Paper Talk, November 9, 2013
The central government's liaison office has been organising low-priced exchange tours of the mainland for school heads through their associations, in an attempt to improve the office's image. Some principals who took part said office officials would not only help associations find sponsors for such tours, but would also attend internal association meetings or meet principals in person.
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University of Hong Kong pathology professor who studied the genetic make-up of a disabled girl's family said parts of her chromosomes were missing, which might be the cause of her disease. The girl, 14, was born with a condition that means she cannot walk or talk, but she can smile and clap her hands. Doctors found nothing physically wrong with her.
reporters bought five samples of beef balls and beef tendon balls from local wet markets, frozen meat stores and supermarkets and had them tested at City University. The tests found the beef balls from a frozen meat shop in Bowrington Market, in Causeway Bay, contained genes from five kinds of animals: cow, horse, pig, chicken and water buffalo, while the beef tendon balls bought from a Fanling branch of DCH Food Mart, one of the city's leading frozen-food retailers, contained pork.
Hoi See Bakery, a chain with 50 branches, is advertising for a truck driver for HK$13,000 per month plus lunch and quarters. But reporters found the recruit would also have to carry the bread and cakes from each branch to the truck, and if he took leave his pay would fall to HK$11,500. Meanwhile, a restaurant in Taikoo Shing, Quarry Bay, is offering HK$16,000 per month for a dishwasher, but the recruit would also have to wash dishes for another restaurant. A union said the advertisements might create a false impression of labour shortages.
reporters found the amount of bacteria in samples of toilet paper from eight public toilets managed by public-sector bodies exceeded the safety level. Samples from the public toilets of Chek Lap Kok airport had 102 times as much bacteria as a safe level, while samples from public toilets managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the MTR Corporation exceeded the level by as much as 72 times.
Two members of the public have told police they fell victim to CryptoLocker, a piece of emerging foreign extortion malware. Documents in their computers had all been automatically encrypted after they opened an e-mail that came with attachments. They then got a "ransom" demand of US$300 to be paid in three days, or the only deciphering key would be nullified.
