financial punishment can people take?

While the restaurateur I saw today has accepted the financial hit of the punishment, he found out he is not the only one who was caught with not every guest scanning the LeaveHomeSafe app. 

After over two years of being hit hard by the pandemic, how are businesses in Hong Kong supposed to get back on their feet again when they are constantly being knocked down?

Covid-19 Cause Spike in Elderly Suicides

Increased number of seniors contemplating suicide in fifth wave

Now into its third year, coronavirus pandemic has claimed more victims than just those who are infected with the virus -- elderly people who are have committed suicide or are contemplating it.

On Tuesday researchers at the University of Hong Kong said their suicide warning index recently surged to an unprecedented "crisis level", with elderly people more at risk of taking their own lives during this fifth wave of the pandemic.

The Suicide Early Warning System had a daily estimate of suicides at 1.69 on February 23, and as the number of Covid-19 infections rose to the tens of thousands, the estimate hit 4.05 on March 21. The average figure over the past year was 1.8.

Yip says elderly suicides is at "crisis level"

The March 21 figure is the highest since the warning system was created in 2020, though the daily estimate has since dropped.

Professor Paul Yip Siu-fai from HKU's Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention said social distancing measures have affected people's mental health and elderly people are particularly vulnerable.

He said eight people aged 65 and older committed suicide in the past seven days and it's estimated that 400 seniors will take their lives this year -- double the number last year.

"Social distancing [measures] have introduced not only physical distancing but also emotional disconnectedness. I think it's this emotional disconnectedness that leads to the sense of isolation, a sense of being abandoned by family members or by community. It has an adverse impact on our mental health," he told an online press conference.

"For the elderly people, if they live by themselves, I think the community can proactively engage with them," Yip added.

The group Suicide Prevention Services reported handling 220,000 calls in January and February, an average of nine a day from seniors.

Suicide Prevention Services worries about elderly

It said elderly people are worried about getting infected with Covid-19 and so they are scared of meeting relatives during the pandemic. Their sense of crisis also becomes even more heightened if they or a family member contracted the virus, which could then trigger suicide, the group warned.

There were news reports over a week ago about an elderly couple who killed themselves after finding out they tested positive for Covid-19 and didn't want to be a burden on their family.

Justin Leung, a program manager with the service, added most elderly people are not tech savvy either, making it difficult for them to find out the latest information about the pandemic.

"It's very complicated for the elderly. It's difficult for them to learn in a short period of time," he said. 

Yip called on the government to relax social-distancing measures and reopen leisure facilities as soon as possible to help people improve their mental well-being.

He also said the media should do its part by reporting on more positive stories to help reduce people's anxiety.

Many elderly are terrified to meet relatives

Everyone's anxiety levels have spiked during the pandemic, and even more so during this current fifth wave when the number of cases was over the 50,000 mark.

Thankfully they have dropped in the past week and hopefully in the next few weeks will be below 1,000.

It doesn't help when the government is more focused on fighting the virus than being concerned about its residents' well-being.

Hopefully the authorities will heed this study's warnings. While the 2003 SARS epidemic was relatively short lasting only a few months, it was a terrifying time for Hongkongers. Now 19 years later, people need to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel to hang on and survive, mentally and physically.

Cases Coming Down, Anti-Epidemic Kits Arriving

Lam presenting the anti-epidemic kits at the press conference

I'm hearing from many friends and colleagues about their experiences of contracting Covid-19 and many have no idea where they got it from.

Some said they had stayed home most of the time, only going out for groceries and other supplies. As all of them are vaccinated (Sinovac or BioNTech), many reported the sore throat was the worst part of having Covid, as some didn't even have a fever, but flu-like symptoms such as aches and pains. 

It took on average about eight days or so before they became negative, but the whole experience especially in the beginning left them exhausted and they had to rest a lot. 

People putting together anti-epidemic kits

One says since her recovery about three weeks ago, she feels like her lung capacity is not like before, while another reported losing his sense of smell and taste and it has taken a few weeks for it to return; that really worried him as he enjoys not only his food but wine too.

All these people have experienced Covid in the last few weeks and it is only now that the Hong Kong government has announced that it will distribute anti-epidemic packs to every household starting from next month and hopes to complete the deliveries within a week.

Each pack contains 20 rapid antigen tests, 20 KN95 masks, and Chinese medicine from across the border.

"Things inside are mainly resources the central government gave Hong Kong in support, to show their motherland's care and support for Hong Kong compatriots," acting home affairs minister Jack Chan Jick-chi told a press conference.

He said the packs will be handed out through the Housing Authority, building management firms, the Heung Yee Kuk and volunteer groups.

And if anyone doesn't get a pack, they can get one from collection points that will be set up later, Chan added.

Where is Hong Kong's Lion Rock spirit? 

While it's nice to know the central government cares for Hong Kong residents, how come we are only getting these supplies now when at least half the population has already been infected with Covid-19?

This would have been helpful at least three weeks ago when the number of cases were rising exponentially and items like rapid antigen kits were hard to find or very expensive. Now they can be bought at around HK$30 (US$3.83) for one test. 

But yes, we should be grateful, like Hong Kong government and health officials who reiterate their thanks over and over again to Beijing for all the assistance.

Whatever happened to the Lion Rock spirit and Hongkongers self-subsisting?

Probably not part of the "one country, two systems" mandate...

Today there were 10,401 infection cases -- the lowest drop in a month, while the number of deaths recorded in the past 24 hours was 162, and 30 backlogged.

Star Ferry is Drowning in Debt

How much longer can the Star Ferry continue to operate?

Another victim of the pandemic is the Star Ferry, one of the best known icons of Hong Kong which is now in dire financial straits.

Painted green and white, and chugs across Victoria Harbour between Central Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai, the Star Ferry is having trouble covering employees' salaries and paying down debts, and it even projects it will still be in the red in 2047 after two years of losses totalling a whopping HK$70 million (US$8.9 million).

Passengers have dropped off since 2021

It was affected by the 2019 protests -- though there were a few nights during the occupation of Hong Kong Polytechnic University when tons of people crowded onto the Star Ferries to get across to Hong Kong Island -- and now the pandemic into its third year.

David Chow Cheuk-yin, the Star Ferry company's general manager, said in a statement on Monday that the firm had accumulated losses of more than HK$70 million over the past two years, saying ridership in the first two months of 2022 had plunged by 73 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

Last year the Star Ferry carried only 9.57 million passengers, a sharp drop of 46 percent from 17.97 million passengers in 2019.

"It is disheartening to see our iconic Star Ferry is now a company with negative equity," he said. "In view of the threats posed by the current environment, I am afraid I can't be optimistic, as much as I would love to be, for Star Ferry to survive this wave."

The company is now borrowing to pay its daily expenses, as monthly revenue isn't even enough to cover employees' salaries.

"Enormous losses have far exceeded the company's total assets. The Star Ferry has struggled with negative equity for a long time and now counts completely on loans to cover daily operating expenses," said Chow.

Central ferry pier was at Edinburgh Place

He even hinted the company may not even be able to repay its loans even after 2047.

When a company as famous as the Star Ferry is in negative equity that's tragic. Even worse the government has done nothing to save this traditional form of public transport that has made Hong Kong famous.

If anything some of the budget from the Hong Kong Tourism Board could be funnelled into keeping the Star Ferry literally afloat, as everyone associates the city with the boats crossing the harbour.

It would be an absolute travesty if the government lets this company die because no other company or tycoon would bother taking over a money-losing business.

But let's face it -- the Star Ferry already began dying its slow death back in 2006 when its pier was moved from Edinburgh Place to another 500 metres away on reclaimed land to Man Kwong Street. It used to be so convenient to cross the harbour by Star Ferry, just past the Mandarin Oriental and the Central Post Office. 

Original steamboat from the 1880s

Now it's a commitment to want to take the Star Ferry from either Central or Wan Chai -- where the pier is not close to anything at all.

How can the Star Ferry survive with the odds stacked against it, and yet it is everyone's favourite ride crossing Victoria Harbour. It is the closest people can feel to taking transport back in 1880, when Parsi cook Dorabjee Naorojee Mithaiwala acquired a steamboat to ferry his baked goods across between Kowloon and Central.

Anyone want to start crowdfunding for the Star Ferry? Or is that considered to be violating the national security law?

Chinese Medicine Fights Heat Evils

Lam visits Baptist U's Chinese Medicine Telemedicine Centre

For those who are in the isolation facilities because they have tested positive for Covid-19, the Hong Kong government has packs of medicine for residents to use, but it's Chinese medicine.

While people should take Panadol or paracetamol when experiencing a fever or pain, they should not mix it with Chinese medicine.

Use this when lungs are assailed by "heat evils"

The authorities have issued a notice with three different kinds of Chinese medicine and how they should be used.

But how do you translate Chinese medicine into English?

For example, for Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang, under "nature and properties", it is described as: "Relatively cold in nature". What they really mean is "hon" or cooling.

When it comes to describing its functions it says: "To clear scourge, remove toxin, diffuse the lung and discharge heat".

And for its "indications", its description together with another Chinese medicine called Jinhua Qinggan Keli says: "These two proprietary Chinese medicines have similar functions, suitable for use in the case where conditions are caused heat evils assailing the lung, presented with symptoms including fever, cough, dry and sore throat, headache, etc."

Ah... heat evils that attack the lung!

Descriptions in actual government notice

The third medicine called Huoxiang Zhengqi Pian/Jiaonang, it is described to "remove dampness regulate Qi and harmonize the function of the spleen and stomach".

Under "indications" the note says: "Suitable for use in the case where conditions are caused by cold and damp evil, presented with symptoms including headache, lassitude, distention and distress in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc".

Lassitude, I just looked up means, a state of physical or mental weariness, lacking energy.

One gets the feeling the English descriptions were just copied and pasted without anyone looking at it before it was disseminated.

Guess that's what happens when the government is in the midst of a full-on battle in the fifth wave and no one has time to fix the Chinglish...

Covid Deaths Overwhelm System

This shocking photo of body bags was released on social media

This horrific photograph went viral on Twitter today. It was taken about a week ago at the Accident and Emergency Ward at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan, where there are six dead bodies in body bags lying in wards where there are three elderly patients.

The image was confirmed by a medic who works in the hospital. Since that picture was taken, the situation has been alleviated with more refrigerator units and mortuaries made available.

When the media asked about the photo this afternoon, the Health Authority's Sara Ho Yuen-ha confirmed it and apologised for the stress it had caused patients.

Ho apologised for the distress to the patients

"The authority is facing an unprecedented challenge... we are very sorry about bringing distress to patients. Our colleagues are also very unhappy about the situation. We hope everyone understands," she said.

Nevertheless it clearly illustrates how overwhelmed the Hong Kong healthcare system is and there is no end in sight with over 15000 people dying from Covid-19 per day, the majority of them elderly.

Another bottleneck has emerged in processing all the paperwork for each deceased person, while funeral homes are booked up until at least mid-April.

Kwok Hoi-bong, chairman of the Funeral Business Association industry group, said the government had to do more to resolve bottlenecks.

"Even though the government has increased the capacity of cremation incinerators to between 260 to 280 corpses a day, it has not given thought to other areas," he told a radio program.

He pointed out there are only 121 funeral halls in the city, but the average death toll was 200 dead per day.

Kwok says deaths are taking longer to process

Kwok said the authority should allow simple ceremonies to be performed in service halls in the hospital to allow families to bid their final farewells before taking the corpses to the crematorium or cemetery. 

While this will alleviate the logistics, there are families who insist in a proper send-off to loved ones. 

He also said death certificates used to take three to four days to be processed and now took six to eight, meaning corpses not being removed in a more timely manner.

Today Hong Kong recorded 29,377 local cases, 18,884 from PCR tests, 10,493 from RAT. There were 294 deaths logged, 196 from the past 24 hours, 98 backlogged. The age rage was 35-105, of the 196 dead, 114 were unvaccinated, 97 from residential care homes.

Currently only 54 percent of Hong Kong residents 80 years and older have had at least one jab. The government has pledged to focus on inoculating elderly people with mobility issues who live on their own. This alarm was sounded months ago by health experts, but the advice was not heeded... 

Security Bureau Involved in Covid-19 Battle

Seniors in care homes are the most vulnerable to Covid-19

Today is the second day the number of cases dropped to 30,000 -- 31,008 to be exact -- though the number of dead continues to be a shocking refrain. There were 233 deaths reported, 153 of them in the past 24 hours and of them 114 were not vaccinated. 

More seniors are finally getting vaccinated but it's the ones in elderly care homes that are the most vulnerable and need to be jabbed as soon as possible. It is in these old folks homes that the virus has spread so quickly and these patients' immune systems cannot cope.

Au (left) says Security Bureau now involved

Hong Kong now has the highest death rate from Covid-19 in the developed world with 2,007 dead since the start of the pandemic, 1,794 from the fifth wave alone.

Aside from being horrified by the number of dead each day, the Hong Kong government has now made it even more punitive for residents to be infected with Covid-19.

The authorities have setup a hotline for people to call in, Whatsapp or WeChat to report that they have tested positive and need to be moved to isolation facilities because they have mild or no symptoms, or are unable to do so at home.

However, this project is being handled by the Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung, who was the police chief during the 2019 protests.

Tang inspects Tsing Yi isolation units today

Perhaps even more frightening is that the Security Bureau is now involved in the operation and it is this department that will determine who goes into the isolation facilities. Retroactive cases will not be sent, but starting with those reported in the last three days, according to Dr Albert Au Ka-wing of the Centre for Health Protection.

So medical experts won't be deciding who gets to isolate at home and who doesn't?

It's getting more frightening as the days go on and still no word on how universal testing will be conducted and if there is some kind of a lockdown or not.

The last thing we need is more fear and stress, but perhaps that's exactly what the authorities intend to instil in us, that Covid-19 is a dreadful, deadly virus which is why we must reach "dynamic zero-Covid"!

Covid Suspends "Villain Beatings" Today

Police were out in force to ensure there was no "villain beating"

The fifth wave has spared no one, even those who practice "villain beating" in a bid to get rid of bad luck. These practitioners are usually found under "goose neck bridge" or below the Canal Road overpass in Causeway Bay. 

Women have their outdoor stalls with pots of incense and help customers get rid of bad luck or have a particular person in mind they want to punish. The person's picture is given or their name is written down, and the practitioner will chant a few words and then will beat the picture or piece of paper mercilessly with a shoe before giving it to a paper tiger to eat and is then consumed by fire for about HK$60 (US$7.67).

A person's name or picture is hit with a shoe

On the lunar calendar, today is the "insects awakening" day, in which "villain hitting" is considered more effective when insects are awakened by the first thunder of the year. 

These few days the women under the bridge have been busy, but today there were none in sight, as 10 police officers monitored the area. The government had announced on Thursday that the these practitioners would not perform these rituals today in a bid to prevent crowds gathering because of the pandemic.

A villain beater with more than 30 years' experience said she was told by the other practitioners the police had asked them to suspend business around the "awakening", so she decided to close her stall between Friday and Sunday.

"We always work overnight during the 'Insects Awakening'," said the woman surnamed Wong.

She predicted she would be "very busy" when the stall resumed on Monday, estimating she had lost more than HK$10,000 on Saturday alone.

Young people have social grievances to beat out

Wong said she even provided an online "villain hitting" service for customers on the mainland and in Southeast Asia.

"More younger generations have requested the service for a litany of social grievances in the past few years," she said.

Hmmm.... could it be that someone or some people in government don't want to be the target of villain hitting today?

Today there was a significant drop in cases, with 37,529 cases, but 220 deaths, of which 150 were in the last 24 hours. Of the 150 deaths, 109 were not vaccinated...

HK Govt Still Running Behind Omicron

Many elderly mistrust the govt, feel left behind in pandemic

It is very interesting to read some comments from Hong Kong seniors about why they refuse to get vaccinated.

After reading them, I don't blame them.

Sit Pui-yu, 72, knows that without getting the jab, he won't be able to eat in a restaurant, or shop for food, and blames the authorities for it.

There aren't many people who can help seniors

"The government has never truly taken consideration of the elderly in every single measure and policy it has carried out since the start of the pandemic, said the single elderly man who lives by himself in a public housing flat in Wong Tai Sin.

Another case in point -- being forced to use a smartphone that was donated to him and having to learn how to use it for the LeaveHomeSafe app for contact-tracing purposes. If you are unvaccinated then you are barred from entering many venues from February 24.

"I have lost trust in the government, so I have no confidence in its vaccination program," he said.

What is tragic is that he has no one to complain to anymore about it -- almost all the district councillors and opposition lawmakers and activists have resigned, fled the city, or jailed, so there is no communication channel between the grassroots and the government.

And then there are family doctors who are too scared to recommend that their elderly patients get vaccinated in case they suffer side effects, which doesn't help the situation at all, as well as adult children who are terrified something will happen to their parents if they get a jab.

Lee (right) says resources are stretched to limit

Today the number of cases recorded was 1,347, with only two imported. 

Another child, a three-year-old girl who tested preliminary positive is in critical condition but health officials did not have more information to disclose to the media. When reporters asked how many children were seriously ill in hospital, again there was no answer to the question. These children are too young to be vaccinated at the moment. 

Dr Larry Lee Lap-yip, a chief manager at the Hospital Authority said the healthcare system was strained to the limit.

"The number of confirmed and preliminary-positive Covid-19 cases has seriously exceeded the capacity that we can tolerate at hospitals," he said. "Our current isolation facilities are also full."

He said isolation beds would be prioritised to children, the elderly, and patients in serious condition. 

"If the situation worsens, we will not rule out suspending services in some public hospitals to turn them into Covid-specific treatment facilities," Lee said. "Facing the current crisis, we hope everyone will work together for the public good and save critical hospital resources for patients who need it the most."

Shouldn't that have been the case all along?

Chan says HK needs to run as fast as Omicron

Up until now, if anybody tested positive and was asymptomatic, was immediately sent to hospital. Now the health authorities realise this is not completely necessary and more importantly they are running out of beds and resources, as a number of nurses and doctors have also contracted Covid-19.

It is seriously shocking how behind the ball this government is in dealing with this wave, when the authorities claimed they were preparing for the possibility of the fifth wave.

In an interview with China Daily that was published five days ago, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said the government was preparing for the fifth wave "because from overseas experience, we know Omicron, this mutant strain, has a very high transmissibility. So we know it will come. Now we are in a very severe situation, and we are really trying our best to fight the virus, through timely measures. So, time is of the essence, because we have to be running as fast as the Omicron."

How about running faster than Omicron? That might be a start...

 

Covid-19 Cases Could Jump Exponentially after CNY

There may be a spike in Covid-19 cases after Chinese New Year

The number of Covid-19 cases keep climbing in Hong Kong, with 142 cases recorded today, and 160 preliminary positive.

Most worrying are the untraceable cases with experts stunned as to how to track down their sources. And with the Lunar New Year public holidays coming to a close, in the next few days there could be a possible explosion of cases after people gathered with their families during the most important festival in the calendar.

Chuang (left) urges people not to meet for CNY

"We are worried because we may see hundreds or more cases as the Omicron variant is more transmissible. It poses a huge burden on the health care system," Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, of the Centre for Health Protection said today in the media briefing.

"We also have seen some airborne transmission reported from some family gatherings, and we urge people to stay at home."

In general this is true -- some families have opted not to meet up, while others have had muted gatherings. There are also reports of people receiving fewer laisee or lucky money than in previous years because they are worried about meeting people.

However, respiratory disease specialist Dr Leung Chi-chiu finds the number of untraceable cases worrying and suggests the government should hand out more fast-testing kits in the community, saying the city doesn't have the capacity to do large-scale testing.

But Chuang refuted this, saying the current lockdown of certain buildings was effective enough and that the authorities would continue to identify high-risk areas through confirmed cases and sewage tests.

Jeff Leung first senior official to get Covid-19

Of the new infections recorded today one was identified as Jeff Leung Wing-yan, Deputy Commissioner of Labour (Occupational Safety and Health). He is the first senior government official to be infected with the coronavirus.

In addition, people trying to get their business completed with government departments will have to be more patient, as the work from home arrangement will be extended for all 170,000 civil servants aside from those serving essential and anti-epidemic services until February 11.

As a result a number of government departments will limit services, such as inland revenue, labour, civil engineering and development, information services, building, drainage services, social welfare, and electrical and mechanical services, as well as the Housing Authority, Education Bureau, and Hongkong Post.

In the case of the last one, air mail stopped for many countries anyway, but this just shuts the city down even further.

Tonight the government issued another notice, concerned about Covid-19 spreading in Hong Kong.

Dr Leung suggests more testing kits to people

"The Delta and Omicron mutant strains are spreading in the community at the same time, posing unprecedented threat to Hong Kong," said a government spokesman. 

"The epidemic situation of the fifth wave may be more severe than that of the previous four waves. Members of the public are urged to stay vigilant, wear masks properly and get vaccinated as early as possible in order to greatly reduce the risk of falling seriously ill and death when infected. With the concerted co-operation of the public in fighting the epidemic, Hong Kong will surely overcome the current epidemic situation."

Sounds like a hunker down in the bunker kind of message...

Living with Covid Does Not Violate NSL

77 local cases of Covid-19 were detected, many untraceable

Some top Hong Kong infectious disease experts have been hinting publicly that it is time that Hong Kong live with Covid-19, as "zero-Covid" is not attainable in the long run.

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu jumped on this, suggesting that the strategy should be viewed as violating the national security law.

Ho suggested living with Covid violated NSL

When he spoke to the media on Saturday, he explained guarding against the importation of cases and the resurgence of domestic infections is a national-level strategy, and anti-pandemic measures are equal to defence and diplomacy.

Therefore, the strategy of "living with Covid" may "breach national defence and disrupt the order of the society," he continued.

However, the government issued a statement on Sunday clarifying that "general remarks and discussion" on the effectiveness of the official zero-Covid strategy were not illegal.

"Hong Kong must cut the transmission chains as quickly as possible, with an aim of achieving dynamic zero infection, otherwise the consequences could be dire," the statement added.

Chuang warned about gathering for CNY

This is the state of the city now -- where anything could be considered violating the national security law and the government has to issue a statement to deny it.

At least that's one thing that's not related to the national security law, but still...

In the meantime Hong Kong recorded 81 new cases -- first time in double digits in a week -- 77 of which are local. There are 70 preliminary positive cases.

"Although the number of daily cases is declining, the proportion of untraceable cases has increased," said Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection's communicable disease branch.

"The transmission chains in the community remain unclear; we do not know what some of the transmission paths were."

Govt says living with Covid not illegal

She also asked that families be careful when gathering for the Lunar New Year festivities, especially around seniors who may not have been vaccinated yet. "If they get infected, there may be complications," Chuang said.

You don't say!

Fearing for Staff Safety, Citizen News Shuts Down

Chief editor Daisy Li (left) and Chris Yeung speak to media

Today senior executives of Citizen News explained to the media why they were closing abruptly, admitting it was because of what happened to Stand News on December 29 when seven people related to the news portal were arrested, which led to its immediate demise.

They said they could no longer guarantee their staff's safety, as they did not know where the red lines were being drawn.

Citizen News shut down effectively today

Choking back tears, chief writer Chris Yeung Kin-hing said: "We can't work in a safe environment. Reporters are also human and have their families and friends too. Journalists don't want to be landed in this dilemma simply because of their work."

Yeung, who is the former chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, said the closure was because of what happened to Stand News.

"The city's media has been embroiled in a political storm with many media outlets or the overall media being deemed as the target of a shake-up," he said.

"From the Stand News incident, we see that many articles and reports are deemed as seditious. We are worried that we may have violated the law without our knowledge."

He added: "Hong Kong is really facing a great change in many aspects, about how to understand press freedom, and where to draw the line... and now many things about the law and law enforcement and so on have become vague."

Yeung said as journalists could be exposed to the threat of prosecution, the outlet had no other choice but to close.

Yeung said no authorities contacted them

"We can't assess how long such a situation would linger. It's difficult to carry on," he said. "We have no choice but to cease operations."

During the announcement, Yeung said they were not contacted by the national security police regarding Citizen News' reporting, though some commentators have warned some media outlets like Stand News and Citizen News were targets. 

Citizen News started five years ago on January 1, 2017 with 10 people and in the last five years grew to dozens of people, absorbing those who left RTHK or i-Cable, or Apple Daily. And now it has let go 40 journalists.

Meanwhile, Ip Iam-chong, one of the co-founders of the online news outlets Inmediahk, told a radio show there had recently been an intensification of the chilling effect on the media from a government campaign initially targeting the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper.

"When we first started, we thought we wouldn't last long, not because of political pressure, but because of finances," Ip said. "Nowadays any media that is not considered establishment will keep receiving threats or warnings to shut down."

Over 200 police raided Stand News last week

He feared the continued closure of media outlets would mean that more rumours, mostly regarding the government, would be able to spread unchecked on the internet.

Even this afternoon there were rumours of the government considering imposing a lockdown on Hong Kong to stop the spread of the Omicron variant; eventually the government did issue a press release to deny the rumour, but with trust in the authorities so low, does anyone believe it?

They would have turned to online outlets like Stand News and Citizen News to get the facts. But now they have to turn elsewhere... and is it a place they trust?

This is the state of press freedom in Hong Kong, and more importantly freedom of information in the city. 

Government Sets Minimum Size for Flats

Wong sets minimum size for flats on govt land to 280 sq ft

Finally the Hong Kong government has decided to take a stand and determine the minimum size of a flat.

Secretary for Development Michael Wong Wai-lun has determined that flats on government land can be no smaller than 280 square feet. We're assuming this is the amount of actual living space in the flat and not including public areas...

There are still lots of nano flats on the market

When asked why 280 sq ft was chosen, Wong said another subsidised project at Anderson Road in Kwun Tong had a minimum size limit of 250 sq ft that was used as a reference point. As the Tuen Mun parcel is a private piece of land, that is one step higher on the housing ladder (than one on government land), so the threshold was taken to 10 percent higher.

Government officials are not actually looking at the size of flats and saying, "This looks liveable to me,", but rather "What's the going rate now?" which is not how to solve the city's housing woes.

Have these senior ministers actually walked inside a 250 sq ft or 280 sq ft flat and asked themselves if they could actually live in there with all their stuff?

Apparently this is not how they do things.

"Now that we have set the rules of the game clearly, [developers] will not need to worry about their peers benefiting from a layout with very small units," Wong said. "We think it is a level playing field. It is a very fair-game rule."

How about a flat almost twice the size of this?

For the developers yes, but not the buyers, many of them young people trying to get onto the housing ladder.

Wong was not worried about the establishment of the minimum size affecting home-buying options as there were still plenty of flats measuring smaller than 300 sq ft.

The question now is what will happen to the values of the flats that are smaller than 280 sq ft? Will they be less valued because they don't make the grade anymore?

Hopefully with the minimum space determined, then we will see the end of nano flats, those smaller than 200 sq ft, though some real estate experts say the 280 sq ft will price many out of the market. 

A never-ending vicious circle...

Expert Says HK Should Reopen with Higher Vaccination

Yuen says HK vaccination rate needs to be over 90 percent

Finally a prominent infectious disease expert is saying the zero-Covid strategy is unsustainable and we need to live with the coronavirus to get Hong Kong's economy up and moving again.

Dr Yuen Kwok-yuen said it's time to boost the vaccination rate -- up to over 90 percent and introduce vaccine passports as an incentive to get people jabbed. And it's possible the elderly death rate may spike because the virus will be in the community.

"If you announce the policy now, by March everyone should have received two doses. People cannot go to work or school if they're unvaccinated," he said, adding that Hong Kong could gradually resume international travel when its vaccination rate exceeds 90 percent.

People need to resume their lives, Yuen said

If so, by next summer the SAR could fully reopen if 99 percent of its residents have been triple-jabbed.

Yuen also warned there would inevitably be a "transitional period" of more than two months that would see a surge in deaths and infections, which has happened in other parts of the world, including Singapore.

He said the virus would spread among unvaccinated elderly people here after the resumption of international travel, which Yuen estimated to be 1,000 deaths or more. Hence the need to get the jab now.

But he stressed this is a phase the city must go through after reopening, adding it's best for it to happen in the summer when infections tend to be less serious.

Yuen said the government should act now or it would miss an important opportunity for people to resume normal lives.

There will be more deaths if not enough jabbed

The microbiologist also said the emergence of the Omicron variant was a chance for Hong Kong to reopen to the world, as the symptoms of vaccinated people would mostly be mild, even if they are infected (and are fully vaccinated).

He expressed hope that with such a plan, life in Hong Kong would resume to normal by the end of the year. 

As one of the government's expert advisors, Yuen is sticking his neck out for the rest of us by strongly suggesting we live with Covid like the rest of the world. What he says goes completely against Beijing's and Hong Kong's strategy, but it's realistic. We cannot keep living in a bubble forever.

Wonder how the government will react. So far, silence...

Wild Boar Culling Continues

A baby wild boar rummaging through garbage for food

It is disturbing to find the Hong Kong government still insists on culling wild boars in "black spots" that show no fear and pose a risk to humans.

The head of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said on Sunday that it has "humanely handled" 28 animals since the policy was introduced last month to euthanise problem boars.

"We have captured and humanely handled boars in five out of more than 60 black spots," Leung Siu-fai said on Sunday.

AFCD should advise how to deal with wild boars

The "capture and kill" policy for wild boars sparked an outcry from animal activists, calling on the government to reverse its strategy and instead step up its neutering program. They believe only a small fraction of boars have been neutered.

Yet Leung said the department would continue its operations at black spots.

"We will continue our strategy to protect the public's safety. That means we will continue to capture boars which appear regularly, are not afraid of people, and even pose a safety risk at black spots," he said.

"We will also, if there are referral cases, report on boars going to urban areas, and we will assess if they pose a risk, and if they do, we will also capture and remove them."

How will the officials be able to identify those that wander into urban areas more often than others? Do they have them all tracked? And where are these "black spots"? How about telling the public where they are so that they are more cautious next time?

Activists condemn capturing and killing boars

Leung also said there would be more efforts made to dissuade people from feeding boars and improve the design of garbage bins.

How about launching a large-scale education campaign on why people should not feed wild boars, and what they should do if they encounter these animals. The AFCD should also continue to neuter ones they capture to control the population.

The AFCD did a study two years ago and estimated there were from 1,800 to 3,300 wild boars in the countryside areas. According to a spokesman, the animals are naturally wary of humans, so it is rare they will attack people.

Why is the government so insistent on killing these animals when it is humans that are encroaching on their environment?