The new Chan Chi-chuen Forced labour camp Food crisis of the poors How he transforms from a The future of the system under Low-income families are DJ to the first openly gay the new Chinese leadership hungrier than ever as food legislative councillor p18 p14 prices surge p12 THE YOUNG REP RTER magazineDEC 2012 These are the colours that represent the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. Have they seen the rainbow yet? p28 In This Issue 4 One Moment 12 Poor and hungry 26 Marrying him or her Surging food prices mean low-income The rugged road to homosexual 7 View families are hungrier than ever engagement The sixth must-do in university: applying for 14 Forced labour camps 29 God loves homosexuals public housing Prominent lawyer says new leadership Gay Christians find new meaning FRONT hints at reform of controversial labour re- of religion in church 9 Journalism Matters education system FEATURE The case for paywalls • A 30 The rainbow after rain Q&A with Mike Chinoy 15 Housing subsidy to N-nothings Same-sex marriage legalisation is Why another round of housing subsidy under the spotlight again giveaway does not help them much NEWS 18 The new life of Chan Chi-chuen The DJ-turned-legislator talks about his new identity 20 Algae saves the world Microalgae may be the answer to energy shortage, water pollution and more 22 Wierd is cool How Internet has helped to spread non-mainstream songs COVER: ALAN WONG; PHOTOS: THIS PAGE: CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:JOY HUO; RUBY LEUNG; BRIAN YAP; CHAN CHI-CHUEN LEUNG; BRIAN YAP; HUO; RUBY LEFT:JOY FROM TOP CLOCKWISE THIS PAGE: PHOTOS: ALAN WONG; COVER: ALAN WONG PAGE: OPPOSITE magazineTHE YOUNG REP RTER Editor-in-Chief Editors Alan Wong Abigail Khoo Coco Zheng Fechon Wong Deputy Chief Editors Guannan Li Alvina Hung Helen Yu Rev Hui Jackie Yin Jim Wong Kris Lui Web Editors Kristine Basilio Ada Yeung Melody Chan Dennis Lee Peyton Guan Remus Wei Art Director Roy Chan Sophia Fu Beth Liu Reporters In our previous issue, we talked to the losers in the 2012 Legislative Councils elections. Public Relation Officers Andrew Wan Check out tyr.hk for the stories and more. Clarie Lee Brian Yap Catherine Lim Johnny Lo Celine Ge Cheng Song Distribution Officer Cleo Tse Joyce Cheung Eunice Leung Giselle Chan Joy Huo Advisers Jessica Lee CK Lau Kasim Chan Robin Ewing Katheleen Wong Lavinia Mo Publisher Ruby Leung Ching Liu Steve Guo Lawrence Mak Natasha Chan Printer Rachel Leung Department of Journalism Thibault Bluy School of Communication Hong Kong Baptist University Vanessa Piao Venus Ho Printer address Dept of Journalism, HK Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kln The Young Reporter Volume 45 December 2012 EMAIL [email protected] FACEBOOK tyrmag WEBSITE tyr.hk 4 • FRONT One Moment A father and daugther in the annual gay parade, themed “Dare to love” this year, on November 10. Photograph by Joy Huo 6 • FRONT Photograph by Joy Huo FRONT • 7 View University graduates should not compete with the needy for public housing O many soon-to-be graduates, prop- have access to university education have justifiable to allow capable and employ- Terty prices in Hong Kong these days the same, if not more, time to prepare able university graduates whose higher are pretty scary. themselves for their future careers. education is largely paid for by the tax- High prices, and probably the scare, It is unlikely that they need pub- payers to join the same waiting list for translate into a whopping 19,822 public lic housing because they are incapable. a subsidised home with those who have rental housing applicants who have re- Hong Kong’s education system is, to more pressing needs. ceived tertiary education or above. The some extent, still elitist. Less than one While the government has tightened figure is more than double the 9,036 ap- out of five young people from the age of the allocation of PRH to non-elderly one- plicants in the same category in 2010. 17 to 20 have the chance to receive a uni- person applicants since the introduction Rhetoric aside, high property prices versity education. Compared to students of the Quota and Points System in 2005, hardly justify university graduates apply- of the same age group, they are de facto it is not turning a blind eye to young peo- ing for public housing. In fact, as few as the most capable ones, at least academi- ple’s housing need, especially when social ten percent of some 93,000 non-elderly cally, and those who do not have good mobility is key to economic prosperity. one-person applicants attribute their ap- grades must perform exceptionally well The resumed Home Ownership plication to the city’s unaffordable rent, in other areas. Scheme will offer flats with an opti- according to statistics released by the The universities in Hong Kong do mum size to families with a monthly Housing Authority. not disappoint either. They are among household income of less than $30,000. There is no doubt that people, in- the best in Asia and often attract the best Families with a higher income, who are cluding the university-educated, want teachers and students from abroad and left out under current policy, are not a place of their own. The real questions the mainland. The price tag that comes forgotten either. In collaboration with are who need and deserve public housing with the education is not small. The the Hong Kong Housing Society, the most. four-year tertiary education programme, government is set to continue to imple- In his Budget speech in February, Fi- previously three-year, costs taxpayers ment the My Home Purchase Plan to nancial Secretary Mr John Tsang Chun- approximately $200,000 a year per stu- provide small- and medium-sized rental wah articulated the goal of government’s dent. Students pay only a fraction of the flats for families with a monthly income public housing programmes. The gov- amount. of about $40,000. The programme al- ernment’s policy, he said, was to provide The result is that, in monetary terms, lows them to save money, and move on to public rental housing “for low-income fresh university graduates earn a mean own the flat they rent or a flat from the families who cannot afford private rental monthly salary of $11,823, 38 per cent private market. accommodation.” He pledged to main- higher than secondary school graduates Truth be told, there is no such thing tain the average waiting time for general who have finished Advanced Level Ex- as cheap, decent private housing choices applicants, excluding non-elderly one- amination ($8,590), according to survey that do not involve a long bus ride, or a person applicants, at around three years. released by Hong Kong Baptist Univer- tedious combination of train and bus Among the more than 200,000 ap- sity School of Business and the Hong rides, away from the city. It is also hard to plicants on the waiting list, there are low- Kong People Management Association imagine how fresh university graduates income families that struggle to make in October. earning modest wages can afford even ends meet amidst rising living costs; peo- To top it all, the Housing Authority the smallest flats in the private market. ple who are forced out of their homes; statistics also show that 92 percent of But adversity has always been a cata- couples who hope to build a family; and non-elderly one-person applicants live lyst that has driven Hong Kong to where people who are living in dire conditions with their parents. And the most impor- it stands today. If even the higher-educat- or downright homeless. tant reason they apply for public hous- ed pack is not confident enough to shoul- While the underprivileged spends ing, the statistics show, is that they wish der the pressure, Hong Kong may as well on average three years waiting for the to live alone. start saving to prepare for demands for government to put an end to their hous- When land supply for public hous- more welfare in the near future. ing plight, the 18 percent of students who ing is meagre and demand high, it is un- by Alan Wong Write to us. We will publish your letters in the magazine and on our website. [email protected] The Young Reporter run by HKBU journalism students since 1969 J MATTERS • FRONT • 9 Journalism Matters Free press What? I have to pay for news? OBODY enjoys hitting a wall, especially one said, adding that newspapers that had tough pay- Nthat asks you to pay before you can read an walls often faced great business challenges. article online. But despite how much you hate pay- Another Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ms walls, they will be either here to stay or gone with Paige St. John said the Los Angeles Times, which the newspapers altogether. she now works for, was struggling with implement- “How many of you bought a newspaper in the ing a paywall on its website. last week? Raise your hand if you bought a newspa- “The website is losing people at the moment. per,” asked Mr Clifford J. Levy, a Pulitzer Prize-win- It’s a difficult transition for them,” she said. “The LA ning journalist at the New York Times, the audience Times is rolling out new products on the webpages at a forum in Hong Kong Baptist University. to try to bring people in.” There were few hands in the air. Soon enough, No matter what businesses people are in, the laughters from the tens of journalism students and only way to go seems to be “social”.