https://www.scmp.com/rss/21007/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com [First published on 03 February, 2012] For whizz-kid Alvina Fok, studying is a passion – an attitude that helped her to achieve one of the highest IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) scores in the world for both mathematics and science. Fok, 16, was one of 17 pupils in Hong Kong who achieved top scores in the Cambridge international examinations last June, it was announced this week. She was the only Hong Kong pupil to achieve the award for science. She scored 10 A*... https://www.scmp.com/presented/news/topics/esf-first-50-years-news/article/2102388/whizz-kid-just-loves-learn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/presented/news/topics/esf-first-50-years-news/article/2102388/whizz-kid-just-loves-learn?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jul 2017 09:45:30 +0000 Results were released last week for students who completed the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma in May. As always, a number were jubilant with above average or even perfect scores. But despite its popularity, the IB does not necessarily suit everybody. Neither does the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) curriculum modelled after it. Some students are taking the third option - doing A-level courses in their free time or taking them in private centres with hopes of augmenting... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1835703/intensive-level-study-puts-hongkongers-track-top-university?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1835703/intensive-level-study-puts-hongkongers-track-top-university?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Jul 2015 22:30:30 +0000 Man Wai-ho may be severely intellectually disabled, but he can steer a flying carpet - at least in 3D virtual reality using a program that recognises body gestures. The Interactive Sensory Program for Affective Learning (InSPAL) was developed three years ago specifically to help students like Man with severe intellectual disabilities. It was created by a multidisciplinary team led by Horace Ip Ho-shing, professor of computer science at City University and director of its AIMtech Centre. In... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1789440/3d-learning-program-developed-hong-kong-help-intellectually?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1789440/3d-learning-program-developed-hong-kong-help-intellectually?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 May 2015 22:15:00 +0000 It sounded like 14 former prisoners intimately recounting their life behind bars. In fact, it was a group of secondary school students portraying them in a theatre production. The Secondary One and Two students from Li Po Chun United World College had only six days to put together the performance in a style called verbatim theatre. Steve Reynolds, director of Education Outside the Classroom who leads the project, says: "Verbatim theatre takes the actual words of a community group and uses it as... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1775436/students-interview-former-prisoners-verbatim-theatre-production?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1775436/students-interview-former-prisoners-verbatim-theatre-production?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2015 22:15:45 +0000 Cross-border pupils are finding that going back and forth between Hong Kong and the mainland every day is an experience that can also be stressful. That's why a partnership of two non-profit organisations, one in Shenzhen and one in Hong Kong, has been helping them adjust to school life here. In 2011, the International Social Service (ISS) Hong Kong Branch partnered with the Shenzhen Luohu (Lo Wu) Women's Federation to launch the support services programme for cross-border families. The... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1755380/child-commuters-hong-kong-given-help-acclimatising?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1755380/child-commuters-hong-kong-given-help-acclimatising?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2015 06:57:51 +0000 Not every child can express verbally what is in his or her heart, but parents can learn a lot through playing or reading a book with their child. While parents can do this at home, Cheryl Shanahan, an early childhood therapist at the Southside Family Health Centre, says it's sometimes necessary to consult a professional if a child needs guidance in development or to overcome an obstacle. This may involve filial play therapy, with the professional helping parents tune in to the child's social and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1733482/filial-play-therapy-helps-children-communicate-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1733482/filial-play-therapy-helps-children-communicate-their?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2015 22:08:12 +0000 Will I get pregnant if I run a red light?" This is a question written in Chinese posted on Sticky Rice Love, an online sex education platform for local youth. The question has nothing to do with driving; it is youthful slang for whether it is possible to become pregnant during menstruation. Julia Sun Wai-han, 23, is the director of the site, which publishes articles about sex and hosts a forum for people under 25. It's filling a gap in sex education for this age group, who can ask questions they... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1695753/sticky-rice-love-offers-forum-under-25s-discuss-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1695753/sticky-rice-love-offers-forum-under-25s-discuss-their?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2015 22:15:42 +0000 … one venue to try for a girls' night out it would be the glitzy new Show Club in the heart of Lan Kwai Fong. The next day I would relax with a spot of shopping at Harvey Nichols (especially the beauty section) and then head for lunch at my favourite cafe, Fourth Floor Restaurant & Bar. Jennifer Cheng, serial entrepreneur https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1384135/if-i-only-had-jennifer-cheng-ready-bop-and-shop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1384135/if-i-only-had-jennifer-cheng-ready-bop-and-shop?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:25:32 +0000 I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Young O'Donnell, as the first in a series of women in Asia who are successful and already living out the principles outlined in Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In. O'Donnell is the Chief Executive Officer of Seibu Hong Kong and Beauty Bazaar/Harvey Nichols China. I’d met her at a talk she gave at an event held by The Women's Foundation attended by leaders in the luxury industry, and her background and career trajectory are truly inspiring. I had a chance to sit... https://www.scmp.com/article/1309268/leaning-interview-series-1-sarah-young-odonnell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1309268/leaning-interview-series-1-sarah-young-odonnell?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Sep 2013 13:23:10 +0000 This is a tale of two students: Yvonne Cheung Yi and Angus Ku Yip-hung. Both attend free government-aided schools, and their parents recognise a good education is crucial for a better life. That is about all they have in common. Though not representative of any group, their lives point to the growing social divide in Hong Kong, which now has the widest wealth gap in Asia (the city's Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, grew to 0.537 in 2011). How will Yvonne and Angus fare in the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1204759/tale-two-scholars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1204759/tale-two-scholars?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 With his sporty clothing, love of basketball and gentle yet firm voice, Louis Yip does not fit the stereotype of a reclusive secondary-school dropout. But the 19-year-old once quit his classes and spent a full year as a recluse, playing video games at home. He joined a growing army of jobless school leavers who are not engaged in education or training - the so-called "non-engaged youths". While Yip - not his real name - has bounced back, enrolling at a new school, for a time he was a "hidden... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1202673/inside-caged-world-hong-kongs-hidden-youths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1202673/inside-caged-world-hong-kongs-hidden-youths?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A tree knows when it has lost a limb. If it has been poorly pruned and the branches start sprouting green shoots, that's the tree's survival mechanism and it is crying out for help. This lesson came from arborist Vick Cheng Kwok-keung on a walk around Kowloon Park in Tsim Sha Tsui to demonstrate how to spot a tree in distress. "An arborist is like a tree doctor," said 42-year-old Cheng, who grew to love nature from playing at the Shing Mun Reservoir in Tsuen Wan as a child. Cheng works as an... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1191767/meet-arborist-who-keeps-hong-kongs-giants-safe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1191767/meet-arborist-who-keeps-hong-kongs-giants-safe?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 When Nong packed her bags for a trip to Hong Kong in 2009, she knew she would miss her three young children and husband in Thailand but felt a short break would do her good. The lure of a visit to Disneyland or Ocean Park was just too good for the likeable 25-year-old to pass up. But just hours after she arrived in the city, Nong (not her real name) was plunged into a nightmare that involved kidnap, rape, and threats to her family back home. Her descent into Hong Kong's heart of darkness began... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1187288/thai-tourist-recalls-her-sex-slavery-ordeal-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1187288/thai-tourist-recalls-her-sex-slavery-ordeal-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong has launched a bold initiative that could lead to a fundamental change in the way the city tackles international human traffickers and their victims. Justice officials will record and map cases of sex trafficking, enforced labour and abuse of domestic helpers in the fight against what Director of Public Prosecutions Kevin Zervos has described as "modern-day slavery". The initiative - prompted by growing international concern over human trafficking and trans-national exploitation - is... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1187368/new-strategy-close-net-sex-traffickers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1187368/new-strategy-close-net-sex-traffickers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 In a Tuen Mun kindergarten, nestled in a public housing estate, almost half of the 220 children live across the border and spend three hours travelling to and from school. Despite the long hours, 19 mothers take that journey with their children for a lesson of their own: how to read a storybook aloud to a class. They want to do their bit teaching moral education at the Yan Chai Hospital Yim Tsui Yuk Shan Kindergarten. The idea initially was to help children get in touch with their emotions -... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1171041/mainland-mums-help-teach-moral-education-hong-kong-kindergarten?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1171041/mainland-mums-help-teach-moral-education-hong-kong-kindergarten?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A leadership crisis at the Independent Commission Against Corruption was tackled by the Legislative Council's Security Committee yesterday. As the anti-graft agency tackled accusations levelled at some of the most powerful people in the city last summer, it found itself in the "less than ideal situation" of having to bring someone back from retirement in order to fill a vital position. ICAC commissioner Simon Peh Yun-lu explained how his deputy and head of operations, Daniel Li Ming-chak,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1167241/icac-boss-reveals-succession-failures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1167241/icac-boss-reveals-succession-failures?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Mui Wo residents have doubled a reward for a suspected poisoner after a fifth dog died an excruciating death in the Lantau town. A pedigree Scottish terrier owned by local resident Lynn Charleston convulsed and died yesterday, after apparently consuming poisoned bait while on a walk with its owner that morning. The bounty was raised from HK$30,000 to HK$60,000 after another resident put up the extra money. A friend, Julie Nunn, said Charleston had taken her dog out at about 11.30am, when it ran... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1167301/bounty-doubles-find-mui-wo-dog-killer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1167301/bounty-doubles-find-mui-wo-dog-killer?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 You couldn't pay most people in Hong Kong to cut someone else's ear hairs or toenails. But there is one woman who has been performing this service for the elderly and hospital patients for the past 27 years - for free. Jenny Law Chun-heung, 62, transforms the quiet halls of Grantham Hospital in Wong Chuk Hang into a hair salon every second Thursday of the month. Armed with a pair of scissors and an electric shaver, Law gives each patient a haircut, be it a trim or shave, and cuts their... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1167045/hospital-hair-doctor-cuts-free-grantham-hospital?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1167045/hospital-hair-doctor-cuts-free-grantham-hospital?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The Hong Kong travel agency accused of leaving mainland tourists to sleep in their coach overnight had its licence revoked yesterday. But it could be operating again in nine months. Emerging after a 6 ½ hour meeting with the Travel Agents Registry, Wong Wing-kin, the owner of 3A Holidays, said the registry had made the decision due to public interest. He apologised for the tourists' ordeal but said their accommodation had been the responsibility of the two Shenzhen tour companies they signed up... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1164237/3a-travel-agency-loses-licence-after-tourists-left-without-bed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1164237/3a-travel-agency-loses-licence-after-tourists-left-without-bed?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Working in pairs, bogus Buddhist monks do the rounds of Hong Kong's pubs and clubs, night after night. In Lan Kwai Fong on Friday, a monk dressed in an orange robe was seen begging for alms by tapping men on the shoulder. He avoided women, the man, who gave his name as Tan, told the Sunday Morning Post. Another monk, dressed in grey, approached two women but they shrugged him off and walked away. Speaking in Mandarin, Tan said he was 53 years old and came from Jingzhou in the central province of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1157196/bogus-monks-nightly-pub-crawl-begging-bowls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1157196/bogus-monks-nightly-pub-crawl-begging-bowls?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Mainland beggars masquerading as Buddhist monks should be treated the same as prostitutes, and the immigration authorities should crack down on the practice, according to police. One police source familiar with a rising trend of bogus Buddhist monks visiting Hong Kong as "professional beggars" said they may be violating their three-month visitor visas. Over the past 12 months, the city had seen a major increase in the number of people clad in monks' robes and begging in Central, Wan Chai and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1157199/call-visa-crackdown-bogus-buddhist-monks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1157199/call-visa-crackdown-bogus-buddhist-monks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The world's largest sailing ship in operation paid a visit to Hong Kong for the first time yesterday. The Sedov, a 92-year-old Russian windjammer, sailed into the harbour and to its berth at the Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, where the public will be able to see and board it. The 117.5-metre-long, four-mast ship, which marked its birthday on Valentine's Day in the South China Sea, is in the middle of a 13-month journey round the world as part of celebrations for the 1,150th anniversary of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1155588/worlds-largest-sailing-ship-sedov-stops-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1155588/worlds-largest-sailing-ship-sedov-stops-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:38:59 +0000 It was bad enough that less than half of the tickets to watch Manchester United play in Hong Kong this summer were reserved for the public. But now fans are even more upset to learn that even the most expensive ticket will only buy them a seat in the corners of the stadium, not a preferred midfield location. The English Premier League team is due to play a friendly match against the local Kitchee side on July 29, in front of 40,000 spectators. But only 18,000 tickets were made available for sale... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1154861/man-united-fans-queue-awful-seats-top-dollar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1154861/man-united-fans-queue-awful-seats-top-dollar?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Manchester United fans queued for hours for tickets to a game this summer in Hong Kong, only to find that even the most expensive seats available were in the corner of the stadium. The game on July 29 will match local team Kitchee against the English Premier League stars, and fans began queuing for tickets 24 hours before they went on sale at 10am at the Tom Lee Music Store in Tsim Sha Tsui on Wednesday. But for members of the public even the most expensive seats available – those priced at... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1154828/man-u-tickets-sold-out-hours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1154828/man-u-tickets-sold-out-hours?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:33:16 +0000 Hongkongers seeking a good living are being offered the chance to become "seed planters, not bean counters" in a university programme aimed at encouraging entrepreneurs. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) account for about 98 per cent of the city's economy and provided 47 per cent of total employment - excluding the civil service - at the end of last year, according to the Trade and Industry Department. Professor Ali Beba , director of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1151197/small-beautiful-when-it-comes-making-it-big-business?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1151197/small-beautiful-when-it-comes-making-it-big-business?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The story the audience gathered in a University of Hong Kong lecture hall heard was chilling - how a woman was sexually abused as a child in Hong Kong by a family friend while her parents socialised in the living room. The story was part of the global One Billion Rising campaign - which yesterday attempted to draw out a billion people to protest against violence against women. The identity of the victim was not revealed, and it was shared through an audio recording. The woman's tale was one of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1150408/sexual-abuse-victims-share-stories-part-one-billion-rising-campaign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1150408/sexual-abuse-victims-share-stories-part-one-billion-rising-campaign?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The Bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal John Tong Hon, will make history by becoming the first Hongkonger to vote for a pope. Whom he votes for will be his and God’s decision, according to his predecessor. Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the former head of the diocese, said there was no need for Tong to “consult” others before making his decision on who should succeed Pope Benedict, who will step aside on February 28. Benedict, 85, is the first pope to retire in six centuries. He has cited a lack of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1149090/historic-papal-vote-hong-kongs-cardinal-john-tong-hon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1149090/historic-papal-vote-hong-kongs-cardinal-john-tong-hon?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:18:58 +0000 As lovebirds shower each other with flowers and chocolates tomorrow, a campaign is aiming to mobilise one billion people around the world to oppose violence against women - by, among other activities, dancing. For 15 years, Valentine's Day has also been "V-Day" - a day of global events in a campaign to end violence against women and girls. The V stands for victory, vagina and valentine. This year the campaign is promoting "One Billion Rising" - an effort to get a billion people around the world... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1148920/v-day-rises-challenge-violence-against-women-and-girls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1148920/v-day-rises-challenge-violence-against-women-and-girls?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Among the excited first-year students who arrived on the University of Hong Kong campus last September, there was one man who has seen far more of the world's grimness than the average Hong Kong undergraduate. Htoi Awng, 22, is from northern Myanmar's Kachin state, where ethnic Kachin rebels have been fighting government forces with renewed intensity after a 17-year ceasefire broke down in June 2011. Htoi Awng and two other Kachin students in Hong Kong shared their experience at a fundraising... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1148242/hku-students-myanmar-raise-awareness-strife-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1148242/hku-students-myanmar-raise-awareness-strife-home?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Britain's education secretary Michael Gove announced yesterday he has abandoned plans to replace the GCSE with a new English Baccalaureate certificate after growing concern within the coalition and from education groups. But the decision will not affect the thousands of Hong Kong students - from the English Schools Foundation, international schools, and some local schools - who sit the International GCSE which does not fall under the jurisdiction of the British government. The IGCSE... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1145489/uk-keeps-gcse-no-effect-hong-kong-schools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1145489/uk-keeps-gcse-no-effect-hong-kong-schools?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The education secretary has promised "special arrangements" to ensure that children in the northern New Territories will get a school place in the district where they live despite intense pressure on schools from cross-border pupils. "We pledge to increase the number of Primary One school places in North District in order to accommodate the wishes of these children to study within the same district," Eddie Ng Hak-kim said yesterday. But parents and educators questioned how schools could be... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1141492/education-secretary-pledges-children-will-be-educated-where-they-live?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1141492/education-secretary-pledges-children-will-be-educated-where-they-live?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Helping the poor would be an important focus of the proposed Jesuit liberal arts college in Hong Kong, say two advisers, who are presidents of two of the oldest Catholic universities in the United States. Dr John DeGioia, of Washington DC's Jesuit Georgetown University which dates back to 1792, and Father Michael Engh, president of San Francisco's 162-year-old Jesuit Santa Clara University, are among 23 trustees of the proposed college, along with non-official executive councillor Anna Wu... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1139608/college-put-focus-poor-say-jesuits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1139608/college-put-focus-poor-say-jesuits?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 In five years, thirty visually impaired people could be navigating their way around the city with the help of guide dogs trained at a school to be set up here, a local association says. There are just two working guide dogs in the city at present, both of them trained in the United States. The Hong Kong Guide Dogs Association says it plans to open an internationally accredited school to train guide dogs and their users in the next five years, and it will recruit instructors, who will be trained... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1138801/training-school-aims-get-more-guide-dogs-hong-kong-streets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1138801/training-school-aims-get-more-guide-dogs-hong-kong-streets?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Most people would have a hard time putting a face to these names: the Malayan tapir, Coquerel's sifaka, the Sunda pangolin, the Armenian mouflon, and the saola. They are all endangered animals and two Hong Kong cousins - both aged 24 - are doing their part to draw public attention to the relatively unknown creatures. Tsui Cheeyee and Aimee Mak Hoeyin paired up to become the design and illustration duo&dear after graduating in 2011. They scour for news stories from Hong Kong and around the world... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1136836/cousins-illustrations-draw-attention-plight-endangered-species?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1136836/cousins-illustrations-draw-attention-plight-endangered-species?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Shen Hsin-ling changed the lives of poor, struggling Taiwanese farmers by setting up a website to sell their fresh produce - a feat even a computer-savvy adult would find challenging. Shen was 11 when she finished the project. The following year, she established a website for children unable to afford tutoring that offered free help with their studies. At 17, Shen set up a website to teach women from overseas who have married local Taiwanese men how to adjust to the island's culture and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1136843/how-taiwans-shen-hsin-ling-helped-poor-through-computers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1136843/how-taiwans-shen-hsin-ling-helped-poor-through-computers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A Dutch company has presented Hong Kong with the world's first diesel electric seagoing ferry that promises to cut fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by at least 20 per cent. The news comes hot on the heels of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's policy address announcement last week that ships will soon have to switch to low-sulphur fuel to cut emissions. The media yesterday got a peek at the hybrid ferry that Rotterdam-based company Imtech Marine designed for Scottish state-owned ferry... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1133884/new-ferry-promises-20pc-cut-fuel-use-carbon-emissions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1133884/new-ferry-promises-20pc-cut-fuel-use-carbon-emissions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Lam Chi-ho overcame a two-decade-long addiction to drugs on a remote island off Sai Kung, where he found God and the love of his life. Chi-ho, 38, had been addicted to cough syrup and crystal meth since he was 15. He had tried to quit many times before, succeeding in 2009, after spending nine months at a drug rehabilitation centre run by Christian group Operation Dawn on Town Island. After recovering, Chi-ho stayed on the island as a volunteer, and is now employed there full time. Since it only... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/1131098/love-only-drug-town-island-sweethearts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/1131098/love-only-drug-town-island-sweethearts?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The tram tracks once ran along Hong Kong Island's shoreline and where Tsim Sha Tsui's row of seafront hotels now lies, was the landmark shipping terminal "Blue Funnel", where sampans and tugboats crowded the waterfront. Victoria Harbour teemed with toiling workers, while big cargo ships lay quietly at anchor in the distance. Over the years, the harbour has changed dramatically, soaring skyward on reclaimed land on the island to make best use of scarce acreage along the shore. Today, a debate... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1130414/hongkongers-cherish-shoreline-memories-victoria-harbour-video?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1130414/hongkongers-cherish-shoreline-memories-victoria-harbour-video?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Four dogs died excruciating deaths after coming into contact with poisoned bait on the roadside in Mui Wo on Lantau Island last week, the police and the pets' owners said. And a Filipino domestic helper, 42, fell ill after cleaning up the vomit of one of the dogs, her employer, Thomas Walther, said. Three of the dogs ate scraps of meat lying near Lick Hang Kindergarten in Tai Tei Tong village on January 6. They were taken to Mui Wo and Wan Chai clinics run by the Society for the Prevention of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1128895/four-dogs-die-after-eating-poisoned-bait-mui-wo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1128895/four-dogs-die-after-eating-poisoned-bait-mui-wo?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Openly gay singers Anthony Wong Yiu-ming and Denise Ho Wan-sze have added their names to a campaign trying to garner support for sexual minorities. They unveiled their "Big Love" crusade yesterday, along with lawmakers Cyd Ho Sau-lan and Raymond Chan Chi-chuen, after it emerged the chief executive would not include a public consultation on a sexual minorities discrimination law in his maiden policy speech next week. The South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday that Leung Chun-ying aims to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1125817/singers-lawmakers-launch-big-love-gay-rights-campaign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1125817/singers-lawmakers-launch-big-love-gay-rights-campaign?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Amid all the calls for the chief executive to step down, there was a rare show of support for "Uncle C.Y." yesterday. A dozen members of Leung Chun-ying support group Take Action delivered a framed cartoon of an avuncular chief executive as he arrived for an Executive Council meeting. "The cartoon was drawn by an online supporter who said the chief executive is approachable like an uncle, and we think his view reflects what many of us think," Take Action convenor Chan Wing-hong said. The group... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1123234/cy-leung-bombarded-demands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1123234/cy-leung-bombarded-demands?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 “Uncle CY”, aka Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, received a gesture of support on Tuesday amid cries from various groups calling for him to step down. A dozen members of Leung Chun-ying support group Take Action delivered a framed cartoon of an amiable-looking chief executive as he arrived for an executive council meeting. “The cartoon was drawn by an online supporter who said the chief executive is approachable like an uncle, and we think his view reflects what many of us think,” Take... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1122879/protests-petitions-and-praise-greet-uncle-cy-run-policy-address?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1122879/protests-petitions-and-praise-greet-uncle-cy-run-policy-address?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jan 2013 05:53:27 +0000 One of the kindest things that one can do for the elderly is listen to their life stories. Around 30 staff members from law firm Deacons did just that on a chilly winter morning last Saturday, when they visited 10 senior citizens on Lamma Island, bearing gifts of Chinese New Year lanterns and scarves. The volunteers were also accompanied by children from Hans Andersen Club Lamma Island Centre, who read tales from the Chinese storybook Piglet Can't Fly. Deacons is the city's oldest and largest... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1121522/deacons-lawyers-give-lammas-elderly-gift-companionship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1121522/deacons-lawyers-give-lammas-elderly-gift-companionship?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A young Ghanaian filmmaker says her formative years in multicultural Hong Kong have helped to put her on the brink of international acclaim. Frances Bodomo's short film Boneshaker was selected from thousands for screening at America's prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, later this month. Bodomo was born in Ghana and lived in Norway and the United States before moving to Hong Kong aged 11. And the 24-year-old, educated for seven years at West Island School, says this upbringing... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1120887/ghanaian-filmmaker-frances-bodomo-thanks-early-years-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1120887/ghanaian-filmmaker-frances-bodomo-thanks-early-years-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Growing up in the Kowloon Walled City, Albert Ng Kam-po and his friends would go to the roof and fly kites that could almost scrape the bellies of airliners as they descended to Kai Tak airport across the street. "We didn't know it was so dangerous," says Ng, 45, a pastor at the English-speaking Island Evangelical Community Church in Quarry Bay. Nor were they aware of the perils of living inside the walled city even though as a teenager, Ng was accustomed to seeing drug abusers and their... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1119265/kowloon-city-den-evil-lush-gardens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1119265/kowloon-city-den-evil-lush-gardens?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Legislation banning prejudice against sexual minorities should not neglect the unique needs of transsexuals, activists say. There has been a growing clamour this year for a law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. It reached a peak when lawmakers voted down a motion last month, calling for public consultation on the issue. But the momentum for action remains strong, with activists now lobbying for Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to give a timetable for legislation in his maiden... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1115465/dont-neglect-transsexuals-talks-discrimination-law-say-activists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1115465/dont-neglect-transsexuals-talks-discrimination-law-say-activists?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Every week, restaurants and bars on Lamma Island dispose of hundreds of glass bottles, which make their way to a recycling booth - but it is volunteers, rather than paid workers, who are delivering the bottles. The recycling booth has been set up twice a week since March when the government launched a year-long scheme, the Islands Community Recycling Booths, on Lamma Island and Cheung Chau to collect plastics, glass bottles and small electronics. But when resident concern group, Living Lamma,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1114588/lamma-volunteers-make-floundering-recycling-scheme-success?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1114588/lamma-volunteers-make-floundering-recycling-scheme-success?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Two old-style Hong Kong restaurants that have served diners for more than 40 years closed this week due to soaring rents. The 45-year-old Kam Kee Café, a Cantonese-style eatery in Shau Kei Wan, served the last cup of its famous milk tea on Wednesday after the rent was increased by 150 per cent. Over in Jordan, the 42-year-old Peking Restaurant will serve the last of its popular Peking duck and Shandong roast chicken tomorrow. While the entrance sign said the restaurant was closing because the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1113780/kam-kee-cafe-peking-restaurant-pushed-out-soaring-rents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1113780/kam-kee-cafe-peking-restaurant-pushed-out-soaring-rents?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong has been infected with the travel bug this holiday season, with immigration staff expecting to handle 8.65 million journeys - most via the land crossings. The estimate covers the periods from December 21 to 26 and December 30 to January 2, and, if met, will mark an 11 per cent rise from last year. Most travellers - an estimated 75 per cent - will travel to and from the mainland, with the Lo Wu border control point the busiest. The number of outbound travellers by land reached its peak... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1111066/millions-holidaymakers-hit-road-and-out-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1111066/millions-holidaymakers-hit-road-and-out-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Officials mull stricter cooking oil monitoring Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man said yesterday that the government was mulling whether to review the law to better monitor cooking oil companies. The products had to be recalled after they were found to have carcinogens. But Ko assured that existing food safety regulations were sufficient. He also added that a survey on the beef market, which has seen the price of beef from the mainland increase, would be released in three... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1111049/briefs-december-23-2012?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1111049/briefs-december-23-2012?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000