Students eat humble pie after food fiasco

(The Standard P.6 28 Mar 2013) Baptist University students have apologized to a restaurant that caters to the needy and paid the cash equivalent (等值的) of a sponsorship deal they received after being roundly criticized (嚴厲地批評) for taking resources away from the poor.

About a dozen (十多名) youngsters gave HK$1,600 to Chan Cheuk-ming - also known as Ming Gor and owner of Pei Ho Seafood and Roasted Meat Restaurant - who had been approached (聯繫) by the students to provide free food during their school activities.

The restaurant in Sham Shui Po is known for a menu with extraordinarily (格外地) low prices - a bowl of steamed rice with a plate of vegetables, for example, sells for HK$16.

One of those who slammed (猛烈抨擊) the students was Benson Tsang Chi-ho, a member of volunteer group Equal Share Campaign (平等分享行動) and one of many who cooperate (合作) with Chan in sponsoring food services.

"Ming Gor helps the poor and the homeless and the students should not have asked him to sponsor their activities," he said on his Facebook page.

To teach the students a lesson, Tang asked them to distribute (分發) food to the elderly and homeless around the district (地區) yesterday. He later said the students were "very brave to own up (承認) to their mistakes."

One of the students said they had approached (聯繫) several restaurants in Sham Shui Po but only Chan agreed to provide them with food.

Students' Union president Michelle Fung Ching-man said next time "we will look for background information on restaurants before requesting sponsorships (贊助)."

Chan, who is in his 60s, said he helped the students to inspire (激勵) them to help society in the future.

"Even if these students do not become the chief executive, they can become the financial secretary and help the poor in the future," he said.

Baptist University vice chancellor (校長) Albert Chan Sun-chi praised (讚揚) the restaurant owner and said the incident brought a positive result: "It proves (證明) that our students are willing (願意的) to learn from mistakes."

Kelly Ip

Heavy emotional price for jobless school leavers

(The Standard P.6  25 Mar 2013) Nearly 80 percent of young people who are unable to find a job after leaving school pay an emotional price.

This was the finding in a survey of 752 people, aged 15 to 29, conducted by Caritas (明愛), Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service (浸會信愛群社會服務處) and the Mental Health Association of Hong Kong (香港心理衛生會).

Seventy-eight percent of respondents reported emotional problems, while 39 percent admitted (承認) to frictions (爭執) with family members, and 35 percent stayed at home all day long. The emotional problems included depression (抑鬱), anxiety (焦慮), manic depressive disorder (躁狂抑鬱症) and adjustment disorders (適應障礙).

About 54 percent had left school and were unemployed. Of these, 33 percent stayed jobless for more than six months.

The survey also revealed (顯露出) that as these youngsters became older, they become more isolated socially (被社會孤立) and more reluctant (抗拒) to reach out to people.

Of those who experienced family frictions, 28 percent saw those tensions break out in quarrels (爆發 爭吵) while 5 percent of those quarrels ended in violence.

"Many young people have doubts (懷疑 ) about their personal worth (個人價值) and are unsure about their position. They need self-recognition (自我認知) over their studies or work, and need to find people to talk about their problems," said Tai Hui-ning, assistant in charge of the Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness-Service Development (精神健康綜合社區中心) of Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service (浸信會愛羣社會服務處).

Teenagers who cannot express their emotions become socially isolated, he added.

Kelvin Yuen Chun-fung, assistant social work officer of Caritas Wellness Link - Tsuen Wan, which provides rehabilitation services (復康治療中心) , said many parents are only concerned about whether their children are studying or working at a job, but lack communication skills with their children.

The organizations called on (請求) the government to commit (撥出) more resources to mental health care (精神科護理).

Parents should also understand the needs of their children and offer more encouragement and recognition (讚賞) to youngsters, they said.

They also called on setting up support schemes to help unemployed youngsters, or those who have left school.

Catherine, a Secondary Six student, said she was full of negative thoughts (負面思想) in the past.

 

"I felt very unhappy and cried for no reason. I also felt I was alone and even wanted to kill everyone," she said.

After seeking help from a social worker, her emotions became stable (穩定的). She urges youngsters to seek help from professionals if they face pressure.

Winnie Chong

2013-03-24 財政預算案

http://programme.rthk.org.hk/channel/radio/player_popup.php?name=&pid=5828&eid=211748&d=2013-03-24&player=media&type=archive&channel=radio2

信者得救!?

http://hk.ent.yahoo.com/video/%E4%BF%A1%E8%80%85%E5%BE%97%E6%95%91-132700269.html

Price put on pains of everyday life

(The Standard P.8  20 Mar 2013) For families earning from HK$10,000 to HK$20,000 a month life is the most painful, a survey shows.

Researchers at Shue Yan University's Economic And Wellbeing Project (樹仁大學經濟與民生研究計劃) interviewed 1,500 people by telephone last month and found households in that income group are earning too much to benefit from social welfare but too little to handle daily living pressure without outside assistance (無助).

According to the latest Census and Statistics Department figures (政府統計處數字) of 2011, such families represent (代表) 33.8percent of all households in the territory.

The same survey also found that those aged 55 to 64 are the most anxious, fearing a lack of protection (缺乏保障) after retirement.

Of six livelihood problems, housing (36.4 percent) is the top worry, followed by inflation (通貨膨脹) (29.13percent), poverty (16.4percent), work (10.67percent), pollution (3.6percent) and aging (老化) (3.6percent).

The survey also found when household income rises, the percentage of housing problems increases.

About 30percent of households with incomes of less than HK$5,000 said housing causes them the most worry.

No to be outdone（不甘示弱）, 53percent of households with incomes of HK$50,000 or above said housing problems are the most difficult.

The survey also revealed (顯示）that 34percent of households with incomes of less than HK$5,000 said inflation is most painful for them. But for households with incomes of HK$50,000 or above, only 17 percent worry about inflation.

Thomas Yuen Wai-kee, associate head of the department of economics and finance, said he did not expect 70percent of respondents to describe their lives as "painful."

"While the cost of public services, food prices and daily necessities keep soaring （日常必需品持續上升）, low- and middle-income groups are facing great pressure," Yuen said.

He called on the government to consider more policies to help tackle inflation (有助對抗通脹), such as offering cash handouts of HK$6,000.

Winnie Chong

食物

查小欣 - 父母忽略的……

【晴報專訊】倫常慘案全城關注，議論紛紜，各有不同看法，歸咎不同原因導致疑兇心狠手辣、畜牲不如，希望警方早日將兇手繩之於法，以慰死者在天之靈。不少父母都尋求如何令孩子易教聽話、性格溫馴的良方。要教好孩子，除了循循善誘外，還有常被父母忽略的幼兒飲食法。外國育兒專家早已著書立說，告誡父母們在孩子三歲前勿在其食物中放任何調味品，原因是身體器官未完全發育，未有足夠的酵素去處理鹽、糖、味精、雞粉、豉油、麻油等調味品，會損害器官。不少父母以為給孩子吃好味的食物，甚至食大人餸菜是愛錫孩子，其實是在損害他的身體，令他們容易生病，孩子未能健康成長，對性格會有一定影響。

育兒專家研究所得，五歲前最不應該給孩子飲汽水、食朱古力、糖、飲茶和咖啡，原因是糖易引發咳嗽，甚至導致哮喘；咖啡因則令孩子過度活躍，注意力不集中，晚上久久不能入睡，孩子又怎會易教？不過在今天的社會，根本難以做到，如果可以戒口至三歲已經很不錯。
撰文︰查小欣

Deadly game of wasted lives

(The Standard P.2  18 Mar 2013) What's happening to Hong Kong?

We're raised to respect and look after our parents. But instead, what we've seen in the past several days was absolutely (完全地) shocking.

In two separate (個別的) cases, parents were violently slain (被殺死), and the brutality (殘暴行為) involved struck the social nerve very, very hard.

In the first incident, a couple in their 60s was first reported missing, with an appeal made on Facebook for help in locating the man and his wife.

Then, police investigators found their dismembered (肢解的) bodies. The skulls (頭顱) were stored in the refrigerator, while some other body parts were tossed into the sea.

Police have laid murder charges against the youngest son, 29, and his friend, 35.

More details, including the motive, will be known after the suspects appear in court, but this much is known of the parents: they were dedicated (專注的 ) to the task of bringing up (教養) their son since he was a boy.

On Saturday, we were stunned (大為震驚) by another grisly (可怕的) murder.

Another father was killed and his wife seriously wounded. Their son, 18, has been arrested, along with his 19-year-old friend.

Both cases are sick. Is this what our society has become?

Despite the alarming similarities (無獨有偶) , the incidents aren't related(相關的).

First, according to police investigations, the similarities included both sets of slayings (殺戮) being planned.

In the past, family violence was usually spontaneous. But it seems different now.

Second, the suspects spent a lot of time closeted (私下密談的) at home playing computer games.

According to media reports, the teen held for killing his father and wounding his mother in Yuen Long fancied (空想) himself as a "lonely swordsman. (孤獨劍客)"

It's troubling to see young people spending most of their days in the virtual (虛擬的) world.

It seems more and more of them are turning to cyberspace (網際空間) for the satisfaction that they can't find in the real world, playing fictitious (虛構的) roles of heroes and saviors (拯救者) , even demons (惡魔).

Their return to the real world is painful, as the old feelings of inadequacy (不適當) or inferiority (自卑感) come back.

I wish that a survey by the Hong Kong Playground Association (香港遊樂場協會) was wrong in finding that out of every 10 young people, at least one was addicted to the virtual world.

Then, there was the similar modus  operandi (樣式做法) that in each case, the suspects (嫌疑犯) allegedly (據宣稱) sought (尋找) the help of a friend.

It's serious because, if one can't distinguish (辨別) between right and wrong, the other should be able to. This is what collective wisdom is supposed to be.

I'm confident the judicial (司法的) system will be able to see justice done (伸張正義) for the victims.

But does it mean the problem will end and there is nothing more society can do?

The virtual world offers no human touch in relationships.

The gunman who killed 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school last year was fond of playing computer shooting games.

The Norwegian assailant who killed 77 people in 2011 was also a regular player of violent computer games.

Cyberspace is full of perversions (顛倒) too. Type in the word "murder" and it will flash tips telling you how to kill.

Our society is getting sick. The only remedy (補救辦法) is to live in the real world.

Mary Ma