📡Guardians of Hong Kong aka BeWater HK
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We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
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Make vaccines mandatory for elderlies, Pro-Beijing lawmaker urges

Hong Kong's COVID-19 death toll soared to its highest at 7,612 on March 31, during the fifth-wave of Omicron outbreak.

Elderly care homes are reportedly facing the gravest threat, as too many elderly residents were not vaccinated due to chronic health issues. Staff shortages and lack of on-site isolation facilities also added to the soaring death rate.

During a Legislative Council Health Affairs Committee meeting, Holden Chow Ho-ding, vice-chairman of the pro-China Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Progress of Hong Kong (#DAB), urged the government to act “decisively” and make it mandatory for the city’s elderly to be vaccinated.

“Reduce deaths. Reduce severe cases. The government should act decisively, and make it legally required for seniors aged 70 and above to be vaccinated," said Chow.

Source: Inmediahk, #Apr1
https://bit.ly/3wVogu8

#WuhanPneumonia #Elderly #VaccineMandate
#FailedState #Oppression #PressFreedom
Satisfaction with Hong Kong’s press freedom slumps to record low: Survey

On April 1, 2022, the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (#HKPORI) published the results of a telephone survey involving 1,004 respondents’ “appraisal of news media.”

Findings revealed record low results since 1997 - only 28% of respondents are satisfied with #PressFreedom in Hong Kong.

The survey also reported a record-high proportion of respondents saying that local news outlets did not utilise their freedom of speech, the highest rate since September 1997.

The overall satisfaction with media outlets’ performance also dropped from 8% (2021) to 2% (2022), a record low since records began in September 1997.

Chris Yeung, former chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalist Association said that the closure of media outlets was “definitely” a factor contributing to people’s dissatisfaction with press freedom.

Source: LuminantHK, #Apr1
https://publielectoral.lat/luminanthk/5403
#Report: Hong Kong Population Growth Mainly from Chinese Immigration; Scholar Concerned for Erosion of Local Values and Culture

Source: Radio France Asia; #Apr1

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#Report: Hong Kong Population Growth Mainly from Chinese Immigration; Scholar Concerned for Erosion of Local Values and Culture

It has been 25 years since the return of Hong Kong to the Chinese sovereignty in 1997. The city's population has since grown by around 1 million. According to government statistics, 1.12 million Chinese have moved to Hong Kong via one-way visa from 1997 to the end of 2021.

The RFA's investigation report found a noticeable shift in the city's population structure.

While low birth rate among local Hongkongers and growing trend of emigration created a dent in population, the gap is quickly being replenished by "new Hong Kong citizens" - an phrase coined by Chinese state media People's Daily, describing immigrants from the mainland. By the report's conservative estimate, about one in 7 to 10 citizens in Hong Kong is a "new Hong Kong citizen."

The report further elaborated that as a result of such shift in population structure, the local community has become "Sinicized", becoming more like China with fewer Cantonese speakers, but more who speak Putonghua and English.

The number of China-owned media outlets are also growing in Hong Kong.

For the first time, a new immigrant from China has sworn in as a legislator this year. He took his vow in Mandarin.

Yip Kwok-ho, honorary professor of CUHK's School of Social Sciences, said that this phenomenon is "natural and inevitable." However, he is concerned that the local value system and culture is being diminished and eroded.

Source: Radio France Asia; #Apr1

https://bit.ly/3xkUpvp

#CulturalIdentity #Migration