P4 ’s saddest tunes P8 Letter from Myanmar P10 University degrees are not worthless, just worth less P14 Subsidies for study tours to the mainland has never been more rampant P16 Room escape is for real P18 You may swallow this camera The Young Rep rter magazineMARCH 2012

Cover Since its inception in 2003, the individual visit scheme has drawn tens of millions of mainland tourists to the city and boosted the region’s tourism. They are often associated with Hong Kong’s economic prosperity but rarely popularity. We look into some of the most conspicuous culprits. In This Issue

His latest album, Love is a Four Letter Word

4 The Narrator 14 Mainland exchange How I met Jason Mraz Study tours to motherland have been and the sad side of him drawing students like magnets

8 Dispatches 16 Real-life room escape Letter from Burma Local innovators turn online games into tangible fun Front

10 View EWS University degrees: not N 18 Bittersweet pill to swallow worthless, just worth less New technology shines a light on colorectal diagnosis 12 One Moment 19 Shooting for life Women’s rights video producer makes a difference through her lens

FEATURE 20 Inconvenient consequences The downside of the individual visit scheme, now 10 years old

In our previous issue, we looked into the Asia’s World City’s worsening air pollution. Check out tyr.hk for the story and more. Briefl y Noted THE YOUNG REP RTER Why they can’t hold it any longer magazine

N any given day of the year, recent years. House prices-to- Editor-in-Chief Editors oKwai tsing container port is income has reached a ratio of 13.4 Alan Wong Clarie Lee a place where vessels, cranes, and last year, nearing the peak in 1997 Coco Zheng workers bustled about around before the burst of the housing Fechon Wong Deputy Chief Editors Heiin Lai the clock. bubble. Despite measures to cool Alvina Hung Helen Yu that was until a couple weeks the market, home prices have Rev Hui Jackie Yin ago, when fi ve hundred workers doubled in the past four years. Jim Wong Kris Lui at the world’s third-busiest port low mortgage rates, robust Web Editors Kristine Basilio staged a sit-in, demanding a pay demand from mainland Chinese Ada Yeung Melody Chan increase of 17 percent, whereas buyers and a lack of land supply Dennis Lee Peyton Guan the port’s operator, Hongkong are all but keeping Hong Kong Roy Chan Sophia Fu International terminals, said the most expensive place on Art Director the contractors agreed to raise earth to buy a home. Beth Liu Reporters workers’ salaries by 5 percent to Finding a place to live in Andrew Wan Brian Yap $21,000 a month. the city that is neither a tiny Public Relation O cers Johnny Lo Catherine Lim Although many of them subdivided fl at nor a cage is hard Cheng Song work in a dangerous environment enough, but because of strong Cleo Tse Distribution O cer and may smell like sea water, Chinese yuan and rise in global Eunice Leung Joyce Cheung Giselle Chan dockworkers are not the usual prices, soaring food prices have Joy Huo impecunious, exploited worker become another major source of Advisers Jessica Lee type. their income – if the fi gure distress for the sandwich class. Kasim Chan CK Lau Katheleen Wong provided by the port operator Food accounts for the Robin Ewing Ruby Leung is correct – is almost double highest household expenditure Joyce Murdoch Ching Liu the median monthly income of after housing. Hong Kong relies Lawrence Mak the city’s working population heavily on import from mainland Rachel Leung Thibault Bluy ($12,000). Indeed, they earn China, from fl our to pork. Publisher Steve Guo Venus Ho more monthly income than Because of Hong Kong dollar’s 70% of all workers in the city, peg to the US currency, strong Printer according to the 2011 census yuan against the greenback has Department of Journalism School of Communication report by the Census and placed the local currency in an Hong Kong Baptist University Statistics Department. infl ationary squeeze. In local Across industries, local markets, prices of rice and beef, Printer address workers’ pay rises are expected among many common foods, have Dept of Journalism, HK Baptist University, Kowloon to average 4.4% this year – just a more than doubled since 2007, a Tong, Kln little shy of the infl ation forecast recent labour Party survey has at 4.5% – according to a March found. Global food prices apexed The Young Reporter Volume 45 No. 4 survey by Employers’ Federation last August and, despite six Mar 2013 of Hong Kong. consecutive months of decline, Dockworkers and union remain at high levels, according leaders are apparently infuriated to the World Bank. by the many questionable It is no wonder a recent practices of the port operator and index compiled by researchers at contractors. But what underpins Shue Yan University showed that the unsettling labour unrest is households with monthly income the hardship workers face as the of $15,000 to $20,000 are among EMAIL above-average earners in the city. the groups that felt the most they are the often miserable. [email protected] overlooked members of society In 2007, a 40-day strike FACEBooK that earn too much to qualify for of bar-benders ended with government aids but too little to contractors offering pay increases tyrmag cope with the city’s high property to about $21,000 a month. the all- WEBSItE prices and rising living costs. too-familiar strike at the docks Earning nearly $20,000 should remind the government tyr.hk a month, they in most cases of its ineptness in even keeping do not qualify for subsidised middle-earners off the streets. It housing, which provides home is not that workers’ paycheques for about half of the population. are too small, it is rather that the But private housing has been apartments of the city come with increasingly unaffordable in price tags too big. by Alan Wong 4 • FRONT The Narrator FRONT • 5

A beautiful mess A journey into Jason Mraz’s saddest tunes.

t was a sultry, starless night Harrison (whom the singer said in his blog in June and his 35th birthday, was his “Google Map”) and finally to Chris, a Jason Mraz hopped off a plane local representative from Warner Music. at the Hong Kong International When all was confirmed, I marked Airport for his second concert June 24 on my calendar, and posted on my in the city. In the next evening, Facebook, “Hey guys, I am meeting Jason he would be performing before Mraz this Sunday for a brief interview, what more than 10,000 people in would you like to ask?” It turned out to be AsiaWorld-Expo and, a few days later, a few one of my most “liked” messages. There Ihundred lucky ones in an invitation-only gig. were encouraging congratulations in the In Hong Kong, the singer- comments amid friendly outrage that I is often known as the guy who sings “I’m scored face time with him. Anyway, there Yours”, a song that had lingered on the was no questions. charts and airwaves long enough to make I woke up the other day a proud fanboy, history as the longest-running Billboard Hot eagerly looking forward to write about and 100 hit ever. maybe high-five his favourite singer. At work, The first time he came, in March 2009, I asked my editor whether she would want he performed before some 4,000 fans in me to write a piece about the interview. Her Star Hall, a mid-sized multi purpose venue response was lukewarm. “I think we had a in Kowloon Bay. I was there, and I recorded profile piece already, when he first came a a video with my point-and-shooter that few years ago.” would now pop up as one of the top results But I went anyway. Why not? on YouTube if you search for “Jason Mraz “I feel strong, tremendous, grateful and in Hong Kong”. optimistic as ever,” said the 35-year-old artist, When I saw him three years later, I his shirt unbuttoned down to mid-chest and brought a bigger, better camera, a sensible sleeves rolled up, in a room that looks over pick. In the side pocket of my bag, though, the 10,000-seat indoor arena. was a pen and a two-column, ruled notebook His hair has outgrown his fedora, that I would hate to carry on any leisurely spilling out from the sides. With the shaggy occasion, not least a Jason Mraz concert. beard and moustache (thanks to his exploded But I had made no happier exception trimmer in his hotel room in Korea), his look than that evening. reminded some online commentators of, among many, a homeless man, Eddie Vedder he idea of interviewing Mraz came to my (lead singer of Pearl Jam), and Jesus Christ. Tmind a few days before the concert, when Unwary concertgoers might drop their I realised my newfound identity as a reporter, jaws if they had not caught a glimpse above albeit an intern. So I made a few Skype calls his neck in the past few months. His loyal to Atlantic Records’s New York headquarters, disciples, however, would well notice his Photos by Alan Wong got referred to his tour manager Amanda quiet evolution from the inside out. 6 • FRONT “I can’t just go out on the stage to ask fi ve thousand people to be sad with me for seven straight minutes.” othing illustrates his transformation better than his Jason Mraz is a vegan, yogi, surfer and he likes playing Nlatest and fourth studio album, love is A Four letter shows barefoot. He supports obama, gay marriage, and loves Word, released four years after his previous and commercially his avocado farm in San Diego. He sings with buskers and duets most successful album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal things. with fans, even though their unyielding love for the overplayed the name of the album, and the minimalist cover art, speak “lucky” can be rather tiring. His radiant performances and of his desire to untangle the idea of love in a world where jovial tunes may lead to the belief that he is always carefree. But relationships are chronically complicated, from between the truth is when he takes off his hat and leaves the stage, he is cunning politicians to guileless lovers. In “Be Honest”, a bossa prone to the miseries of life just like everyone else. nova-like acoustic melody, his message to his signifi cant other “I write a lot of material you’ve never heard that live inside is as straightforward as this line in the chorus: “I don’t ask for my sadness. You’ll hear a song that lasts six to seven minutes much, just be honest with me.” of just beautiful sadness. But I can’t just go out on the stage to New tracks like “the Freedom Song”, “living in the ask fi ve thousand people to be sad with me for seven straight Moment”, and “Everything is Sound” champion the embrace minutes,” he said, while moving his long-nailed right hand in of the beauty of life and boast an euphoric vibe. those new the air (he plays guitar with his nails most of the time) and numbers have in part done away with lyrical complexity and holding a glass of algae-green liquid with his manicured left. turned to simplicity, a change widely viewed as treading a fi ne His fervent followers would know he has in fact written line between bliss and cheese. some melancholic songs that are often obscured by his buoyant hits. For example, “A Beautiful Mess”, a confl icted ballad from his last album that many members on his fan forum hold dear, has a pitiful number of views on Youtube compared to “I’m Yours”, which is rarely Mraz is a vegan, yogi, mentioned at all. “I try to do my best to balance it out to acknowledge there is melancholy, sadness surfer and he likes that we all experience,” he said. “We also have to see the light and choose to rise above it to at least enjoy our day with gratitude to our family, to whoever it may be.” playing shows barefoot. “I Won’t Give Up”, the post-breakup song on love is A Four letter Word, is his quintessential positive take on sadness. “the song was about how I overcome the sadness. By singing it nightly, it becomes a mantra, a way to relive that triumph,” he the new Jason Mraz may have shunned sophistication, but said. “It also helps that a few thousand people in the room sing his optimistic outlook is unmistakable in the lightweight jams it with me.” in love is a Four letter Word, even though he suffered a bitter He added that he would eventually release “the saddest break-up with his long-time fi ancée tristan Prettyman in the album in the world”. months preceding the release. “It will come out probably after I’m free of a . FRONT • 7

Because there probably won’t “I’ll be here,” he be much commercial value winked and said, “live from about it.” “Am I allowed to Hong Kong.” He named his 2012 world I did not press on, tour tour is a Four letter and he did not give me Word. “Mraz”, too, is a four- talk about that?” an invitation to the secret letter word, and that was how gig. It was oK, I thought, his father used to remind because in just a few hours those who spelled his son’s name wrong. Now that the singer- I would be seeing him perform anyway. songwriter has won a few Grammy Awards and sold a couple And so the concert went. the music was energetic and million CDs worldwide, the misspelling of his last name, varying Mraz’s singing fl awless. the 10,000-strong audience went from “Maraz” to”Marraz”, is probably less rampant. “banana”, as he put it. the icing on the cake was a story he It was not the case though when he started his career told mid-way into “”, a love song he wrote on performing in Java Joe’s, a San Diego coffee house, in 2000. Valentine’s Day many years ago, of how two Coldplay concert He used to wore trucker cap, not fedora. He released his debut tickets separated the singer and his then girlfriend. the album with Elektra Records, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, therapeutic mantra “I Won’t Give Up” concluded the night. in 2002 and achieved his fi rst major commercial success with As I reluctantly grabbed my bag on my cold seat and his next album Mr. A-Z (which spells out his surname), which dragged my tired feet to the exit, I realised I was just a ticket peaked at number fi ve on the Billboard 200 album chart. away from his secret show and, if I missed it, I would have to His biggest success would be his third studio album, We wait another three years to see him again. Sing. We Dance. We Steal things., and more conspicuously I spent the next day checking my Gmail inbox hoping that I the addictive tune “I’m Yours”, which stuck in many listeners’ would win a ticket from the lucky draw. I tried to search online head and has racked up more than a tenth of a billion views on for clues for the venue and time, only to fi nd people showing Youtube alone. His fan has grown from a handful of small-town off their invitation email, which says, “Congratulations, luck bargoers to millions of people all over the world. More than ten is indeed a four letter word for you as you have won a pair of millions of people have “liked” his Facebook page. His rocket tickets to a special gig by Jason Mraz.” has not just come, it has most defi nitely taken off. I failed to get a ticket, even though I was willing to pay for it. the show turned out to be an Apple itunes event that n the sea of tour photos and fan messages, his offi cial Facebook invited only a few hundred lucky fans and music company Ipage had one thing that caught my attention. there was an executives. It was shorter than the tour concert, with special announcement of a secret show that would take place two days guests G.E.M. and Khalil Fong. the real gems of the night were after the tour concert, on June 26. Mraz-craving an electrifying rendition of “Unfold”, a groovy fans had to send an email to Warner Music to enter cover of Bill Whither’s “Ain’t No Sunshine” and the ticket draw, and they would only receive details a refreshing, unreleased song called “Halfway of the venue the day before the event. Around the World”. When I brought it up, the room went quiet, When Mraz and his band thanked and some people frowned. the artist hesitated, looked said goodbye to the crowd, I waved to the stage up at a PR guy standing near me and said, “Am I ferociously and hoped he would spot me. How did allowed to talk about that?” I get in there? I guess my not giving up helped. Much to my disappointment, he was not. Everything was sound. by Alan Wong 8 • FRONT Dispatches Letter from Myanmar

How does the Myanmar of 2013 look like? Our reporter spent eleven days travelling in the country during the Chinese New Year holidays.

o u will feel Myanmar is a unique Treatment of litter is another huge appreciates the country as the fifth most Ycountry the second you exit Yangon’s problem, as there is no central collection corrupted in the world. Challenges are airport. All men wear a longyi, a sarong- system. Plastic bags and detritus of all very high for the new government. like garment that reaches to the ankles, kinds accumulate on the streets, shaping The political situation of Myanmar and many of them have red-stained teeth, big heaps of waste in townships of subur- has tremendously evolved in the past thanks to the betel nut they chew. Wom- ban areas. This contributes to the propa- two years. In streets of Yangon, portraits en have brown faces because they spread gation of diseases, and is exacerbated of Aung San Suu Kyi are everywhere and thanaka on their cheeks as sunscreen. by very bad hygienic conditions in food her books can be found on the shelves of Cars drive on the right with steering conservation. any street bookseller. Two years ago she wheels on the right-hand side, after the Seventy per cent of the 62 million was still under house arrest and con- administration suddenly in 1970 decided population live in rural areas, and the strained to silence. it has to be so for astrological reasons. primary sector represents 40 per cent of Thein Shein was elected as the new Myanmar, or Burma as it used to Myanmar’s GDP. In the countryside peo- president of Myanmar and a semi-civil- be officially called until 1989 and is still ple still use horse carts as the main means ian government formed in April 2011, af- largely designated abroad, has remained of transportation, and buffaloes to plough ter almost fifty years of ruling by a tough more authentic than its South-East Asian the fields. It takes two hours to crush four military junta. Aung San Suu Kyi and neighbours. The country still faces many kilos of peanuts to obtain oil, with a cow some other political opponents were re- social and humanitarian challenges, but actioning the crusher. Time seems to be leased, elections organised and several the quick-changing political context suspended in Burma. democratic measures undertaken, such gives some hope for the future. Electricity is mainly produced by as the abolishment of a 1988 ban on pub- Parts of Myanmar remain inacces- noisy and polluting generating sets, lic gatherings of more than five people in sible, as there are still ethnic wars in the which often do not work 24 hours. Gen- late January. West or North-East. In the South, the eral power cuts occur many times a day. The Myanmar of 2013 is under con- Karen ethnic minority has been in active Telecommunications are also underde- stant change. Its evolution in the next conflict with the central government for veloped, as the government made it unaf- few years will be of global significance. over 60 years, making it the world’s long- fordable on purpose for many years. For- Development issues remain neverthe- est ongoing war. The population of My- eign cell phones do not work in any part less numerous for the newly-elected po- anmar is composed of 135 distinct ethnic of the country, and Internet connections litical leaders. The boost in tourism and groups, and a code of silence surrounds are scarce and slow. foreign investments might present new those deep-rooted internal conflicts. The United Nations Development risks for the newly-opened country. For Children are commonly exploited Programme ranks Burma as the 149th all we know, this could be a glimmer of for service in restaurants, cleaning in ho- state out of 187 for Humanitarian Devel- light for the people of Burma; it is up to tels, or doing agricultural works. Most of opment Index, and Transparency Inter- the government to spot the frail links be- them are not even ten years old. national, an anti-corruption watchdog, fore they break. by Thibault Bluy FRONT • 9

Photo by Thibault Bluy 10 • FRONT FRONT • 11 View

Not worthless, just worth less he university graduation season is per year (annual salary is $191,000 for de- ilies. More grants, not loans, should be Tapproaching, together comes the gree holders and the Hong Kong average given to students who cannot cover their time for hordes of senior students to is $144,000). In other words, you can only own education expenses, as more than a scratch their head in search of a good job. choose between earning less and earning few graduates have been burdened with A degree is no longer an absolute advan- even less. A university graduate is bound student-loan debt at a level that limits life tage or a sure ticket to employment. In to find a better job and make a lot more decisions such as buying a house, getting fact, some will soon find out that the de- money than a non-graduate. married, and starting a family. Higher ed- gree they are holding seems no more use- Some say we have too many gradu- ucation should make life easier, not more ful than the plot in a Michael Bay movie, ates competing for too limited jobs, yet difficult. ending up with jobs that do not require the reality is hardly so. No one can dis- As for the job market, situations university education. pute that higher education is central to might improve if students are less busi- Saddled with unfortunate feelings, supplying the talent and innovations that ness-oriented when choosing major. some people raise their eyebrows over are major drivers of productivity and job More than 40 per cent of current uni- what they call over-education. “If we will creation. Yes, job creation. More edu- versity students are business and man- end up waiting tables, why bother squan- cated the society is, more opportunities agement majors, and 32 per cent of the dering all the money (and time) on get- there will be. A well-educated popula- expecting students incline for a degree ting a degree?” tion has proved to be the foundation for in those areas. On the other hand, com- The higher education system has a knowledge-based society, and our city pared to the B-school hype, only 19 per done us no wrong. The causes of the has a long way to go. However, there are cent choose engineering and technology problem lie within us, the consumers of only about one million Hong Kong citi- as their field of study, 14 per cent science, higher education. zens either currently enrolled or have and 10 per cent arts and humanities. Yes, No doubt that getting a degree is in- finished a degree-seeking programme of- it is true that Hong Kong depends heav- creasingly costly, but for most parents, if fered in or outside the city, which makes ily on business, and it is also true that you the goal is to set kids up for life, a degree only a seventh (less than 15 per cent) of have a bigger chance to make big money still seems the best investment. Univer- the entire population, according to the as a business executive, but can the city sity tuition has tripled in a decade, but Census and Statistics Department. To really digest that many business majors? the average salary of a fresh graduate provide some context, the comparable I will not be surprised if these are the has remained around $10,000 a month figures for Canada, Japan, and for Korea graduates who end up working in posi- throughout these years. Clearly the are 51, 45 and 40, respectively. tions for which the university degree is market has less and less mercy for fresh Believe it or not, Hong Kong is less not required. graduates, but the long-living proverb of “educated” than you might think, and But is waiting table necessarily “better education equals higher pay” has it is the government’s responsibility to worth less than sitting in an office? May- stood the test of time (of course you have provide more affordable access to high- be we need to stop judging the worth of to find a job in the first place). Although er education. Taking into account how things based on their cash-value. Maybe the difference has narrowed between the much money you are likely to make after we have missed out on the whole point of salary of degree holders and the average graduation, for many people the tuition higher education after all. Maybe some- salary in the city, the income gap per per- fee is simply too high. University is still day we will see for ourselves. son remains a considerably big $45,000 too expensive for the less privileged fam- by Coco Zheng 12 • FRONT One Moment

Pyongyang’s recent flurry of attack threats and missile tests has once again renewed fear about North Korea’s ability to launch nuclear strikes on the United States and its allies. China, the autocracy’s longtime backer and trading partner that accounted for 80 per cent of imports by 2011, is stepping up efforts to enforce U.N. sanctions. North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in mid-February, its third in seven years, according to state media. Photo by Alan Wong Taken in May 2011, in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea FRONT • 13 14 • NEWS to Beijing POLITICS Upbeat numbers for mainland exchange Study tours to motherland with full-blown subsidy schemes has been drawing students like magnet

MAGINE taking a 7-day trip to Beijing, during which you can tions,” she said, as she found herself more patriotic after the Ivisit the Great Wall, the historic ruins of Yuanmingyuan Park, exchange with professors at tsinghua University. the Marco Polo Bridge and the National Museum; watch mili- Yet, skepticisms over the purposes of the subsidised study tary shows in a People’s liberation Army garrison; and attend tours are heightened after the dispute over national education lectures at China’s prestigious tsinghua University; plus food, curriculum that resulted in tens of thousands of students pro- accommodation, insurance and two-way airfare. You may well testing against the government last September. think it’s going to dig really deep into A Facebook group has drawn more than your pocket. 500 likes, with a name not only explicated its It’s no wonder a price tag of $2,200 stance of anti-mainland study tours, but also would be a big draw to many students asked a rhetoric question: “Are you willing to like Miss Kays Kwong Wing-ki, a par- praise a Fascist regime?” in its description. ticipant of tsinghua University Nation- Miss Kwong responded by saying, “For al Education Programme for Future those people who don’t love their country leaders in 2001. because they don’t know about it, they can Miss Kwong, 20, said an affordable choose not to participate. But there are al- price was a major incentive for many ways many more students who appreciate applicants including herself to get en- the opportunity.” rolled and travel during the summer While it remains debatable over the break. But she said it was the trip itself motives behind the study tours, it is unde- that motivated her to make contribu- niable that there is a substantial growth for tions by becoming a member of the Mainland study tours over the past years. programme’s organising committee According to the commission’s work- for next year. ing group on youth national education, 142 “Starting from today, we must tours were subsidised in the 2012/13 aca- love our country whole-heartedly demic year, which 9,800 local students are and care for our country with toler- benefi ted. It has been a great leap forward ance instead of criticising it. China when compared to 4,600 students a dec- would be much stronger if everyone ade ago. of our 1.3 billion population shares the number of subsidised tours this attitude to make contribu- surged to its peak of 214 when the Bei- NEWS • 15

jing olympics was held in 2008. And the amount One of mankind’s greatest According to the lieutenant Colonel, there of subsidies from the Home Affairs Bureau had constructions, The Great Wall is is a distinguishing characteristic about their doubled from $7 million in 2001 to $15.6 million a must for study tours. (Provided tour. “We are uniformed groups, which means in 2010, when one third of participants headed by Hong Kong Adventure Corps) we have undertaken solid disciplinary training. to the Shanghai Expo. on the other hand, we are not uniformed, be- Besides direct sponsorship from the gov- cause each of our 13 groups has its own culture.” ernment, such study tours are also assisted by Beijing. the pro- He added that the “cultural diversity” of the tour was also gramme to tsinghua University, which Miss Kwong participat- refl ected in the destinations. the tours went beyond the hot ed, is one of those that are “supported” by mainland’s Ministry spots such as Beijing and Shanghai, but also to the grassland of Education and its liaison offi ce. in Inner Mongolia in 2002, the three Gorges Dam spanning But the one called Hong Kong Uniformed Groups 10,000 the Yangtze River in Hubei in 2005, the ancient city of Xi’an in Miles Friendship tour, with a slogan of “Same Heart, Same 2006, the hometown of Mr Mao Zedong in Hunan and the rural Root” is what stands above the rest. counties in Guizhou in 2012. Jointly organised by 13 uniformed groups including Hong But he said the fundamental reason for the immense fund Kong Boys’ Brigade and Hong Kong Red Cross participants was the programme’s large scale as they have more than 300 of the fi rst tour visited the Great Hall of the People and were participants every year. their sponsorship per participant is greeted by Mr Hu Jintao in August 2002, seven months before therefore still close to average rate of about $3,000. he became China’s top leader. He added the increase in the government funding in the the prestige also extends to media coverage as the tour en- last few years was set off by the infl ation rate in mainland. joys a separate section of the liaison offi ce’s website. the tours When “brainwashing” accusations from the opponents has its fl ag presentation ceremony offi ciated by the offi ce’s dep- were raised to Mr Wong, he commented in laughter, saying he uty director and activities highly publicised by mainland media thought Hong Kong students are too smart to be brainwashed. including state broadcaster China Central television. He said he could not even speak highly of the living standards in Mr Matthew Wong Wai-man, Deputy Commandant of Beijing with the hazardous smog there. Hong Kong Adventure Corps who co-organised the trek, said Mr Wong added that Beijing’s role in the programme was the latest tour was funded by Youth Commission with $1.1 mil- simply to contact mainland departments to facilitate the visit, lion, almost double of its normal maximum sponsorship of while the organiser’s autonomy of decision-making was not $600,000 for a single project. intervened. By Cheng Song Edited by Ada Yeung 16 • NEWS

BUSINESS Escape the room Hong Kongers successfully bringing virtual room es- cape games into reality

T he Tsui family was locked up in an Since its inception last November, eerie dark room that mumbled ghostly Freeing HK attracts an average of 1,500 soundtracks. There was no time for scary players per month. The owners, Mr Ray- movies, the family was in a hurry to find mond Sze Wai-hang and Mr Instant Wan the three items that would set them free, Sze-tang, are planning to launch two with whatever clues they could find. news centres in Causeway Bay and Tsim And soon – in 45 minutes – the game Sha Tsui as they see demand soar. was over. The family had failed to escape. Staging their first “room escape Freeing HK, calling itself “Hong Kong’s First Real Room Escape But it was not the end of the world. In game” shop in a shabby building in Game”, has quickly become a fact, the family seemed rather happy. Mongkok, the two said the district rep- popular weekend getaway among The participants were playing a real- resented Hong Kong people’s daily life, busy Hong Kongers. life room escape game at Freeing HK, a and throughout the game, they hoped local attraction that took inspiration from the maze-like game could offer an escape similar online games and turned it into a to local people from their hectic and de- tangible entertainment in Sai Yeung Choi pressed lives. Street, Mong Kok. Players are blindfold- “Hong Kongers are living a dull and ed, handcuffed and have to find clues to colourless life,” Mr Sze said. “You can get out of a locked room. see people rushing in crowded areas like NEWS • 17

Chairman of Freeing HK Mr Instant Wan Sze- tang and CEO Mr Raymond Sze Wai-hang

In a promotional video, participants are shown searching for clues to unlock the door.

Mongkok. Freeing HK is hoping to free play in the same room as before, the game challenges. their spirits in this concrete jungle.” still attracts 20 to 30 per cent of returning “If they put an item in the wrong Mr Sze added by organising these customers. place, the whole game will be jeopard- games, he hoped the locals could see Though as successful as it may seem, ised,” Mr Sze said. To further develop things in different angles, and most im- Freeing HK has until recently been losing their assistants, the company has come portantly, to work as a team. money. up with a detailed checklist and a system “There are hindrance every day and They explained that finding a suit- to train the staff to become specialists it is essential to have a logical mind to able location was particularly difficult. holding and resetting the games. solve them,” he said. “This is what we But Freeing HK has more to tackle with. Despite gaining popularity, the rais- want to teach our players.” “We have quite a number of tech- ing rent in the territory is also deter- The new type of game was now nical problems. For example, it took us ring the two owners from expanding the spreading like wildfire, but both Mr Sze a lot of time to set up a comprehensive business. and Mr Wan said they did little promo- infrared laser system. The deterioration They were also planning to float tion on the street. Participants often of the setting is also faster than we have shares in Taiwan and Macau to raise learned of the game from their friends thought,” said Mr Sze. money and look for new talents. and social media. Another problem they face is train- “There are always more opportuni- Although the clues will be revealed ing the staff, of which a high level of at- ties than obstacles,” said Mr Sze. after the game and returning players may tentiveness is required in setting up the By Giselle Chan Edited by Roy Chan 18 •NEWS

HEALTH Bittersweet pill to swallow New technology shines a light on colorectal diseases diagnosis

The camera in this capsule can take 35 frames per second.

t may only take you the effort of swallowing a pill to stay away the inaccuracy of colonoscopy diagnosis was caused by the Ifrom colonial cancer. No more corded tube to travel though limit of the colonoscope itself, which can only be pushed till the your bowels. As simple as that. caecum, where the small and large intestines meet, and thus may PillCam, otherwise known as non-invasive capsule endos- fail to detect any abnormal growths hidden in the folds and coils copy, is a swallowable capsule that takes images of the gastroin- of the bowels. testinal tract as it travels through it and discharges itself natural- Although PillCam is widely used for diagnosing colon can- ly. the capsule can record 35 frames per second when traveling cer in many parts of Europe and the Americas, it is only starting quickly or four frames per second when moving slowly. to gain traction as an alternative to colonoscopy in advanced Dr Justin Wu Che-yuen, director of S.H. Ho Asian economies, such as Hong Kong and Japan. the Centre of Digestive Health at Prince of Wales Japanese Ministry of Health approved it in 2007 Hospital, said that PillCam is highly suitable while its marketing clearance was granted for those over 50 who show no symptoms by the US Food and Drug Administration of colorectal cancer but are concerned in 2001 and by the European Union in about the risk of complications from 2006. the invasive colonoscopy. the proce- As one of Asia’s leading medical dure is widely-used in detecting co- hubs, Hong Kong is a regional pace- lon cancers, the second leading cause setter in performing colon capsule of cancer deaths in 2009. endoscopy, with major private and Patients going through colonos- public hospitals across the city, such copy are required to take in a laxative as Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospi- solution beforehand to cleanse their tal, Queen Mary Hospital and Prince colons and will be put under seda- of Wales Hospital, offering compre- tion to prevent any discomfort from hensive PillCam services to the public. the half-an-hour procedure, which in- the cost of a colonoscopy alone ranges volves an insertion of a thin and fl exible from $5,000 to $8,000, while a PillCam tube with a miniature camera on the end test can cost $16,000. into the patients’ bodies. In fact, PillCam has S.H. Ho Centre for Digestive Health, under already been proved to be more life-saving, as the the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the fi rst test only uses a wireless sensor belt to pick up signal sent local public hospitals to introduce capsule endoscopy ser- from the capsule. vices, rolled out its colon capsule endoscopy service in Septem- Some patients only discovered the polyps, a precancerous ber last year. the centre also offers training programs to local lump of tissue, in their bowels after PillCam test, despite receiv- health professionals. ing negative result from colonoscopy. Mr Wong Yam-hang, 75, Having said that, colonoscopy remains the gold standard discovered two polyps in his large bowel while Mr lam Hing- for preventing colorectal cancer largely due to its capability to yam, 64, found out eight polyps in his bowels, thanks to PillCam. instantly remove both polyps and lesions found in any section of the former experienced consistent abdominal pain despite the large intestine, something capsule endoscopy is not yet able nothing was found abnormal in colonoscopy. to achieve. By Brian Yap Edited by Jackie Yin NEWS • 19

PEOPLE Shooting for life Women’s rights video producer hopes to make a difference through her works

ave you ever thought that there is Hsomething more to life than simply The camera in working and sleeping? Have you ever had that feeling that you needed to do some- thing meaningful rather than complet- this capsule can ing that thankless stack of paperwork on your desk? While most of us would prob- ably have thought of leaving everything take 35 frames behind before, very few of us have actu- ally managed to do so. But Ms Yuen Han-yan did just that. per second. A documentary filmmaker by trade, Ms Yuen who used to film for Radio Tel- evision Hong Kong, now runs “Half the Sky Public Education”, a non-profit or- ganisation she founded in 2011, which promotes women’s rights in China. “I once thought that gender inequal- ity had ceased to exist in China since there were so many stories about suc- cessful female entrepreneurs,” she said. “But that changed after I came to see for myself that many women from the coun- tryside were actually still struggling to make ends meet.” Touched by the plight of her fellow countrywomen, Ms Yuen took the brave “And I also gained a lot of pleasure by which usually only take viewers one to decision to leave her life in Hong Kong experimenting on the different ways to two minutes of their time, are a lot more behind and started educating mainland shoot these promotional videos.” viewer-friendly for the average Joe. women on various women’s rights issues While the nature of her current She added that while documentaries such as domestic violence, sexual dis- works might seem no different to her do have its own educational purpose, it is crimination and labour exploitation. previous occupation, Ms Yuen revealed only for a small minority. But unlike other human rights that simply knowing how she is playing “What I am hoping to do is some- groups which achieve these goals with a part in a just cause creates a sense of thing that can affect the majority of the a more hands-on approach such as con- fulfillment that she could never get from people,” Ms Yuen said. ducting workshops and seminars, “Half shooting documentaries. Despite the satisfaction of her work the Sky” does it work mainly through the “I wanted to use my work to push so far, she admits that a lack of digital realm. people into action!” Ms Yuen said. time coupled with financial comstraints Putting her past experiences in film- “But documentaries just weren’t that have proved to be quite the obstacle in ing into good use, Ms Yuen shoots vari- effective.” ous promotional videos for her organisa- Contrary to common perceptions life. Since starting “Half the Sky”, Ms tion and shares them on popular social that documentaries usually serve an edu- Yue has had to juggle between her char- networking websites such as Weibo. cational purpose for the general public, ity work and being a freelance documen- Her most recent work was a video she believes that it is perhaps more accu- tary filmmaker. campaign called “Find the Sassiest Mi- rate to call it “preaching to the preached”. “There are times when I would love grant Worker”. It is a compilation of fe- “Documentaries are not really suit- to concentrate solely on Half the Sky, but male migrant workers in China showcas- able for the masses,” Ms Yuen explained. I can’t because I have to work,” she said. ing their talents such as singing, dancing “They are for the intellectuals, for people “i have to pay the rent as well.” and even tailoring. who already know what is happening and “Then again, I’m very happy with “It makes me very happy to see the for people who already care.” what I’m doing, so there really isn’t any viewing numbers increase,” she said. In comparison, short video clips, reason for me to give up.” By Ruby Leung Edited by Helen Yu 20 •FEATURES

Inconvenient consequences

Ten years after the Individual Visit Scheme was introduced, our city’s tourism and retailing sectors continue to prosper from the millions of mainland visitors the policy has lured across the border. While the policy is undoubtedly a huge commercial success; it has brought about a number of social problems. We take a look at some of the most nagging issues. NEWS • 21 22 •NEWS Parallel

tradersewelries, cosmetics and high- allel traders into our boundaries, people end fashion clothing, these are who imports non-counterfeit products the items people usually associate from another country without the per- with shopping arcades in places mission from the intellectual property Jsuch as Central or Causeway Bay. But, owner. contrary to common perceptions, these And it is they who have particularly shops can now also be found in Sheung irked Sheung Shui residents due to the Shui, a residential area in the outskirts of inconvenience they are causing. Hong Kong, just one train station away “The streets are now much more from the mainland city of Shenzhen. crowded with these parallel traders car- Since the Individual Visit Scheme rying and packing up their stuff,” said was introduced in 2003, shops catering North District Councillor Ms Or Sin-yi. to the needs of mainland visitors have “The price of daily goods has also soared filled up the shopping arcades near the because of their presence.” Shueng Shui MTR station, forcing many In 2009, Shenzhen residents were local businesses to either move to a less allowed multiple entries into Hong Kong crowded area or close down altogether. under a one-year visa, resulting in a sharp The scheme, which allows residents rise of travelers who enter in-and-out of from 49 mainland cities to visit Hong Hong Kong several times a day. Kong individually, was introduced 10 In 2012, these multiple-entry visi- years ago and was billed as the rescue tors account for 20 out of the 35 million plan for Hong Kong’s flagging tourism mainland tourists and among them, many sector which had just been badly hit by are involved in parallel trading activities the deadly SARS outbreak. such as buying tax-free baby milk formu- Ten years on, mainland tourists in las in pharmacies and selling them across Hong Kong have shot up from 6.8 million the border at higher prices. to 34.9 million, a surge of 411 per cent. In an attempt to rectify the situation, Despite the scheme’s success in at- the government started limiting each tracting more mainland tourists to Hong visitor or resident leaving Hong Kong to Kong, it has, however, also attracted par- be able to carry only up to 2 cans of baby NEWS • 23 Parallel “No one said no to the scheme when it first came out ... until the numbers went bonkers!” –Ms Claudia Mo Man-ching, lawmaker traders milk formulas. said Mr Leung. Parallel traders In addition, the luggage limit for Mr Leung believes that the Individ- have become a common sight on those travelling on the East Rail Line to ual Visit Scheme is not to be solely blame East Rail trains, Shenzhen has also been lowered from 32 for the social problems. Instead, he lays which connect the kg to 23 kg, making it more difficult for the blame on Hong Kong’s over-reliance city centre to Lo Wu border. parallel traders to bring more goods out of the retail and tourism sectors and said of Hong Kong in a single trip. that unless the city is able to reinvent it- But even though such policies have self, doubts over the scheme will contin- been launched specifically to counter ue to be raised. parallel traders, Mr Lau Kwok-fan, also Legislator Ms Claudia Mo Man-ch- a North district councillor, believes that ing echoed Mr Leung’s view that Hong the parallel trading cannot be fully eradi- Kong’s tourism sector has become too cated as the profits of parallel-trading is reliant on mainland tourists. simply too tempting. “No one said no to the scheme when Legislator Mr Albert Chan Wai-yip it first came out,” said Ms Mo. “That was once revealed in a legislative council until the numbers went bonkers!” meeting that parallel traders are profiting The “numbers” she was referring to close to $600 million a month from baby was a statistic from the Commerce and milk formulas alone. Economic Development Bureau which Even though parallel traders have revealed that mainland tourists account caused plenty of social problems to for nearly 70 per cent of total arrivals in Sheung Shui residents, Mr Leung Kin- 2011. shing, co-organizer of the North Dis- “As more and more mainland tourists trict Parallel Imports Concern Group, are visiting Hong Kong, we are also see- believed that it might cause more harm ing a worrying decline in Western tour- than good if Hong Kong is rid of them ists,” Ms Mo said, warning that it could be and the Individual Visit Scheme entirely. harmful to the city’s development. “Our economy will most probably “We are not as multi-cultural as we face another meltdown if all the main- used to be,” she said. “Something has to land visitors stop coming to Hong Kong,” be done.” 24 •NEWS

Shoppersa staggering amount of

heung Shui is not the only tors had obstructed the store’s sur- district to have been “con- rounding areas, including fire escape quered” by mainland visitors routes, as most mainland shoppers as more and more tourists were eager to unpack the products Sand parallel traders are visiting Tuen right after buying them. Mun as their new favourite shopping Ms Chan said local clients were spot. not only dissatisfied with the chaos Since the opening of the Shen- caused by their mainland counter- zhen Bay checkpoint in July 2007, parts, but were also unhappy they more and more mainland visitors, could no longer shop around freely especially those who live close to without disturbance. the checkpoint, findT uen Mun more accessible than Sheung Minor physical clashes between locals and mainland Shui, as it takes only 20 minutes for them to get to Tuen Mun visitors also occurred during those “out-of-control” periods. by bus routes B3 and B3X. Ms Ma Yu-shum, a saleslady who has been working at According to Mr Edward Kan Ka-ho, a customer service Wing Wah Cake Shop at Tuen Mun Plaza for over a year, has manager who has been working at Tuen Mun Town Plaza for witnessed several times local residents being hit by bulky over a year, eight out of ten customers who shop at the major trolleys pushed by mainland buyers. malls in Tuen Mun are mainland visitors. “Physical clashes could easily turn into fights,” said Ms That number is in stark contrast to the situation only Ma. about a year ago, when only about two out of every 10 cus- To tackle the situation, the mall has been strengthening tomers were mainland tourists, he said. security at different spots, so as to offer help to both local and Mr Kan pointed out that even though parallel traders mainland buyers as much as possible, according to the plaza only amount to two out of every ten mainland visitors in manager Mr Edward Kan. Tuen Mun, it has the potential to grow further as the number Apart from buyers, Mr Kan said a small number of stores of parallel traders has increased by 20 per cent since last year. had also occasionally complained about the disturbance Similar to Sheung Shui, the increase in the number of caused by mainland visitors. mainland visitors has not only helped enhanced the revenue But according to Mr Kan, their complains are few and of businesses; it has also intensified the tension between lo- far between compared with local shoppers as they were, after cal residents and the visitors. all, the beneficiaries of the current situation. More local residents have filed complaints over the “un- Mr Henry Tam Long-yiu, a salesman who works at TSL civilised behaviours” of mainland visitors since 2012, said Ms Jewellery in the same plaza, agrees that mainland clients Marie Chan, a customer service officer at Tuen Mun Town have been the main source of revenue in the past few years. Plaza. According to a survey conducted by the Hong Kong According to her, many of the complaints include spit- Tourism Board, more than three-quarters of mainland visi- ting, littering, shouting and queue jumping and mostly con- tors travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme took re- cerns mainland shoppers at PrizeMart, a store known for peated trips to Hong Kong and they averagely exhibited a selling household products at relatively reasonable prices. high level of daily spending of up to $2.200 per person, on During the pre-Chinese New Year period, numerous popular items such as cosmetics, jewelries and clothing. complaints were received over groups of mainland visi- “There would be hardly any business without the pres- tors, whose numbers were large enough to form queues that ence of mainland customers these days,” said Mr Tam, adding stretched across several floors, for their inappropriate behav- that over 60 per cent of his customers are from the mainland. iors and poor attitudes, said Ms Chan. He said that mainland buyers have definitely done more Most local residents complained that the mainland visi- good than harm when it came to boosting profits. NEWS • 25

Shoppersin your residential neighbourhood, too

and some Illegal Workers ccording to the Immigra- stepped up its efforts to tackle the issue, tion Department, more than Mr Chow Luen-qui, chairperson of the 4,000 mainland visitors enter- Hong Kong Construction Industry Em- “Real tourists ing Hong Kong through the ployees General Union, said some con- IndividualA Visit Scheme were arrested struction companies are still hiring main- for working illegally in the city last year. land visitors as workers. do not travel Many of the arrested were work- “Compared to local workers, those ing as domestic helpers, prostitutes and from the mainland are cheaper,” he said. in and out of construction workers. Apart from hav- “I have heard of many cases where main- ing their entry permits revoked, some land visitors were hired for renovation were even imprisoned – first seen in the jobs.” Hong Kong sentence of an illegal mainland domestic Under current regulations, construc- helper last June. tion workers in the territory are required Even though the government has to register with the Construction Indus- every day” – Mr James Tien Pei-chun, Liberal Party honorary chairman 26 •NEWS

In numbers 34.9 million Number of mainland visitors entering Hong Kong through the Individual Visit Scheme last year 20 million Number of mainland visitors entering Hong Kong through the multiple-entry permit under the scheme, many of which were believed to be involved with parallel trading and working illegally $600 million/month Profi t gained by parallel traders through baby milk formulas alone, according to legislator Mr Albert Chan Wai-yip $2,000 Cost of a counterfeit Hong Kong construction worker registration card, according to Mr Chow Luen-qui, chairperson of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union

try Council. gineering and computing graduates from Scheme, were from low-income families, However, Mr Chow said that many the mainland for part-time work even which might explain why they would re- mainland visitors are able to obtain a though many of them are entering Hong sort to working illegally. counterfeit registration card for only Kong as visitors. He also questioned the rationale be- around $2,000 in the mainland. “the academic level of mainland hind the aforementioned 2009 revision to make matters worse, he added graduates are pretty much the same of the Individual Visit Scheme, which that illegal mainland workers are not as our local graduates,” said Mr Wong. enabled Shenzhen residents to enter only confi ned to low-skilled labour such “their difference lies in their pay as it is Hong Kong multiple times a day, saying as construction workers and domestic a lot cheaper for companies to hire main- that most of them were actually parallel helpers, but also in the more qualifi ca- land graduates instead.” traders and illegal workers. tion-oriented information technology Mr James tien Pei-chun, former “Real tourists do not travel in and out industry. chairman of the Hong Kong tour- of Hong Kong every day,” Mr tien said. Mr Wong Siu-ting, a computer pro- ism Board, said that many of these il- “Unlike normal visitors, they (parallel grammer for a local company, said it is legal mainland workers, who entered traders and illegal workers) do not con- quite common for companies to hire en- Hong Kong through the Individual Visit tribute to the economy.”

Report by Venus Ho, Rachel Leung, Joy Huo and Lawrence Mak; Edited by Jim Wong, Heiin Lai, Sophia Fu and Kris Lui Place Your AD Here and Be Seen by People Like You and Us and those who like us, too.

[email protected] The Young Reporter run by HKBU journalism students since 1969 28 • NEWS