Mass Testing Could be Pushed Back to April

Universal testing may be further pushed back to April

The Hong Kong government continues to flip flop on major decisions on a whim that have left residents frustrated, tired and wondering how senior officials even make these decisions.

There is now word that because Beijing has told local authorities to focus more on reducing the death rate and look after the elderly that the citywide universal testing may now be pushed back to April.

Lam had announced mass testing in March

Originally Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor had announced on February 22 -- by the way the last time she spoke publicly to Hongkongers -- that universal testing would be held in March. It was later heard through the grapevine that it would start on March 26, but now it could be as late as April.

After all that panic-buying of vegetables, meat, toilet paper and so on, how does this make people feel?

In addition, what about the schools and students missing out on education right now? If mass testing is pushed back to April, when will their classes resume? There are students who need to take the university entrance exams on April 22. Children and young people really are getting the worst deal out of the pandemic that is now well into its third year.

Lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee remarked on Twitter:

"I welcome the government's decision to re-open hair salons as from this Thursday. I urge the government to re-open also golf courses, tennis courts, and other facilities for non-contact sports. We need to help caddies and coaches, not just hair stylists, get their jobs back!"

Ip wants golf courses and tennis courts re-opened

What about students and the future of Hong Kong? Or someone is just really keen on getting back to her golf game?

This evening word also came down that people can get their hair cut from March 10! Hallelujah!

No more having your hairdresser surreptitiously come to your flat and trim your locks -- we can go back to the salons -- as long as you've had at least one jab. I hope my hairdresser has been inoculated...

And what does this mean about our HK$10,000 handout? Will that be delayed too? There are so many unknowns.

In the meantime, today there were 30,493 cases logged, 2,018 of which were from rapid antigen tests (RAT). 

While some 200,000 logged onto the new website to record positive results from RATs, 17,236 were actually reported, and of them, 2,018 completed all the information and uploaded pictures and HKID card information for the government to issue them isolation orders.

Au explaining over 2,000 RAT cases confirmed

Meanwhile 291 deaths were announced, 160 from the past 24 hours, and 131 backlogged. The age range is staggering -- four years old to 105, 116 of them unvaccinated, 86 from elderly care homes.

Now the government is planning to move the uninfected seniors in care homes to isolation units, but who will care for them all the way out there? There are horror stories that there are not enough staff to help them to washrooms and they are stuck wearing diapers. 

The authorities really need to consult geriatric specialists about how to look after these relatively healthy people and keep them safe, but also not completely isolated either which could also lead to deterioration of body and spirit. 

Hong Kong cannot afford to lose more lives over egregious mistakes and flip flopping. Time to make informed decisions for the good of all. All 7.4 million lives depend on them.

Student Population Continues to Shrink

Some 6,200 students have left HK since the summer

There is a more accurate picture forming in the Hong Kong education system when it comes to fewer students attending schools.

Since the summer holidays, 6,200 pupils in primary and secondary schools have left, with districts having elite schools being hit the hardest.

Fewer students in Form Six quit school

The latest monthly figures were released on Friday by the Education Bureau, that showed there were 6,016 and 193 vacancies at primary and secondary schools respectively between August and the end of November.

The figures are generally interpreted as the number of students quitting government or subsidised schools. 

In November, 824 students left the public secondary school system. Some principals say it is rare for students to quit in the middle of the school term, which runs from September to December.

More than half of the withdrawals in November came mainly from Forms One to Three, while Form Six students, who will sit the university entrance exam next year, have the lowest number of dropouts at 65.

Kowloon City, which has more elite schools than the other 17 districts in Hong Kong, reported the highest number of dropouts in November, with 118 students from Forms One to Six.

Most of students leaving are from elite schools

Lau Chun-hung, chairman of the Hong Kong Subsidised Secondary Schools Council, said the withdrawal trend was likely sparked by the wealthy and middle-class families, whose children studied in well-known schools and later emigrated. Districts that are less well-off have seen fewer students quitting.

The council will meet with the Education Bureau to discuss how to tackle the problem of a shrinking pupil population after gathering more information on applications for secondary school places in January, Lau added.

Dion Chen, chairman of the Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council, said almost all of the secondary schools needed to process withdrawal applications from students every month.

"The situation is [exacerbated] by the border reopening of some countries, such as Australia [which had been closed to foreigners amid the coronavirus pandemic]," Chen said, adding that more students were expected to withdraw after the term break. 

Chen says students are going overseas

Not only are students leaving but teachers too, which in a way evens out a bit. It's not like companies losing a bunch of employees and so employers try to entice people to stay with pay rises or more perks. It's an ongoing trend and the Education Bureau will probably have to close some schools unless the border between China and Hong Kong opens anytime soon...

Half of Secondary Students Depressed

Half of secondary students are depressed and stressed out

 

It's not surprising to find that secondary students in Hong Kong are stressed out. This was confirmed by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups that half the students surveyed are feeling stressed, and about the same amount are having symptoms of depression.

Federation says pupils can't concentrate, sleep

The federation conducted an online survey, with questionnaires given to 3,600 students in October. 

The results revealed 49 percent reported suffering from high levels of stress. While this is four percentage points lower than the result of a similar survey last year, it is still higher than before the coronavirus pandemic started.

In addition, 52 percent of pupils reported depression symptoms, such as trouble concentrating and sleeping, the federation said.

Deputy executive director Hsu Siu-man said although these students may not actually have depression, the situation is still concerning.

She said the students' stress was mainly related to academics, but some were also struggling to adjust to full-day in-person classes again, after the pandemic earlier forced students to attend classes online. 

Difficulties adjusting to in-person class

"Some tell us that they do not have enough rest time, because when they go home, it is already evening. Although this kind of situation is quite similar to that before the pandemic, they have spent already nearly two years [having] online classes or in hybrid mode... When they resume back to 'old normal' they have to spend their whole day at school, they need to adjust," she said.

Hsu also said pupils were having to adjust to a wave of emigration from Hong Kong, with some losing their friends.

"When they went back to school, many students found that quite a lot of classmates had disappeared...  they had moved with the whole family to other countries," she said.

Unfortunately this is the new reality in Hong Kong -- young people and their families moving away from the city which has a big psychological impact on them, and on top of it the pandemic social distancing measures and borders being closed have not been helpful for anyone, let alone students.

Classmates leaving also affects students

It is also difficult for them to deal with what has happened to Hong Kong in the past two years politically, socially and economically, and seeing the direction the city is going doesn't give them high hopes for the future.

 

CUHK's Student Union Disbands

CUHK's student union members voted to disband today

 

Another group has disbanded after falling afoul with the Hong Kong authorities. The Chinese University of Hong Kong's student union will dissolve eight months after the school's management cut ties with the group, citing possible breaches of the national security law.

CUHK made it harder for the union to continue

In February the university asked the student union to register through government agencies as an independent society or company to assume its own legal responsibility, suspended its executive members from ex officio positions on all CUHK committees, and also stopped administrative support and collecting student union fees on its behalf.

The moves followed the 12-member union's release of an 80-page manifesto that accused the university of working with police to have students arrested after an attack on campus university guards.

On Thursday on social media, the student union said it sought legal advice that said independent registration was not necessary.

"CUSU sought professional legal opinion and was advised that 'the ordinance does not apply to CUSU' for independent registration. We are now torn between following the legal advice or complying with the university administration's demand," the post said.

The democratic union shuts down after 50 years

The union held a joint meeting on September 10 to seriously consider the matter and a motion was passed to dissolve the body an accept the resignation of its council representatives.

"[CUSU] has been the only organization mandated to represent the student body on campus. Over the years CUSU has upheld the principles of democratic and federal self-government and co-government for students, and dedicated itself to promoting the common good throughout ever-changing times," the statement read.

"For fifty years CUSU existed as an independent student organization whose representatives were elected through a democratic process. It is a matter of profound regret that CUSU is now history." 

Choy worries about other groups

Chinese University political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung, who was president of CUHK's student union in 1987, said he was worried about a "domino effect" among other university groups.

"When the front, the alliance and other social organizations closed down one after the other, and many student unions were asked to register independently, I'm not sure whether the universities were making their own decisions, or whether they faced pressure to make the same decision," he said.

"The union was also a platform through which the students' views could be reflected to the university, so its disbandment will affect those consultative processes too."

More Children Self-Harm During Pandemic

Children find it hard to talk to parents, leads to more arguments

The coronavirus pandemic has caused family tensions at home to become even worse, with some children even self-harming themselves to deal with the pressure, according to a survey.

The Hong Kong Family Mediation Association and the Junior Chamber International Lion Rock polled about 300 parents and 300 primary school students between April and May.

Concerns of children self-harming in survey

They found nearly half of those polled said they had gotten into arguments at least once a day and almost six out of 10 children said they hurt themselves or others to deal with pressure.

Fish Leung, the executive director of the association, said she hadn't expected so many children to harm themselves, and it revealed they could not find a way to release their stress.

She pointed out that traditional stress relievers, like sports or talking it out with classmates were not available because of social-distancing measures imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19.

"Children's verbal language is not good enough -- that's why they don't know how to express themselves or mention their emotions," she said.

"If they tear their [hair] or hurt themselves, this pain will make them happier; happier than communicating with their parents. This is so sad."

She said since the pandemic started, parents and students have not actively been seeking help and schools have referred fewer cases to social workers, as school opening hours have been drastically cut back.

Kids need outlets to release stress and anxiety

Leung appealed to people to seek help at the earliest opportunity, as a buildup of pressure and stress could lead to suicidal thoughts.

It's absolutely tragic that children cannot communicate with their parents, nor know how to express themselves, and it is necessary their mothers and fathers empathize with them and acknowledge their struggles. Everyone has been under an unprecedented amount of stress for the past year and a half. 

Not only is Hong Kong dealing with a pandemic (and handling it very well), but what is happening to the city politically is shaking the city down to its core and affecting people's well being too.

 

Word of the Day: Lying Flat

White collar workers to university students are "lying flat"

A new phenomenon has emerged among young people in China. It's called "lying flat" or 躺平 (tang ping). 

From white collar workers to university students, they are tired of the rat race of having to work long hours for little pay that will not get them any closer to owning a home, let alone a car or start a family. Hence they are "lying flat".

There are even T-shirts that read: "Do nothing lie flat youth" that are selling online.

Young Chinese people are tired of the rat race

 Elaine Tang works at a Guangzhou-based tech firm and says the term resonated with young Chinese who saw the odds stacked against them.

"In recent years, property prices have skyrocketed, and the gap between social classes has become wider and wider," said the 35-year-old, who has been married for seven years but has yet to have children.

"The rich and the authorities monopolize most of the resources, and more and more working class like us have to work from 9am to 9pm, six days a week, but still can't afford a down payment [on a flat] or even the cost of having a child."

Comments like this are making the Chinese authorities nervous because they don't want young people to stop being productive members of society. How else are they going to pay for pensions and taxes? And what about encouraging families to have three children per family now?

But the domestic economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic and trade tensions with the United States have made people more receptive to the "lying flat" idea.

Young people feel income inequality is too great

"Local officials and scholars are concerned about the phenomenon of lying flat [because] it reflects young people's resistance to the current social and economic model, as well as their confusion about the political order," said Peng Peng, executive chairman of the Guangdong Society of Reform, a think tank connected to the provincial government.

There's also another word called "involution" making the rounds. It was originally used in anthropology to describe agrarian societies that stagnate because, while their workload increases, a person's output does not or cannot.

This is what is happening now because of the pandemic and the trade war, where everyone has to work harder than before, but they are faced with stagnating incomes, unemployment concerns and soaring costs for housing and child care.

Tech workers were among the first to comment on the involution in their lives, because those at big firms often work at "996" culture, working from 9am to 9pm, six days a week. Others have joked about the new work ethic as "007" -- where one works from 00am to 00pm, seven days a week.

While the Chinese government is trying to suppress this movement online and using celebrities to denounce it, too many young people relate to this relentless work schedule for little pay and they will definitely find other ways to show they are "lying flat".

HK's Student Population Plunges as Families Leave

Students marked National Education Day on April 15

  

There is more news that thousands of students have left Hong Kong this past academic year, though the government seems to be in denial about it.

A survey by the Professional Teachers' Union found a quarter of schools have reported more than 20 of their students left the city since September.

Fung (left) says thousands of students have left

PTU finds the figures alarming, and attributes them to parents' concerns about the national security law, as well as changes to the education system, particularly the controversial liberal studies subject.

"The government needs to acknowledge and directly address this issue," said Fung Wai-wah, president of the pro-democracy PTU, one of the city's main teachers' unions.

This month 183 primary and secondary schools were polled and found about 25 percent, or 47 institutions had more than 20 students withdraw during the 2020-21 academic year.

More than 70 percent of the schools reported between one and 20 students leaving. Just three schools reported no students dropping out.

Around 52 percent of the schools, or 96 of those surveyed said about half or more of their students withdrew because they were emigrating or pursuing studies overseas, but the poll did not ask the institutions to give specific reasons why the pupils left Hong Kong.

Parents are concerned about academic freedoms

"We believe some reasons could include the increased challenges as well as political tension and interference faced by the education sector... The security law could be one of the reasons as well," Fung said, adding the government should not "turn a blind eye to the issue" and address it.

According to data released by the Education Department last month found roughly 19,300 students or 3 percent of the total student population dropped out this academic year, compared to 10,400 the previous year.

Of the pupils who left this academic year, 5,280 were from private and international schools, the other 14,000 from local schools.

The implementation of the national security law last June has raised concerns among parents and teachers over shrinking academic freedom, as now children as young as six years old must now learn about the four offenses under the law -- subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

Students 6 years old learn national security law

When Beijing officials says students should have a patriotic education, for many parents, the horror stories of the Cultural Revolution come to mind and they would rather their children be educated elsewhere. 

So what will the Hong Kong government do about the fast plunging numbers of students and teachers? Not everyone is eager to become patriotic...

Hong Kong's Rising Number of University Dropouts

The numbers of students graduating are decreasing

 

If one needs another sign that Hong Kong's young people are leaving the city, look no further than the university statistics. They show more than 2,100 students dropped out of eight local universities in the 2019-20 year, up 15 percent from 2018-19.

It's the highest number of dropouts since 2004 when this data was first recorded. 

Chinese University was damaged from clashes

The figures were released by the University Grants Committee, the main funding body for the city's public institutions of higher learning, showed that some schools had more dropouts than others, with one as much as a 40 percent increase in 2019-20 compared to the previous academic year.

While most universities cited personal and family issues as the reasons for withdrawals, student leaders said their peers left to study abroad following the anti-government protests in 2019.

There are other surveys showing students in primary and secondary schools dropping out over the past year, including from elite institutions, which indicates they most probably left Hong Kong.

In the 2019-20 academic year, 2,120 undergraduate and postgraduate students withdrew from the city's eight publicly-funded universities, up 15 percent from 1,848 in 2018-19, according to statistics from the grants committee.

While City University and Education University did not see an uptick in dropouts, Polytechnic University saw the biggest drop at 505 students leaving, 40 percent more than the 359 who quit the previous year.

HKU saw a low number of students drop out

Meanwhile the University of Hong Kong saw 357 students leave, the University of Science and Technology had 207 students withdraw, up 36 and 35 percent respectively, and Chinese University had 311 students leave, a 13 percent rise.

The numbers include local and non-local students.

Poly U and Chinese University sustained the most damage during the 2019 protests when protesters occupied the campuses and had clashes with police. 

Edy Jeh Tsz-lam, a student representative of HKU's governing council and former president of the student union, said she believed some dropouts could be non-local students who returned to their home countries because of the coronavirus pandemic, while local students left Hong Kong to study elsewhere.

She heard of students transferring to universities in Taiwan and the UK, while others had quit university to reapply to study other subjects because their personal goals had changed.

"For instance, a friend of mine who was studying law told me [during the 2019 protests] that she was considering quitting university and reapplying for dentistry, as she believed studying law and [entering the legal sector] in Hong Kong was no longer meaningful," Jeh said, citing critics who had declining confidence in the local judicial system.

CUHK saw 13 percent increase in withdrawals

PolyU student union president Alan Wu Wai-kuen said he had peers who had chosen to study elsewhere after dropping out, going to countries like Australia and Canada. 

However officially, Baptist, Polytechnic, Education and Lingnan universities cited personal reasons for why students withdrew, while a Chinese University spokeswoman said students transferring to another local institution or overseas universities was also a major factor.

The dropout figures for 2019-20 were the highest since the 2003-04 academic year, the earliest for which the grants committee data was immediately available. That year about 1,704 students withdrew, while in the 2010-11 year saw the lowest number of students dropout at 1,057. It has hovered around the 1,800 a year since 2015.

But the most recent figures are troubling, and professor Lau Chi-pang of Lingnan University's associate vice-president of academic affairs and external relations says more studies should be conducted to find out the real reasons why students have quit.

Poly U saw biggest drop in students leaving

"The government should maybe also look into the phenomenon. It is not just universities being affected," he said, pointing to the concurrent rise in dropouts at primary and secondary schools. "It is, after all, not an isolated topic."

Lau is right and the government should be worried that a stream of students are leaving or have changed their majors. Are we going to see fewer studying law as Jeh suggested, or even history now that national education will change how the subject is taught in schools? 

Hong Kong's political and social environment continues to deterioriate daily, and the numbers of students leaving are a big red flag.

National Security for Six-Year-Olds and Up

Back in 2012 students protested against national education

 

After the massive protests against national education in 2012, it is back on the curriculum as early as this coming September. Students as young as six years old will learn about the national security law and know which offenses constitute a breach of the law.

Six years old.

When I was at that age I learned how to cross the street street safely, and basic manners, not how collusion with foreign forces, secession, subversion and terrorism could get you life in prison.

A deceptively friendly cover on national security

But this is what teachers are expected to teach students starting from this September. Pupils will also have to learn the Chinese national anthem, know the flag-raising etiquette, and the importance of central government agencies in Hong Kong.

This comes after the 2019 anti-government protests, where a large number of those arrested were students, and the authorities believe more needs to be done to encourage patriotism and a better understanding of China.

There are seven documents that cover all the grades, and specifically instruct schools to ban any display of words or materials around campus that may endanger national security, prevent teachers from approaching national security as a debatable manner, and bar outsiders from conducting activities on campus involving political propaganda.

While public and government schools must strictly follow these guidelines, international and private schools must ensure that all students have a good understanding of the national security law.

Students actively protested in 2019-20

An education bureau spokesman said the purpose of the law, imposed by Beijing last June, was to prevent, stop and punish acts that endangered national security, and schools had an important role to play in achieving the first goal.

"[Schools should] ensure all staff uphold professional ethics, abide by the law and the behavioural norms acceptable to society, as well as enhancing the prevention and stopping any unlawful teaching activities, while taking precautionary measures and handling any unlawful activities occurring on campus."

Many students took part during the protests last year, from forming human chains outside school gates, and chanting slogans and displaying them on campus. Pro-Beijing critics blame educators for encouraging such disobedience.

As a result, the guidelines specify that national security is of great importance and that "there is no room for debate or compromise". 

There are expectations that teachers will not treat it as a controversial issue for discussion and instead give students facts and rationales about national security, "such as historical background, moral standards and legal principles, and clearly point out that safeguarding national security is the responsibility of all nationals".

Tin says guidelines are heavy-handed

If students are found to be chanting slogans, singing political songs, or displaying slogans on campus, they must be immediately reported to the police community relations officer, and if there is a "grave or emergency situation", then the police should be called immediately.

Tin Fong-chak is vice-president of the 100,000-strong Professional Teachers Union and a secondary school teacher. He said the guidelines were stricter than expected and would affect teacher-student relations.

"The guidelines have gone into so much micro detail that the government is actually taking total control of the schools on how they should handle national security-related issues on campus," Tin said. He questioned whether the government trusted educators' ability to handle the subject.

Tin also said it was not unusual for schools to invite politicians of all stripes to come speak to students, as well as activists and non-governmental agencies. With the guidelines saying that "outsiders" were banned, did this mean schools would be crossing the red line? "Students would feel fear when talking about national security," he said.

Hins Tsang is a form six student and spokesman for the student group Hong Kong Ideologist and went as far as saying the new guidelines went against constitutional rights.

Students participating in 2019 human chain protest

"Exerting political pressure on schools will not make students more patriotic," he said. "The Basic Law guarantees that we have freedom of speech, but now the guidelines say there is something we cannot debate in schools. How absurd it is!"

As for banned books or posters, Hins added: "We would question if teachers or school headmasters have the ability to judge whether a book or a phrase in a book is anti-national security or not. Do we expect the schools to call the police to judge for them?"

There are many concerns about these guidelines, but they will be implemented regardless of the uproar from teachers and students, and probably many parents too, many of whom participated in the 2019 protests.

Perhaps the government is secretly hoping students will become so patriotic that they will reveal their parents' political leanings much like the Cultural Revolution, or it will be the taboo subject in school that no one dares to talk about on campus grounds, but widely discussed elsewhere.

Who knew over eight years after it was shelved, national education would be firmly back on the curriculum and no opposition allowed?

Proliferation of Protest Art

People leave messages tied together at a shop

In Sham Shui Po there is some gentrification going on, with some old shop spaces turned into hipster cafes, much like the one I wrote about yesterday that houses a photography exhibition on last year's protests.

Carrie Lam as a giant candle

On our way to that show, we saw a few other "yellow" cafes that had other protest art. One in particular had multi-coloured ribbons out in front, like a Lennon Wall with scraps of fabric, where people wrote messages that were tied together.

Inside was a collection of works from artists working in various mediums. There were sculptures of protesters clashing with the police on a platform shaped like an upside down umbrella -- made from wax.

There was even a bust of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in red wax, complete with a wick at the top of her head. The protest slogan "If we burn you burn with us" immediately came to mind, inspired by The Hunger Games.

But it was a series of woodblock prints that I liked in particular. They were made by Malaysian artist Tekkhean Lee, who visited Hong Kong during the protests and made these woodcuts that portray the emotions, the drama, and the feelings of last year.

Particularly evocative are protesters surrounded by clouds of tear gas, the turbulent scenes of defending themselves with just umbrellas, and the camaraderie of the protesters helping each other.

Amazing woodcut prints of protests

There are some definitive scenes, of a man with his arms outstretched as a policeman points a gun at him in Tsuen Wan in late August, students in uniform holding a pen together as a human chain of protest, a sea of umbrellas parting ways to allow an ambulance pass through, and a first-aider who lost her right eye allegedly from a rubber bullet in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The amount of protest art that was produced last year has been amazing, some of it satirical, some inspiring, some depicting violence. Will it continue after the national security law is enacted within days?

Time will only tell.

Eva's Story in Her Own Words

Eva Schloss (second to the left), posing with young hosts last night

This is Eva Schloss (nee Geiringer) who is 90 years old. She is a survivor of the holocaust, and is in Hong Kong this week to talk to mostly students about her experience in the concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

She spoke last night at the Asia Society to a packed house mostly filled with secondary students who asked some good questions and she answered every one of them.

Schloss spoke to a room filled mostly with students

Schloss has a connection to Anne Frank. The two were the same age, Schloss a month older, and they played together from when they were 11 to 13 years old, when their families went into hiding in 1942.

She remembers Anne as a storyteller with a vivid imagination, a chatterbox and a young flirt. Later after the war, Schloss lost her father and older brother, and she and her mother re-connected with Anne's father, Otto Frank; subsequently Schloss's mother married Frank. So in a way Schloss became Anne's step-sister... if she was still alive.

In May 1929, Schloss was born in Vienna, and when Austria was annexed by Germany in 1938, Schloss's family moved to Belgium and then eventually the Netherlands in 1940, where she met Anne.

Schloss's family went into hiding in 1942 in seven different places, but two years later they were betrayed by a Dutch nurse who turned out to be a double agent for the Nazis. She was awarded 5 gilders for every Jew arrested. She betrayed 200 people.

Schloss when she was young, before she was arrested

When they were captured, the men and women were separated and that was the last time Schloss saw her father and brother, while she and her mother managed to stay together throughout their entire ordeal in the concentration camp.

After they arrived, they were immediately inspected, the young and old were immediately taken away and gassed. Schloss's first miracle was that she wore a wide brimmed hat and coat so that at first glance the Nazis couldn't tell she was young.

But the conditions in the camp she says were horrific. There were eight people per bunk bed so you could barely move and the beds were covered in bed bugs and lice. That led to lots of scratching and the bugs would suck on the blood of the open wounds...

They were forced to wake up at 4am or 5am for roll call, stand outside with no coat or hat (their heads were shaven) and stand for two hours while names were called out. If anyone was missing, the roll call would start all over again and they stood there for another two hours.

Anne Frank's father Otto later became Schloss's stepfather

"If you moved, you were beaten," she said matter-of-fact. And the roll call happened everyday. Then breakfast consisted of "some liquid of soup or sour milk the Nazi soldiers didn't finish" and that was it, and the work began.

The women did heavy labour, like road building, digging, carrying rocks around. "Our heads were burned because our heads were shaven. We were not allowed to talk and we had no lunch," Schloss explains, and no toilet breaks either. "You were just trying to stay alive."

At 9pm they finally returned to the barracks and supper was a big piece of bread. "You couldn't keep the bread, you had to eat it, because there was no where to keep the leftover bread for later. If you tried to sleep with your bread and it fell out of the bunk, someone else would eat it."

It was like this everyday and Schloss explains they didn't know the day or the week or even the month, but could guess from the seasons. They were constantly starving.

Sometimes they would wake up with a dead body next to them -- Schloss had to carry out a few corpses during her time. "You'd wonder if it would be me tomorrow, and I had nightmares about it. Their eyelids were still open, because they were frozen."

Schloss remembers Anne as a storyteller and flirt

One time during a roll call, Schloss's mother was chosen to go to the gas chambers, and Schloss thought that she had lost the will to live losing her mother. But somehow thanks to luck, her mother managed to avoid death and be reunited with Schloss until they were liberated by the Russians on January 27, 1945.

Afterwards she and her mother managed to get back to their home completely broke, and realized soon after that her father and brother were dead. Her mother was very practical and rented out a room in the home to two women, and she also got a job as a secretary but she didn't know how to use a typewriter at all. She would bring home stacks of paper that she had ruined with mistakes, too scared to throw them out in the office.

As for Schloss she went back to school, three years behind, and then went to the UK to study photography, where she met her future husband, Zvi Schloss at the boarding house they both stayed at. They went on to have three daughters and now have five grandchildren.

However, after the war, Schloss was very depressed and angry. She could not listen to German, refused to visit Germany. She also was disillusioned about her religion. She had been taught that Jews were the "chosen ones" and yet God did not save them from the concentration camps.

Schloss signing a book for a young fan

Today she will go to synagogue periodically and is passionate about being Jewish, but is not very religious.

"After the war I was more depressed than when I was in the camps," Schloss says. It was Otto Frank who told her to try not to be so angry. "Otto told me to go out and see there are wonderful people in the world."

He was very proud of Anne's diary and showed it to friends who encouraged him to publish it, though it took him a while to decide to actually do that. It is now published in 70 languages, and even the bookstore around the corner from their home is also famous, as it is where the diary was bought as a birthday present to Anne. The diary was bequeathed to the Dutch government after Otto Frank died in 1980.

For decades Schloss didn't speak about her experiences, not even to her own children. It wasn't until 35 years ago that she attended a traveling exhibition about the holocaust in London, and Otto Frank had passed. At the event Schloss was asked to speak and she was terrified. But she started talking and realized it was a relief for her to talk about her experiences, releasing the feelings she had suppressed for so many years.

Eventually she wrote a book, Eva's Story and three others to ensure her life was documented. "I had nightmares all the time, but after I wrote Eva's Story, the nightmares stopped," she says.

She refused to travel to Germany but eventually went there again for holocaust events. After hearing her experiences, young children asked her, "Will you ever forgive us?"

Schloss realized the children had learned what had happened and understood what the Nazis had done. "I will never forgive your grandparents, but you are innocent," she replied.

In subsequent visits and meetings with other people involved in the war that some people were forced to become Nazis -- Schloss learned they did not want to kill people but were following orders. She blames propaganda for making people get so caught up in the movement.

One student asked Schloss what she thought of the Japanese refusing to apologize for the atrocities they committed against the Chinese during World War II.

She said that the Japanese had not learned their lesson yet, unlike the Germans. Schloss also praised Angela Merkel for taking in 1 million refugees into Germany, unlike other European countries that refused them.

What kept her going in the concentration camp? She says it was her stubbornness and hope. "You can't live without hope," Schloss says.

True that.

Students Keep Protest Momentum Going

Even Mickey Mouse with an eye patch was out protesting this morning

Early this morning before class, thousands of students from at least 100 schools joined hands in front of their institutions and chanted slogans in a bid to get attention from Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

Much like the human chain that spread across Hong Kong on August 23, the students joined hands -- or if they were too shy to hold hands, they held a pen or poster between them and shouted, "All five demands, not one less!" that is one of many slogans in the anti-government protests.

Students hold hands outside St Paul's Co-education College

The students were from such schools as St Paul's Co-educational College, St Stephens College, Pui Ching Middle School, Wa Ying College, King's College, True Light Girls' College, Heep Yunn School, Wah Yan College and Diocesan Girls' School.

The largest student chain was made up of students from 18 schools in Yau Ma Tei, Homantin, and Tokwawan, while others were from Wong Tai Sin to Tsz Wan Shan, from Yau Ma Tei to Prince Edward, and in Central and Western District.

A student surnamed Li said: "We must protect our home despite our limited strength. Therefore we launched an action called 'The Road to Freedom' connecting a 5km chain through Tokwawan, Homantin and Yau Ma Tei. When injust is a fact, revolution becomes a right. We must stand with Hong Kong pople and never stand down until the five demands are achieved.

Students in Wan Chai formed a human chain

It wasn't just students taking part, but also parents and alumnae of the various schools.

Parent Sammy Lee said he had to support his son, as it was his first time taking part in a social movement. "I think in the future, as a Hong Kong resident, he will understand there are various ways to pursue justice. Don't look down at the subtle power of students. They can also express their demands intelligently."

One male student who wore a tear gas mask, goggles and helmet wasn't optimistic that Lam would give into the other four demands, but felt protesters should continue to do whatever they can for now.

But even younger kids have taken part too. This was from the rain-soaked August 18 march when 1.7 million people took part. Love this kid.

AUG 18/A child standing in a foot bridge leads the protesters to chant slogan:”Hongkongers, keep going”.1.7 million take part in the demonstration in downtown Hong Kong Sunday to press their demands over the No China Extradition bill. (EYEPRESS TV) pic.twitter.com/QovyBIBQWG

— EYEPRESS NEWS (@eyepressnews) August 18, 2019