2013年8月5日 星期一
2013年7月24日 星期三
political refugees
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| HK Comment P09 |
China Daily Hong Kong Edition | Fung Keung 2013-07-25 |
| Pro-refugee groups misguided | ||
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Many non-governmental organizations’ executives,
human-rights lawyers and Church groups leaders in Hong Kong criticized
the SAR government on July 22 for not providing satisfactory welfare for
the 5,000 “political refugees” trapped in the city. Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, a Labour Party lawmaker, plans to table a motion in the Legislative Council (LegCo) soon, urging the government to thoroughly review the welfare system for asylum seekers. According to press reports, Cheung told the 100 or so asylum seekers who gathered outside the venue where a government welfare panel met on July 22: “We are obligated to provide the basic needs of those who face persecution and come to Hong Kong as a transition. Your situation is totally unacceptable.” Sad to say, those people who sympathize with “political refugees”, including Cheung, are misguided and ill-advised. Some of them might even have their own hidden agendas. Hong Kong people are unquestionably sure that most of the 5,000 asylum seekers are economic refugees, fleeing poverty in their home countries in Africa and South Asia. If they were seeking political asylum, they would have gone to the mainland, which is party to the United Nations Refugee Convention (Hong Kong is not). The central government has the obligation to find willing “host countries” (such as Canada and Australia) to resettle political refugees should they decide not to stay on the mainland. Why did the refugees choose Hong Kong and not the mainland? They have a higher living standard in this city than on the mainland. Many of them know darn well that they don’t have a genuine political persecution case to present to the investigators if they go to the mainland. If we improve the welfare of these 5,000 asylum seekers, Hong Kong will become a magnet for those who live in dire poverty in Africa and South Asia. This tiny city would become inundated as thousands head our way. Many Hong Kong people left for the United States in the 1960s and 1970s for the same reason (they were not persecuted by any government) — seeking a better life. The 5,000 asylum seekers in Hong Kong each receive HK$1,200 per month in housing allowance, HK$1,000 for groceries and a small travel allowance. The allowances, not lavish by Hong Kong or international standards, meet the basic needs of the refugees. Any improvement in the payouts would undoubtedly provide an incentive for poverty-stricken Africans and South Asians. Many of them in fact are living on the mainland now, waiting for an opportunity to cross the Shenzhen River to come to Hong Kong. This imaginary scenario would bring home my point. Assuming that many Hong Kong people earn HK$8,000 a month, if a certain Western country says it would offer a monthly allowance of HK$15,000 to anyone who resettles in it (no questions asked), wouldn’t this group of local people be tempted to emigrate? NGO officials, human-rights lawyers, religious leaders and political refugees spoke up for the asylum seekers in front of the LegCo panel on welfare services on July 22. Their arguments surprised few people as they focused on the interests of the refugees and not those of Hong Kong people. Their views invariably were narrow and restricted. We should take a broad, open and sustained view to the “political refugee” issue. Hong Kong is too small to become a haven for economic refugees who take advantage of Hong Kong people’s sympathy. Hong Kong people aren’t compassionless and cold-hearted. But we need to balance the interests of citizens who work hard to create wealth and those refugees who aspire for a better life in Hong Kong. We don’t owe the economic refugees anything. The author is coordinator of the B.S.Sc in financial journalism program at Hong Kong Baptist University. We should take a broad, open and sustained view to the “political refugee” issue. Hong Kong is too small to become a haven for economic refugees who take advantage of Hong Kong people’s sympathy.” |
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2013年7月22日 星期一
新版英漢辭典
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文章總數: 1 篇
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專欄
E06 |
1 . 星島日報
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辛翠時
2013-07-23 |
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細說新事
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新版英漢辭典
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培生教育亞洲有限公司（Pearson）在香港書展舉行前推出了一本《朗文當代高級辭典（英英．英漢雙解）》第五版，策劃編輯王偉文是中文大學師弟，日前送來一本，供辛翠時參考。老實說，自己的書架上已有多本字典、辭典，朗文版本的也有三本，這部新辭典在書架幾乎無容身之地，何況近年興起字典手機版，用智能手機查字典，快捷便當，印刷本字典還有競爭力嗎？
王兄有電郵傳來，聲言字典有獨特之處，很適合本港學生使用。翻開此辭典一看，有新亞書院師弟馮強（浸會大學國際新聞與財經新聞碩士課程主任）的序言，他從實際用家的角度出發，指出這本辭典有三大特點：一、提供超過一萬八千個同義詞、反義詞和相關詞，並設「詞語辨析專欄」，有助豐富學生的詞彙；二、辭典提供英語詞搭配，如Ability（能力）詞條列出二十五個可搭配的形容詞，令人歎為觀止；三、本辭典提供語體（Register）專欄，指出了詞語在語體上要注意的地方，並設例子說明。
看了馮強的序言，急忙隨手一翻，翻出H部，在Habit這個單字，便列有八個解釋，在詞語配搭（Collocations）一欄，列出六個Habit的用語、六個形容詞、三個片語、四個詞語辨析如Habit、Custom、Tradition、Practice等，學生或讀者看了這麼詳細的例子和解釋，對Habit這一個字必然有比較深入的認識。
幾頁之後又有一單字Hairstyle（髮型），竟然列出十六張不同髮型的圖片，顯示出各種髮型如Straight、Layered、Dreadlocks、Bunches（雙馬尾）、French Plait、Plait、Frizzy、Flattop、Pongtail、Pigtails、Curly、Crew Cut、Bald
Head、Bun、Bob、Wavy，用馮強的說法歎為觀止矣，所有中學生、大學生宜人手一冊。
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文章編號: 201307230030231
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2013年7月19日 星期五
Ethnic time bombs in Asia
| HK Comment P06 |
China Daily Hong Kong Edition | Fung Keung 2013-07-20 |
| Ethnic time bombs in Asia | ||
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Egypt’s elected former president Mohammed Morsi was
toppled by the military on July 3. The uprising against his rule, with
14 million people protesting on the streets at one point, is a reminder
of the ticking political time bombs in Asia. During his 12-month presidency, Morsi allegedly attempted to grab more power for his Muslim Brotherhood organization, ignored the interests of minorities and women, and made little effort to improve the grassroots’ livelihood. At the brink of bloody clashes between Muslim Brotherhood members and Morsi’s opponents, the military stepped in to restore order. The clash of religions in Egypt resonates loud and clear in Asia. Countries facing similar volatile situations include Myanmar (Buddhist vs Muslim), the Philippines (Christian vs Muslim) and Indonesia (Muslim vs Christian). The clash of religions resoundingly underscores the centuries-old clash of civilizations. Asian leaders must learn the lesson of Egypt’s uprising to prevent bloody revolutions in their countries. Ruling parties, supported by secular or religious organizations notwithstanding, must study and possess the political finesse to have the minorities’ interests at heart and share power with minority groups if feasible. Egypt’s authoritarian Morsi was accused of failing to deliver promises he made during the election a year ago. He had promised to improve the economy, boost employment and heed the needs of minorities and women. At present, Egypt’s unemployment rate stands at 13 percent (and 40 percent among young people) and food and fuel prices are soaring. Egypt’s military, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has appointed an economist, Hazem al-Beblawi, to be the prime minister, who, in turn, has named another liberal economist Ahmed Galal as finance minister. Galal has a doctoral degree from Boston University in the United States. It is obvious that Egypt’s new leaders under the “temporary constitution” realize where the country’s major problem lies — people’s livelihood. Al-Beblawi’s transitional government must work with the Muslim Brotherhood in forming a coalition government when parliamentary elections are held in February 2014. The Muslim Brotherhood, which voted Morsi to power, is simply too big and powerful to be slighted. Let us take a look at the political landscapes in Asia. The Philippine government has waged a war against fighters in the Muslim-held stronghold in Mindanao for many years. There doesn’t seem to be light at the end of the political tunnel. The Muslims in Mindanao want an independent state. They have fought for independence since the Spanish occupation of the Philippines in the 1800s. The conflict in Indonesia’s Malacca state, where, in the past two years, 4,000 people have been killed in Christian-Muslim fighting, and 500,000 displaced, underlines the entrenched and bloody religious feud. Today, the Karen and Shan minority groups in Myanmar fight against the government in the east of the country, while small armed groups of the Rohingya people are active in the western part of the country (the Rohingya use refugee camps in Bangladesh as bases). Sporadic conflicts also occur in other regions of Myanmar. Due to internal conflicts, around 160,000 Myanmese refugees have to live in Thailand. This writer has little intention of haranguing the ruling parties in the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar and other Asian countries and telling them how to run their governments. The uprising in Egypt, however, should touch Asian leaders’ nerves. Caring for the minorities’ interests and sharing power with secular and minority groups are lessons Asian leaders can learn from the fall of the Morsi government in Egypt. Egypt’s transitional leaders must try their best to avoid a civil war between the Muslim Brotherhood and other secular and Christian groups. They should learn from the experience of Nigeria. In 1991, the Nigerian military didn’t accept the election success of a Muslim-led party, which engendered a civil war that lasted for 10 years with thousands of people killed. The political time bombs in Asia can be defused with a mastery of the political skills of moderation, compromise and respect for pluralism. The author is coordinator of the B.S.Sc in financial journalism program at Hong Kong Baptist University. | ||
2013年7月17日 星期三
2013年7月15日 星期一
Free paper market poised for shake-up
Victor Fung interviewed by the SCMP on June 29
Observers expect consolidation after publisher Sing Tao said it had talks with Swedish owner of Metro Daily about purchasing the newspaper
Hong Kong’s free newspaper market is bracing for consolidation. An announcement by Sing Tao News last week that it might buy Metro Daily has sparked expectations for other acquisitions and the closure of some free papers.
Sing Tao said it had been in talks as part of a syndicate to acquire the Hong Kong business of Swedish free paper publisher Metro International but that negotiations ended in mid-May. The publisher said in the statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it was possible the syndicate would restart negotiations.
“Consolidation is now the buzzword for this market,” said Clement So York-kee, professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
“The proposed Sing Tao deal reflects the situation.”
The city’s free paper market is crowded with six publications. Five are in Chinese. One is in English, The Standard, which is published by Sing Tao. They all fight for advertising dollars. Sing Tao also publishes Sing Tao Daily and the free paper Headline Daily.
So said the free newspaper market in Hong Kong can be expected to change given the saturated nature of the sector.
“The free newspaper market in Hong Kong has reached a plateau after impressive development over the last decade,” he said.
“Not all of the operators are making money, and it is natural for some of them to consider making changes, like leaving the market, focusing on certain segments of the market, or possibly co-operating with other companies.”
A Sing Tao spokeswoman declined to comment.
Victor Fung, a lecturer in journalism at Hong Kong Baptist University, said if Metro Daily was bought, other free papers, including Next Media’s Sharp Daily and HKET Holdings’ Sky Post, would be put into more difficult situations.
Headline Daily, launched in 2005, leads the sector with an average daily circulation of 880,000, exceeding its nearest rival by about 50 per cent. Launched in 2002, Metro Daily, the city’s first free paper, has a daily circulation of 400,000. It is the only paper distributed in MTR stations.
“I don’t think it will be easy to buy Metro Daily, unless Sing Tao’s offer is really high,” said Fung.
He said although the paper may not be making much profit its position as the sole free paper at MTR stations had intangible value. “If Sing Tao buys it, it can, in addition to Metro Daily, distribute Headline Daily and The Standard in the subway.”
He said Sing Tao’s inability to use the MTR network to reach commuters was a “big setback”. “The readership represents quality. They are the middle-class people with consumption power on their way to work,” he said.
If the deal is realised, the other players including AM730, Sharp Daily and Sky Post will lose their competitiveness, according to Fung. “If so, there is big chance they will be closed,” he said.
HKET, the publisher of Hong Kong Economic Times, remains confident about the operation of its free daily. The company said in its latest financial report that advertising income from paid publications decreased but that income from Sky Post offset the drop. The company said its net profit in the year to March 31 fell 19 per cent year on year to HK$62.0 million as revenue increased 3 per cent to HK$1.03 billion.
HKET said it had invested more in Sky Post, which will affect its income performance in the near term, adding that its entry into the free daily market was necessary to broaden its advertising income base.
If you are interested in Egypt's latest uprising, you might be interested to
watch this half-hour news program on a new TV station called United
Broadcasting: http://www.unbtv.com/2013/0713/2773.shtml
The commentator is me, Victor Fung
The commentator is me, Victor Fung
2013年3月11日 星期一
MY commentary on today's China Daily
money laundering in Hong Kong
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2013-03/12/content_16300033.htm
2013年2月18日 星期一
english enhancement book (hard copy) for sale
《疯读演词强化英语》作者：冯强 （2013年2月）
《疯读演词强化英语》—a 180-page self-made book on improving one’s written English & speech-writing skills. The speeches include former Indian Prime Minister Nehru’s “Asia finds herself again” and others. Available in simplified and traditional Chinese format. Explanations are in Chinese. Please issue a $30 (or rmb30) cheque or mail notebooks (any type) of roughly equivalent value to Fung Keung (Journalism Department, HKBU, 10/F, Room 1036, CVA Building, 5 Hereford Road, Kowloon Tong, HK). HKBU students may deposit $30 cash in an envelope (with their email addresses) in the box outside the author’s office.
Email: deanfungenglish@gmail.com Phone: 852-34117632
目录：
第一章
--瘋讀20篇演辭，強化英語
1 Rendezvous with despair
與絕望會見.........................................................................２
2 Asia finds herself again
亞洲人站起來了................................................................6
3 America’s second chance
美國的第二次機會......................................................10
4 Woman
女人...........................................................................................14
5 Changsha
沁園春《長沙》............................................................18
6 Owning Books
坐擁書城...............................................................................22
7 Science and Art
科學和藝術........................................................................26
8 Englishmen and Americans
英國佬和美國佬............................................................30
9 THE SPIRIT OF GENEVA
日內瓦會議精神............................................................34
10 Woman, God bless her!
女人，上天祝福她！................................................38
11 The Bill of Rights
《人權憲章》..................................................................44
12 Non-Cooperation
非武力不妥協抗爭......................................................48
13 ENGLISH FRIENDSHIP FOR AMERICA
英國對美國的友誼......................................................54
14 The British Empire
大英帝國...............................................................................60
15 Literature and the press
《小飛俠》小說家笑談文學與報業...........64
16 Blood, sweat and tears
血與汗水...............................................................................70
17 National Morale and World Tranquility
國民信念與平天下......................................................74
18 General Goethals and The Panama Canal
Goethals 將軍和巴拿馬運河..............................78
19 WEALTH AND EDUCATION
─教育與財富..................................................................82
20 Our Family Creed
洛克菲勒家族治家格言..........................................86
第二章
瘋讀60句名人語錄 ...........................................91
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right and wrong
HK Comment
P10
China Daily Hong Kong Edition
Fung Keung
2013-02-19
Stick to journalistic ethics
When I read an English-language daily newspaper on Feb 8, I found, to my dismay, all six people quoted in an article criticizing Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying for issuing a lawyer’s letter to Hong Kong Economic Journal (HKEJ) for defamation and demanding a retraction.
I beg to differ.
The six are well-known legal and journalism professors at the University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Baptist University, and opposition legislators. Their political-correct stance should surprise nobody. My job is to train young people to become journalists in Hong Kong and it’s painful and disappointing for me to read what they have said.
Hong Kong’s defamation law says that “any person who publishes defamatory matters regarding another person or an organization in writing or by word of mouth or by conduct may be liable for defamation.” Arguing that “somebody else said it and I didn’t” is absolutely no defense in court. We are liable if we repeat a defamatory statement. Before we print anything, we should verify it with sources. If we can’t substantiate an allegation, we should not publish it. This is a principle I have adhered to in my 20-odd years as a journalist.
We teach journalism students that “when in doubt, leave it out”. Repeating a libelous statement is liable to prosecution. The newspaper article concerned clearly implied that Leung has triad links. The writer had based his conclusion on comments made by a social figure who had political motives in saying what he had said. But it’s a mistake for anyone to reiterate the accusation without verification.
This is so-called “journalism 101” (basic journalistic knowledge) and we should not mislead our young people, and journalism students in particular, that it is OK to attack or badmouth a government official or political figures because he or she holds public office. The defamation law applies to anyone, notwithstanding his/her status as a public or private figure.
Commentators accused Leung of suppressing press freedom in Hong Kong by threatening to sue HKEJ. Their accusations, I’m afraid, are misguided. What Leung said was: “I have all along respected freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Nevertheless, the article contains serious allegations which accused me of having links with a triad society. The matter has to be taken seriously.”
I utterly agree with Leung. We can’t argue that because he is the Chief Executive, he should abdicate his rights to defend his reputation. By the same token, if journalists or newspapers are libeled or slandered, they are protected under the laws of Hong Kong. It doesn’t make sense if we want the defamatory law only to protect us and not the Chief Executive. We can attack his policies or untoward behavior, but defaming or ruining his reputation is something else.
The case appears to have been put to rest with HKEJ issuing an apology on Feb 8. “We apologize if the article prompted some readers to make unfair conclusions about Mr Leung and had caused him any inconvenience,” the newspaper said. However, HKEJ insisted that the apology was aimed only at its readers and not Leung and would not retract the story. In reality, it doesn’t really matter. An apology is an apology. Leung should be satisfied and he should let sleeping dogs lie.
Political correctness is nothing wrong. But it’s more important for us conscientious educators, and it’s also our duty to tell young people what is right and wrong. We should be brave in admitting mistakes and not send a wrong message to young journalists.
The author is the coordinator of the B.S.Sc in financial journalism program at Hong Kong Baptist University.
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