https://www.scmp.com/rss/155540/feed Kelly Yang is the founder of The Kelly Yang Project, an after-school writing program for children in Hong Kong. At KYP, she teaches creative writing, public speaking and critical reasoning. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard Law School. Follow Kelly on Twitter: @kellyyanghk en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com I recently had to speak on the state of Hong Kong education to a group of Year 13s. I was dreading it, because, where do I start? I’ve been teaching in Hong Kong for the past 12 years – and the one thing every student needs is more empathy. In an increasingly hostile world, it is the most important skill we can give kids. Empathy is the ability to look at something from another person’s perspective before opening one’s mouth (or Gmail) and ranting. It’s the ability to deal with people in a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2122446/hong-kongs-education-system-should-teach-children-how-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2122446/hong-kongs-education-system-should-teach-children-how-be?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Dec 2017 07:00:31 +0000 Their faces are stoic, their eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. They answer when called, volunteer very little, hiding behind their armour of books. They carry the weight of their parents’ expectations, stress of peer and societal pressures, and fear that nothing they do will be good enough. They are Hong Kong students and my heart bleeds for them. Hong Kong students are intellectually strong, yet emotionally frail. As babies, they’re coddled by domestic helpers, then thrown into the intense,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2109851/why-hong-kong-schools-should-build-kids-confidence-not?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2109851/why-hong-kong-schools-should-build-kids-confidence-not?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Sep 2017 04:58:05 +0000 If there’s one thing Asian schools excel at training kids to do, it’s copious amounts of boring, repetitive tasks. Here in Hong Kong, schoolchildren are given tremendous amounts of homework at very young ages. The assignments are not creative. They do not call for innovative or imaginative thinking. They are simply busy work – designed by educators from decades ago to keep children occupied and prepare them to be good followers. But children these days face a radically different future, where... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2107214/hong-kongs-schoolchildren-are-being-left-defenceless-against?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2107214/hong-kongs-schoolchildren-are-being-left-defenceless-against?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Aug 2017 02:33:00 +0000 It was heartbreaking to see the headline, “US woman offers her hand and American citizenship path at Shanghai marriage market” – on International Women’s Day of all days. To go out into the streets in a wedding gown to solicit bids from strangers in exchange for spousal citizenship is insulting, both to the institution of marriage and to women. Which was probably the point of the shenanigan: to attract attention to the ridiculousness of the marriage market. Are you still single? The annual... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2077402/real-issue-chinas-leftover-women?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2077402/real-issue-chinas-leftover-women?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Mar 2017 06:23:18 +0000 “It’s too bad you can’t have another baby because she’s a girl,” people said to my parents when I was born. It was the 1980s and China’s one-child policy was in full swing. My relatives looked at my pink toes and button nose with pity-filled eyes. Five things you need to know about China’s one-child policy That pity morphed into anger as I grew up. Anger at the fact that I didn’t partake in their theory, didn’t believe that women were lesser than men. Didn’t get knocked up and drop out of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2066741/baby-girls-and-women-china-should-be-thing-wonder-not-pity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2066741/baby-girls-and-women-china-should-be-thing-wonder-not-pity?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Jan 2017 04:35:31 +0000 I recently made the bold and risky decision to turn off notifications of new messages on my phone in an effort to escape the relentless tentacles of WeChat and WhatsApp. WeChat, in particular, is brutal as it combines instant messaging with the Chinese custom of politeness and always responding punctually to people. The result is an avalanche of voice messages at all hours of the day. Friends living in mainland China report they wake up to WeChat and fall asleep to WeChat. Here in Hong Kong, it... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2042933/how-free-yourself-clutches-wechat-instantly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2042933/how-free-yourself-clutches-wechat-instantly?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Nov 2016 03:58:34 +0000 All around Hong Kong, families are feeling the squeeze. Salaries are stagnant – yet school tuition fees just keep growing. I’m all for paying for quality education. But when kindergartens are increasing their fees by 50 per cent and some are now charging nearly HK$200,000 a year, it begs the question: are we nuts? A lot of people assume that, when it comes to education, the more expensive the better. They’re wrong. Education is not a consistent commodity. It changes depending on a range of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2019341/hong-kong-schools-must-stop-squeezing-parents-every-last?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2019341/hong-kong-schools-must-stop-squeezing-parents-every-last?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Sep 2016 04:15:47 +0000 As a children’s book author, it pains me to hear that some of the most popular books at this year’s Hong Kong Book Fair were exercise books for kids who aren’t even old enough to hold chopsticks! That, to me, speaks volumes about the kind of education system we have and the kind of future we’re headed towards – one as mundane and unimaginative as a grammar book. Exercise books have a place – in math classes, perhaps, or, better yet, stuffed inside school lockers, out of sight and out of mind.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1994946/let-kids-be-kids-and-give-them-break-grammar-books?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1994946/let-kids-be-kids-and-give-them-break-grammar-books?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Jul 2016 06:27:47 +0000 Cheating is now officially a criminal offence in China. Students found guilty of cheating in the notoriously difficult university entranceexam will now face up to seven years in prison. Many are calling the punishment overly harsh. Even so, I think it’s exactly what China needs, if it is enforced fairly. In recent years, cheating has got so out of control that, three years ago, in the small town of Zhongxiang, Hubei ( 湖北 ), a group of gaokao invigilators found themselves under siege as enraged... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1974986/why-do-chinese-students-think-its-ok-cheat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1974986/why-do-chinese-students-think-its-ok-cheat?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jun 2016 04:05:04 +0000 Why do Chinese women love to shop? Well, because we’re hoarders. There’s really no other explanation for buying 200 pairs of shoes or 50 handbags. And even though we have so much stuff and nowhere to put it, our No 1 regret when we go on holiday? Not buying more stuff! It’s got to the point that there are now Gucci handbags for dead people. The streets of Sheung Wan are lined with them, paper replicas of Gucci goods to be burned at funerals for the deceased to carry around in the afterlife. The... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1946090/stop-buying-all-those-handbags-and-shoes-hong-kong-price-too?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1946090/stop-buying-all-those-handbags-and-shoes-hong-kong-price-too?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 May 2016 06:33:33 +0000 My jaw dropped recently when I saw the trailer for the Disney/Marvel movie Doctor Strange, in which Tilda Swinton plays the Ancient One, a male Tibetan mystic in the original Marvel comics. Tilda Swinton, the White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia – really? That’s the best Hollywood could do for an Asian character? I’m not a big comic book fan, but come on. We have #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #OscarsSoWhite. The culmination of such campaigns is diverse characters. Yet, when these diverse... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1940004/its-time-stop-whitewashing-asians-big-screen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1940004/its-time-stop-whitewashing-asians-big-screen?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Apr 2016 16:01:08 +0000 “What’s the point of democracy if they’re just going to elect people like Donald Trump?” one of my students asked me as we watched the Republican debates. Normally, teenagers here have no trouble listing reasons to support democracy. Hong Kong has become polarised as a society, more in need of effective, representative government than ever. Yet, lately, when I ask Hong Kong children about the merits of democracy, they have been drawing a blank, reciting instead the many outrageous things that... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1928184/how-renew-faith-democracy-amid-spectacle-donald-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1928184/how-renew-faith-democracy-amid-spectacle-donald-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Mar 2016 06:00:30 +0000 Every Saturday, I lead heated debates with groups of Hong Kong students on issues ranging from whether Apple should unlock their iPhones for the FBI to the ramifications of North Korea’s alleged hydrogen bomb test. However, if I try to bring up the topic of localism in Hong Kong, my students’ eyes just glaze over. What’s there to talk about, they say. Anyone who comes out against them is automatically branded as “anti-democracy” or “pro-Beijing” and who needs that? Best to keep your head down,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1916630/divided-hong-kong-there-still-hope-rational-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1916630/divided-hong-kong-there-still-hope-rational-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Feb 2016 03:55:08 +0000 Hate. Racism. Hostility. That’s what flew in my face this summer when I wore a facekini while on vacation in the US. A facekini, in case you are not familiar, is a tight lycra-blend mask, one which covers your entire face and neck. No more messy sunscreens! No more visors flying off in the wind! And while my facekini proved to be excellent protection from the blazing California sun, it failed to shield me from the torrent of racist comments, from “Look at that Asian freak!” to “If you don’t like... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1905871/my-facekini-how-wearing-mask-shield-me-sun-couldnt-protect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1905871/my-facekini-how-wearing-mask-shield-me-sun-couldnt-protect?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Jan 2016 06:24:28 +0000 Like many Hongkongers, I was very happy to hear of Netflix’s entrance to the Hong Kong market. No other developed city in the world is more starved of quality original content (read: television shows whose plot lines are not predictable to an eight-year-old child). Whenever I tell friends abroad that I only have four television channels, they look at me like I’ve suffered some horrible accident. And, if you think about it, not having good TV in this day and age is a type of suffering. READ MORE:... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1900642/netflix-great-hong-kong-viewers-not-so-good-home-grown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1900642/netflix-great-hong-kong-viewers-not-so-good-home-grown?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Jan 2016 07:42:33 +0000 For the past 10 weeks or so, I’ve been eating a bowl of noodles every Saturday lunch at a cheap noodle place near my office. Every time I go, I see a little girl behind the counter washing glasses and making drinks. She’s about 10. It’s hard work – the place is packed. Yet, every time I see her, she is bouncing around the kitchen with a smile on her face. She seems proud of the work she’s doing. Recently, I worked up the courage to talk to her. I said “hello” and we started chatting in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1889688/how-gift-education-can-transform-life-young-girl-working?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1889688/how-gift-education-can-transform-life-young-girl-working?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Dec 2015 08:04:48 +0000 The other day, my son’s teacher sent me an email to tell me that my son, who is five years old, had not completed his online maths homework in about three weeks. As soon as my husband found out, he turned to me and asked, “How could you drop the ball on this?” If this is the way girls start off – full of energy and the determination to go out and conquer the world – then why don’t more of them do just that? Guilt and confusion morphed together into a lump in my throat. Part of me wanted to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1886725/helping-homework-isnt-just-mums-job-especially-when-shes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1886725/helping-homework-isnt-just-mums-job-especially-when-shes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Dec 2015 07:15:58 +0000 Recently, I got a phone call from my son’s soccer coach. My son’s team didn’t win the tournament but the coach called to ask whether I’d like to order a trophy for my son anyway. I didn’t know what to say. Sure, I’d heard of participation prizes, but I was expecting little pencils and erasers, not full-blown trophies that looked exactly like the ones the real winners got. These days, even the term “winner” could land you in hot water in some circles. Today, it’s all about every child at his or... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1880102/sporting-nature-kids-hong-kong-and-elsewhere-need-learn-how?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1880102/sporting-nature-kids-hong-kong-and-elsewhere-need-learn-how?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Nov 2015 03:28:34 +0000 After eight blissful years away from the gym, I recently broke down and rejoined. I'm not a gym person by nature. My idea of a good workout is a hike in the woods. However, my aunt recently got osteoporosis in her knee and watching her go through that reminded me of the importance of strength training and doing weight-bearing exercises so, somewhat reluctantly, I signed up. Eight years is a long time to not be in any game, especially the gym game. In the time I've been gone, gyms have become... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1875616/unhealthy-obsession-technology-even-gym-leaves-us-no-energy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1875616/unhealthy-obsession-technology-even-gym-leaves-us-no-energy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Nov 2015 08:30:45 +0000 Every day, on my way home from work, I walk under Gisele Bundchen's butt. It's a butt you can't miss, about three feet wide, perfectly round, perched atop thigh-high boots in Admiralty. And every time I walk past it, I wince. I wince for my daughter, who is two and already bombarded with images of girls giving come-hither looks, scantily clad in bikinis and lingerie, or in Giselle's case, her bare ass. READ MORE: How the ideal of a thin body harms Hong Kong women and girls I wince for my sons... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1869921/body-evidence-why-gisele-bundchens-3ft-wide-butt-nothing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1869921/body-evidence-why-gisele-bundchens-3ft-wide-butt-nothing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Oct 2015 03:30:45 +0000 When it comes to teaching children using more creative forms of instruction, such as project-based learning rather than rote memorisation, there are no greater stalwarts than our city's Native English Teachers (NETs). All across Hong Kong, NETs are working hard every day to interject creativity and critical thinking into their lessons. For that, I applaud them. However, the problem we face in Hong Kong of declining English standards runs far deeper than anything the NET scheme can solve on its... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1864490/improve-language-standards-hong-kong-get-native-english?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1864490/improve-language-standards-hong-kong-get-native-english?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Oct 2015 04:16:23 +0000 With 91 per cent of people polled by the Post agreeing that English standards are slipping in Hong Kong, what do we do about it? Two weeks ago, I sat on the stage next to politician Michael Tien Puk-sun at the Redefining Hong Kong debate, my heart pounding. Here was my chance to tell everyone the urgency of the matter, to play a small part in hopefully saving Hong Kong. In my mind, that's what this debate on declining English standards boils down to - how to stop Hong Kong's decline into... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1860321/hong-kong-should-invest-training-local-teachers-better?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1860321/hong-kong-should-invest-training-local-teachers-better?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2015 04:30:15 +0000 When it comes to their jobs, most Hong Kong people are unhappy. According to a recent report by a jobs website, more than six in 10 Hong Kong people are miserable at work. And contrary to what you may think, it's not just because of the money. Instead, the unhappiness has more to do with the relationships with their colleagues and bosses. And while some experts were quick to dismiss the findings, saying "you can never satisfy employees", I disagree. It's possible to have happy employees - not... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1856213/it-takes-more-just-money-create-happy-workforce-hong-kong-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1856213/it-takes-more-just-money-create-happy-workforce-hong-kong-us?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2015 03:24:03 +0000 This summer, I spent a month in San Francisco, listening to friends sigh over soaring house prices, which are now over US$1 million on average. Sound familiar? The difference, though, is that in San Francisco, the median household income has risen over 34 per cent in the past decade, whereas in Hong Kong, it has risen only about 10 per cent. Average annual household income in San Francisco is now US$104,879; in Hong Kong, it's US$33,933. The reason for this stark difference is obvious: unlike... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1852657/streets-san-francisco-are-buzzing-new-ideas-can-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1852657/streets-san-francisco-are-buzzing-new-ideas-can-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Aug 2015 03:30:00 +0000 As a college admissions adviser, I work with a lot of Hong Kong teenagers to help them navigate the minefield of getting into a good US university. Invariably, though, whenever I ask them what they've done in summer, their response is the same: they studied, for their SATs, ACTs, APs and/or IBs. These kids can reel off a list of exam acronyms that will make your head spin. When I hear this, I cringe and tell them straight: by joining the dime-a-dozen club of Asian kids who only study each... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1834065/hong-kong-high-school-students-if-you-want-stand-out-crowd-get-summer-job?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1834065/hong-kong-high-school-students-if-you-want-stand-out-crowd-get-summer-job?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jul 2015 04:45:30 +0000 Talk to any parent from the Canadian International School and - with nine teachers sacked just this month - you get a sense of just how deeply precarious school politics can be. At the heart of the debacle is the question: who "owns" a school? This is an important question for all schools in Hong Kong. When it comes to how a school should be run, do we listen to the board, the parents or the teachers? If schools were companies, with their parent companies listed on the stock exchange, the matter... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1825128/even-hong-kongs-sought-after-private-schools-cannot-ignore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1825128/even-hong-kongs-sought-after-private-schools-cannot-ignore?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jun 2015 07:30:30 +0000 It seems everywhere you go these days in Hong Kong, you can order a blanket - including at a freezing cinema. But as the attendant handed over the brown cover, I wondered why we could not just turn down the air con instead. Some days, malls are set at a temperature of as low as 15 degrees Celsius. When I first came to Hong Kong, 11 years ago, in the middle of summer, beads of sweat poured down my face when I stepped outside. As soon as I stepped inside, goosebumps spidered up my arms and my... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1819176/enough-hong-kongs-wintry-summers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1819176/enough-hong-kongs-wintry-summers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jun 2015 06:53:09 +0000 Two weeks ago, I came across the most extraordinary essay by Matthew Teague in Esquire magazine. Teague's wife was diagnosed with stage four cancer at the age of 34. The cancer was everywhere; "like somebody dipped a paintbrush in cancer and flicked it around her abdomen," he wrote. He and his wife have two little girls. To help him get through this devastating situation, Teague's best friend quit his job and moved in. The first thing I thought after reading this extraordinary story was, "Wow,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1808951/its-never-too-late-start-nurturing-gift-friendship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1808951/its-never-too-late-start-nurturing-gift-friendship?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 May 2015 02:45:45 +0000 People often ask me whether I think good writing can be taught. This question seems particularly relevant now, given the recent unfortunate decision to close City University's Master of Fine Arts degree programme in creative writing. Writing can be taught, but good writing can only be encouraged. Good - and bad - writing can be spotted from a mile away. It can be fostered through a combination of guidance, hard work and inspiration. But a true literary voice cannot be taught. The real tragedy of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1794164/young-writers-take-heart-end-cityu-course-not-end-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1794164/young-writers-take-heart-end-cityu-course-not-end-road?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2015 04:00:15 +0000 Working parents, I have news! A new study - the first ever large-scale, long-term study - of parent time by the University of Maryland has found that the amount of time parents spend with their children between the ages of three and 11 has almost no relationship with how the children turn out, both emotionally and academically. What's more important than sheer quantity of time is quality; things like reading a book to a child, sharing meals, going for a walk, for example. But staggeringly, even... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1778639/why-working-parents-should-stop-feeling-guilty-about-missing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1778639/why-working-parents-should-stop-feeling-guilty-about-missing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2015 06:15:00 +0000 A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of having lunch with domestic helper Xyza Cruz Bacani at the Macau Literary Festival. She shared with me her incredible journey going from maid to photographer. She first came to Hong Kong when she was only 18. For the last nine years, she had been working as a domestic helper, cleaning and taking care of the children for a family in Mid-Levels. Before coming to Hong Kong, she had no photography skills. It was by sheer happenstance that she picked up a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1766142/our-destiny-ours-shape-two-inspiring-hong-kong-domestic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1766142/our-destiny-ours-shape-two-inspiring-hong-kong-domestic?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2015 06:09:14 +0000 The idea of a four-year-old getting shipped off to boarding school is not progressive, it's tragic. For the increasing number of Chinese parents sending their toddlers off to Western boarding schools, in the hope that they can be magically whipped into Ivy League material, I have news for you: boarding school is not for everyone and it most certainly is not for toddlers. Young children need love. They need a mother's kiss and a daddy's hug. Teachers, even the best teachers, are no substitute for... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1752243/think-twice-farming-out-parental-duties-boarding-schools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1752243/think-twice-farming-out-parental-duties-boarding-schools?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2015 02:45:57 +0000 Dear Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing and Undersecretary for the Environment Christine Loh: I lie awake at night listening to the sound of my children coughing. I cannot sleep. I can hardly breathe. Every day, my eyes are glued to the air pollution app on my phone. Every hour, it seems, that number climbs: 100, 150, 170… It steals from me that which I can never get back: the lost opportunities of long walks with my children, bike rides around the park, jogs on the beach. On those... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1739991/under-hong-kong-dome-cry-action-pollution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1739991/under-hong-kong-dome-cry-action-pollution?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2015 05:57:04 +0000 For weeks, the cases of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih and Anis Andriyani have lain  side by side in the media. One is the tale of an unspeakable horror: a young maid, abused by her employer, who at one point  stuck a metal tube from a vacuum cleaner into her mouth. The other is a tale of “unresolved mysteries” – the maid accuses her employer of wounding her; however, the judge later dismisses the claim.  It’s heart-breaking to read the story of Erwiana and then that of Anis. Anis’ employer, Ngan... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1728357/enough-enough-hong-kong-must-seek-alternatives-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1728357/enough-enough-hong-kong-must-seek-alternatives-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2015 04:45:45 +0000 Not tonight, honey. How many of us have heard this statement? Too many of us, according to Hong Kong's Family Planning Association. In a recent survey, nearly 60 per cent of Hong Kong women have at least one long-running "sexual problem" which has contributed to less frequent intercourse. And according to Google, the term "sexless marriage" is the No1 most common complaint about a marriage. What's with the lack of action? Some say it's because we're tired. Hong Kong ranks No5 in the world in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1715985/can-fifty-shades-grey-least-get-hongkongers-talking-about?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1715985/can-fifty-shades-grey-least-get-hongkongers-talking-about?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2015 01:52:54 +0000 With Baidu's entry into children's footwear, soon every step my kids take will be traceable through my phone. I can't decide if that's a really neat idea or a great tragedy. As it is, my phone bugs me all day long, yelling at me to go to sleep, walk more, run up the stairs and eat better. It's like a nagging mother; the only difference is, unlike my mum, I can't lie to it. It knows everything about me. It automatically knows how many flights of stairs I've walked up today. And I can't cheat by... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1700224/why-giving-smartphones-five-year-olds-isnt-such-bright-idea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1700224/why-giving-smartphones-five-year-olds-isnt-such-bright-idea?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2015 03:42:25 +0000 Two teenagers who hadn't seen each other in almost a year because one is in boarding school recently bumped into each other at my office. They hugged each other, talking a mile a minute, in the way that teenagers do. "We should hang out!" one said. "Totally!" the other replied. I waited for them to make plans to go to the beach or on a hike. Instead, one excitedly asked, "You want to do lunch sometime?" I'm sorry, but when did "doing lunch" become a thing for the young? When I was a child,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1682801/get-children-exercise-pushing-them-if-we-need?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1682801/get-children-exercise-pushing-them-if-we-need?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2015 03:43:15 +0000 We've all done it - exaggerated how #awesome we feel about our #bestdayever. According to the latest study, a fifth of young people say their online profile bears little resemblance to reality. That's a lot of people lying about relationships, promotions and holidays. Who can blame them when we live in a world in which every good thing that happens to anyone is Facebooked, tweeted, WhatsApped, and YouTubed before it's told to a single person directly? The last time I posted a plain photo - as... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1674943/dont-start-believing-your-facebook-self?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1674943/dont-start-believing-your-facebook-self?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2015 05:35:38 +0000 His hands glide across the pearly keys. His hair moves to the sound, like a tree swaying in the wind. His face is a highway of emotions - sorrow dancing with euphoria, pain melting into passion. Watching him is as moving as hearing him. As I watched the piano superstar Lang Lang work his magic at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre last week, I thought of the long journey it took him to get to this stage. The six hours of daily practice starting at age three, the long separation from his... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1668165/lang-lang-talent-met-hard-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1668165/lang-lang-talent-met-hard-work?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2014 05:15:00 +0000 Last week, the Educational Testing Service confirmed that a number of Chinese and Korean students had cheated in the October SAT examination. What has it done in response? Far too much and not nearly enough. To fully understand the scandal, one must first understand how it was even possible. It happened because, in Asia, the organisation recycled tests which had already been used in the US. Why would it do that? To save money. Unfortunately, a few Chinese and Korean students obtained the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1658271/single-out-sat-cheats-instead-tarring-all-asian-students?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1658271/single-out-sat-cheats-instead-tarring-all-asian-students?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2014 02:32:07 +0000 The rise of mainland China's English proficiency and decline of Hong Kong's should come as no surprise. It's a matter of simple maths - two is fewer than three. Children on the mainland have two languages to master - Putonghua and English - while most Hong Kong kids have to know three different tongues - Putonghua, Cantonese and English. Stroll through any local school and what do you hear? Cantonese. As Hong Kong people, we are fiercely proud of our vibrant dialect and do not want to give it... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1648254/hong-kongs-path-trilingualism-really-feasible?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1648254/hong-kongs-path-trilingualism-really-feasible?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2014 04:15:45 +0000 Two blocks away from the protests for "one person, one vote", the Hong Kong stock exchange is quietly mulling over whether to abandon its "one shareholder, one vote" policy. Ironically, early this year, it was the exchange's insistence on democratic governance that lost Hong Kong the biggest IPO in history - the US$25 billion Alibaba listing - to New York. HKEx's "one share, one vote" policy serves to safeguard shareholders' rights against entrenching power to a minority, in much the same way... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1637252/if-hong-kong-were-better-governed-would-there-be-any-need?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1637252/if-hong-kong-were-better-governed-would-there-be-any-need?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2014 04:30:00 +0000 As the protests continue, with no end in sight, it's been a very interesting month for Hong Kong teachers. Occupy has galvanised students' interest in politics. I have led debate after debate, with rooms packed full of secondary students. One said, "These [student protesters] are total hypocrites. They want democracy. Yet they refuse to abide by the rule of law. If they really care about Hong Kong and their future, they should go back to the classroom and prepare for their future like a real... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1626577/let-our-children-think-talk-and-argue-over-occupy-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1626577/let-our-children-think-talk-and-argue-over-occupy-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Oct 2014 04:45:15 +0000 Imagine having to recite the United States' pledge of allegiance before buying a handbag. That's how Beijing views the heavy emphasis on US founding documents in the new SAT - the standardised exam for US university admissions. The coveted handbag here is an American education. In August, I wrote about the new SAT's focus on US founding documents and how it will affect China. Xinhua called the new SAT a new form of "ideology intrusion" and "imperialism". As China tries to limit what it sees as... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1616129/cracking-down-sat-exam-prep-industry-could-help-beijing-stem?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1616129/cracking-down-sat-exam-prep-industry-could-help-beijing-stem?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2014 05:15:15 +0000 Hong Kong's democracy movement is at a critical crossroads. Ultimatums, fights, calls for meetings, rejections of meetings, threats and, most of all, disruption - all of these strategies have by now been deployed. However, all have failed in successfully changing our electoral system because none has used our greatest weapon to our advantage: our economy. For such a small Chinese city, we have a huge economy. Hong Kong is the 8th largest trading economy in the world. Our low tax rate, strong... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1611310/occupy-central-ought-make-ally-hong-kong-business?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1611310/occupy-central-ought-make-ally-hong-kong-business?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Oct 2014 09:00:00 +0000 Former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang said that, "We don't want Hong Kong to be just another Chinese city". I could not agree more. We've all worked too hard and been through too much for Hong Kong to be just another Tianjin or Shanghai. And it's in China's interests, too, that Hong Kong doesn't become just another Chinese city, and instead keeps its rights, practices and traditions - including the right to free speech. That right is a fundamental part of Hong Kong, one that I, like... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1604499/occupy-protests-are-hurting-ordinary-hongkongers-too?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1604499/occupy-protests-are-hurting-ordinary-hongkongers-too?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Sep 2014 05:00:45 +0000 Last week, four young Western women travelling on a bus pulled the "I'm a lawyer" card on me. I was heading home from the public pool, with my mum. The bus was packed - standing room only. The four women sat in one row, chatting happily. I asked them gently if they would mind giving up a seat for my mum, who is in her 60s, but they did not even bother answering. As more elderly people crowded onto the bus, I felt the fury build up inside me. The elderly held onto the handles. Every time the bus... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1593714/how-far-should-we-go-using-social-media-censure-boorish-behaviour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1593714/how-far-should-we-go-using-social-media-censure-boorish-behaviour?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Sep 2014 03:45:00 +0000 For those parents experiencing severe stress about the start of a new school year (30 per cent of parents, according to one recent study), I want to let you in on something: I firmly believe that you don't need tutors to succeed. I say this as a tutor. I never had a single tutor growing up or attended any after-school classes. And I was fine. I did not even go to a particularly good school. One of the primary schools I attended was unofficially dubbed the "most likely to produce kids who end up... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1583528/parents-must-stop-treating-education-arms-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1583528/parents-must-stop-treating-education-arms-race?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2014 03:30:00 +0000 By now, most people know that the SAT, the test for US university admissions, is changing. There will be a longer essay and a new scoring system. What they don't know is that the new test, with its heavy emphasis on knowledge of the country's founding documents and civil liberties, has the potential to change the mindset and world view of an entire generation of Chinese youth. Until now, American culture has been largely exported through Hollywood. And until now, the SAT has largely been a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1576794/how-new-sat-test-will-instil-us-values-impressionable-young-chinese-minds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1576794/how-new-sat-test-will-instil-us-values-impressionable-young-chinese-minds?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Aug 2014 06:00:45 +0000 A new study carried out at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, shows that internal motivation is far more powerful than instrumental motivation. Internal motivation means wanting to do something for the sake of doing something, whereas instrumental motivation has to do with the material benefits you'll get, such as good grades or a high salary. Here in Hong Kong, there's no shortage of instrumental motivation. I'm worried, though, about our lack of internal... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1566853/power-internal-motivation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1566853/power-internal-motivation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Aug 2014 05:00:15 +0000