Old habits die hard.
The Chinese pursuit of fair skin is still going strong as evidenced by the robust sales of whitening creams here -- which are in fact harmful to the skin. The products contain acid which not only bleach your skin white, but also make the skin layer thinner and thus more susceptible to harmful UV rays.
But I'm going off topic here.
A recent survey commissioned by the Equal Opportunities Commission in Hong Kong has discovered youngsters aged between three and six have more negative attitudes towards people with darker skin.
One hundred and fifty-two children were interviewed face-to-face by the department of child education and community services of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education. They found after the children saw pictures of people with different skin colours, they gave significantly higher scores to white- and yellow-skinned people than those with darker skin.
As a result the government body is calling for better pre-school education and parenting.
Hmmm I wonder how that happened?
When children are babies they are praised for having fair skin and repeated enough times the belief is ingrained in them by the time they're three.
In talking about the results of the survey, which was the first of its kind in the city, commission chairman Lam Woon-kwong says prejudice among children may be escalating.
"We cannot underestimate the problem of discrimination at an early age. I hope the government can set up policies to start teaching the correct values at pre-school," he said.
Professor Wong Wan-chi of the department of educational psychology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong was surprised by the results. "Children usually do not have discriminatory attitudes at early age. As these attitudes do not exist by nature, it has more to do with their education," she said.
Wong said parents and teachers should be more sensitive and careful about their own behaviour. The media should be included here too.
But as I said earlier, cultural beliefs are still very strong and so it's going to take several generations for these preconceptions about skin colour to shake off completely.
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Monday, 8 August 2011
Picture of the Day: Third Anniversary
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| Lighting up the sky with fire |
Can you believe it's been three years since the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics?
I still vividly remember being on top of the Ling Long Pagoda and watching the amazing fireworks display around us. It was absolutely deafening and awe inspiring.
As Napoleon famously said: "Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world."
The Middle Kingdom definitely did so August 8, 2008 with a big bang.Simple Pleasures Beyond Reach
Back in October I wrote about how shocked I was to discover that some 1.26 million people in Hong Kong live on HK$100 a day.
And now I read in the paper that many school children from low-income families are deprived of typical Hong Kong sightseeing trips to places like The Peak and Hong Kong Park because they can't afford it.
A survey by the Hong Kong Research Association and International Social Service (Hong Kong) interviewed 893 primary and secondary school students from families receiving government welfare or other subsidies.
Almost 60 percent said they had never been to The Peak, 62 percent to Hong Kong Park in Admiralty, and 55 percent to the Space Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui.
The survey conducted two months ago also found 34 percent of these children wanted a computer the most, followed by visiting tourist spots, then taking part in activities outside of school. Some even wanted to have a private tutor to help them in their studies.
But perhaps most heartbreaking was that 12 percent just wanted to be able to have a birthday cake.
Other shocking statistics include 13 percent only being able to buy milk once a week, while 12 percent said they couldn't even afford it. Sixty-three percent said their families could not afford special foods during festivals like mooncakes for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival.
Robert Ng Yat-cheung of the Hong Kong New Arrivals Services Foundation said there was an urgent need to improve the quality of life for these children in low-income groups.
"The Peak and Hong Kong Park are common places for family outings, but many of these young people from needy families are deprived of such fun," he said.
Ng added that in 2006, Hong Kong dumped some 450,000 computers a year, "But many of our needy students do not have a computer of their own. It reflects a worrying fact that Hong Kong has a wide income gap."
How can this be happening? Why is there such a disconnect between the haves and have-nots?
Hong Kong is one of the most consumer-driven cities in the world which gives everyone the impression its people are doing well financially which is hardly the truth.
Why can't non profits gather these dumped computers and hand them out to these kids? Moreover why can't these children get access to programs where they can visit these Hong Kong tourist sites? Some are free and some have a small admission fee. And what about a milk subsidy? Can't the Hong Kong government use the HK$6,000 handout to each permanent resident and give it to those who really need it?
It is an absolute disgrace that Hong Kong cannot get its act together in terms of social services for the needy. It is supposed to be a rich city, wealthy financially but also in terms of taking care of its less privileged to give them a chance to move up in the world.
Where is Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and his administration in helping to close the income gap?
Or are they too busy cozying up to business to realize Hong Kong really does have poor people?
And now I read in the paper that many school children from low-income families are deprived of typical Hong Kong sightseeing trips to places like The Peak and Hong Kong Park because they can't afford it.
A survey by the Hong Kong Research Association and International Social Service (Hong Kong) interviewed 893 primary and secondary school students from families receiving government welfare or other subsidies.
Almost 60 percent said they had never been to The Peak, 62 percent to Hong Kong Park in Admiralty, and 55 percent to the Space Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui.
The survey conducted two months ago also found 34 percent of these children wanted a computer the most, followed by visiting tourist spots, then taking part in activities outside of school. Some even wanted to have a private tutor to help them in their studies.
But perhaps most heartbreaking was that 12 percent just wanted to be able to have a birthday cake.
Other shocking statistics include 13 percent only being able to buy milk once a week, while 12 percent said they couldn't even afford it. Sixty-three percent said their families could not afford special foods during festivals like mooncakes for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival.
Robert Ng Yat-cheung of the Hong Kong New Arrivals Services Foundation said there was an urgent need to improve the quality of life for these children in low-income groups.
"The Peak and Hong Kong Park are common places for family outings, but many of these young people from needy families are deprived of such fun," he said.
Ng added that in 2006, Hong Kong dumped some 450,000 computers a year, "But many of our needy students do not have a computer of their own. It reflects a worrying fact that Hong Kong has a wide income gap."
How can this be happening? Why is there such a disconnect between the haves and have-nots?
Hong Kong is one of the most consumer-driven cities in the world which gives everyone the impression its people are doing well financially which is hardly the truth.
Why can't non profits gather these dumped computers and hand them out to these kids? Moreover why can't these children get access to programs where they can visit these Hong Kong tourist sites? Some are free and some have a small admission fee. And what about a milk subsidy? Can't the Hong Kong government use the HK$6,000 handout to each permanent resident and give it to those who really need it?
It is an absolute disgrace that Hong Kong cannot get its act together in terms of social services for the needy. It is supposed to be a rich city, wealthy financially but also in terms of taking care of its less privileged to give them a chance to move up in the world.
Where is Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and his administration in helping to close the income gap?
Or are they too busy cozying up to business to realize Hong Kong really does have poor people?
Sunday, 7 August 2011
The Unhappy Creditor
The markets didn't look good on Friday with American stocks sliding precariously downhill thanks to Standard & Poor's downgrading the US' credit rating from AAA to AA+. The stock market was only temporarily buoyed by optimistic employment numbers for July.
Some analysts were saying how the US was heading for a double-dip recession, which had been predicted as a possible outcome when the financial crisis hit in 2008.
China, the United States' biggest creditor at $1.2 trillion in US Treasuries was unhappy with S&P's decision and warned the US to be more frugal in its spending.
"The US government has to come to terms with the painful fact that the good old days when it could just borrow its way out of messes of its own making are finally gone," official news agency Xinhua said.
It predicted the rating cut would lead to more "devastating credit rating cuts" and global financial turmoil if the US fails to learn to "live within its means".
"China, the largest creditor of the world's sole superpower, has ever right now to demand the United States to address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China's dollar assets," it said.
Xinhua added the US must slash its "gigantic military expenditure and bloated social welfare costs" and accept international supervision over US dollar issues.
For some 30 years China has acquired US Treasuries -- and only those. Back in the day US dollars were a sure bet. But in the last few years it's strange to see the Middle Kingdom continuing to do this as if on automatic pilot; we all know we shouldn't put our all eggs in one basket.
But now it's gotten to the point where the US and several other countries have suggested China stop buying US Treasuries but it has refused to listen.
And now the US's credit rating has been downgraded and China is worried about its massive investment losing value.
It's interesting to see China demanding the US cut its credit addiction and even suggests supervision over the US dollar.
Isn't that akin to China meddling in another country's domestic affairs?
So if that's the case, does that mean we now have the right to criticize China on its human rights violations?
Some analysts were saying how the US was heading for a double-dip recession, which had been predicted as a possible outcome when the financial crisis hit in 2008.
China, the United States' biggest creditor at $1.2 trillion in US Treasuries was unhappy with S&P's decision and warned the US to be more frugal in its spending.
"The US government has to come to terms with the painful fact that the good old days when it could just borrow its way out of messes of its own making are finally gone," official news agency Xinhua said.
It predicted the rating cut would lead to more "devastating credit rating cuts" and global financial turmoil if the US fails to learn to "live within its means".
"China, the largest creditor of the world's sole superpower, has ever right now to demand the United States to address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China's dollar assets," it said.
Xinhua added the US must slash its "gigantic military expenditure and bloated social welfare costs" and accept international supervision over US dollar issues.
For some 30 years China has acquired US Treasuries -- and only those. Back in the day US dollars were a sure bet. But in the last few years it's strange to see the Middle Kingdom continuing to do this as if on automatic pilot; we all know we shouldn't put our all eggs in one basket.
But now it's gotten to the point where the US and several other countries have suggested China stop buying US Treasuries but it has refused to listen.
And now the US's credit rating has been downgraded and China is worried about its massive investment losing value.
It's interesting to see China demanding the US cut its credit addiction and even suggests supervision over the US dollar.
Isn't that akin to China meddling in another country's domestic affairs?
So if that's the case, does that mean we now have the right to criticize China on its human rights violations?
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