LI, Tao @ Hong Kong

By Colleen Lee and Li Tao

HONG KONG: Almost half of Tai Po secondary school students think the government’s initiative for a voluntary drug-testing trial will not work because it will not deter teens from taking drugs, a survey has found.

The survey also revealed that 27 percent of the 978 students from 22 schools polled intend to refuse to sign consent forms for taking the test, while another 33 percent have not made up their mind.

Law Ming-lam, a core member of the Youngsters Concerning the Tai Po School-based Voluntary Drug-testing Scheme Group which carried out the survey, said, “some students agree that the government has a good motivation, but they think it has come up with improper ways of handling the issue.”

She added, “the efforts will be in vain if students don’t want to get help.”

Almost two-thirds of the respondents found that to relieve the drug problem, the authorities should crack down harder on those who provide the drugs.

Of the 209 students who opposed the scheme and believed it would serve as no deterrent, 15 percent said they would take part in the trial, the findings showed.

Ng Hi-tung, the group’s chairman, said teenagers may be under pressure from parents and peers or they may fear that they will be stigmatized.

He urged the government to listen to students’ views and beef up promotions of drug rehabilitation services.

The poll was carried out from September 9 to 18 after the government withdrew its earlier plan to inform police about students who tested positive for drugs.

Meanwhile, Commissioner for Narcotics Sally Wong Pik-yee said authorities plan to put off consultation that aims to seek public views on the idea that law enforcers should be empowered to carry out mandatory drug tests anywhere when there are grounds to suspect someone of using drugs.

She said the consultation will start next year instead of late this year, so as to avoid public confusion over the Tai Po drug-testing trial.

Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong said he expects introduction of mandatory drug tests will be controversial, so citywide consultation will collect views from groups such as human rights organizations, legal professionals, the media, schools, education groups and social workers.

Police figures released yesterday showed that in the first eight months of this year, 849 teenagers were arrested in connection with drug offences, a 13 percent rise compared to the same period last year.

The figures also showed there had been 2,091 severe drug crimes in the first eight months, up 5 percent year-on-year.

Apart from cannabis, the amount of drugs of all types seized in the first eight months of this year showed a marked rise, the figures showed.

Lee said the spiralling figures reflect the mounting crackdown on drug-related crimes.

(HK Edition 09/30/2009 page1)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2009-09/30/content_8752687.htm

和同事Colleen coordinate完成的文章。

By Li Tao (HK Edition)

HONG KONG: 1999 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economic Sciences Professor Robert Mundell has told a conference about Hong Kong’s future and the global and Chinese mainland economies predicts that China will surpass Japan in GDP in less than two years and the “euro-zone” by 2030.

On the subject of the evolution of the international monetary system, however, Mundell predicted that change would come slower. He said the yuan is unlikely to become the reserve currency to replace the US dollar, in the short term. He noted that economic dominance cannot be evaluated solely on growth of GDP.

Mundell agreed with the idea of common Asian currency, but he pointed out Asia would not be the “security area”, since countries in Asia still lack mutual trust. Political difficulties, he said, will be the major obstacle to the formation of a common Asian currency.

Commenting on the current economic crisis, Mundell said “comparing it to the Great Depression when there was 35 percent deflation and 25 percent unemployment, frankly is absurd. He said the closest analogy is the 1979-1983 period.”

Henry Tang Ying-yen, Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong SAR Government, said the world economic downturn seemed temporarily relieved, but the sustained recovery remained uncertain. Hong Kong should rely on its unique role and its developed systems as it seeks further cooperation with the mainland, especially the Pearl River Delta area.

Tang said Hong Kong should strengthen its intermediary role as the bridge between the Mainland and the international community. As the mainland will continue to be the hot spot of international capital investment, Hong Kong should take full advantage of this opportunity to attract foreign investment through Hong Kong’s efficient capital markets to invest in the Mainland.

Meanwhile, as part of the Asia-Pacific region’s key integrated service platform, Hong Kong’s modern service industry has completed a high degree of internationalization, he said. Hong Kong should use its advantages to help mainland realize economic transformation and upgrading, promoting the development of modern service industry, he added.

Liu Tienan, Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, delivered a speech on the overall economic situation on the mainland and a few issues of concern.

Liu said the central government has employed a series of stimulus approaches to enhance domestic needs to deal with the financial crisis since last year. Total social consumption of the first eight months this year had increased by 17 percent.

Liu said the central government also is promoting technological innovation, emphasizing energy and conservation and emissions reductions. He told the audience that Hong Kong’s advanced education and research environment could be of great help to the development of innovation on the mainland. In the near future, he said, the government will also promote close cooperation in major infrastructure between Hong Kong and the mainland, achieving complementary advantages and common development.

(HK Edition 09/29/2009 page4)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2009-09/29/content_8747888.htm

第一次的采访发到了经济版。

By Li Tao (HK Edition)

HONG KONG: The Hong Kong police yesterday announced success in their operations against triad societies in the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao as a result of their month-long joint anti-crime operation launched August 21.

Codenamed “Thunderbolt 09″, the tripartite operation aimed at illegal activities of triad societies and organized crime syndicates. The illicit goods seized in the operation are estimated to be worth more than HK$17 million.

During the operation, the Hong Kong police queried or investigated 12,000 people; and raided 3,700 venues, including discos, amusement game centers, massage establishments and residential units. A total of 999 suspects were arrested, among which 39 were fugitives and 116 were believed to be members of triad societies. Of the total, 290 of the suspects were from the mainland and 80 of them were illegal immigrants.

Seventeen illegal gamble dens and 39 vice establishments were shut down. Also, about 80,000 pornographic and pirated compact discs worth about HK$2.5 million were seized.

Another HK$11 million worth of soccer and horseracing betting records as well as 7,200 packs of contraband cigarettes and 150 counterfeit items such as leather bags and watches were ferreted out by the police.

Kwan Kim-fai, superintendent of Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, said that drug trafficking crimes have been decreasing compared to the past, but that it remains one of the main triad money funnels.

Some criminals trafficked drugs from the mainland and sold them in several amusement establishments in Kowloon. The police recently captured several key members of triad factions, seized 2 kg of ketamine and 30 erimin-5, worth HK$345,000.

A prostitution racket which lured Filipinos into the sex trade was also smashed by the police early this month.

“According to the experience of the past few years, we believe that the annual ‘Operation Thunderbolt’ could serve as an effective way to combat local and cross-border triad-related activities,” said Kwan.

Kwan said another important objective of the operation was to raise public awareness of crime prevention before the Hong Kong 2009 East Asian Games, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 10th anniversary of Macao’s handover.

In the month-long “Thunderbolt 09″ operation, police in Guangdong detained a total of 8,139 suspects in co-cooperation with their Hong Kong and Macao counterparts.

Police across the province have cracked 1,872 different kinds of criminal cases, and seized a total of 185 guns, 2,306 bullets, 8,121 grams of heroin, 10,946 grams of “ice”, 17.41 million ecstasy pills and 84,954 grams of ketamine.

“‘Thunderbolt 09′ has dealt a heavy blow to secret societies and related criminal activities in the southern province,” said Li Xiaoqing, director of anti-triad section under the criminal investigation department from the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security.

(HK Edition 09/25/2009 page1)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2009-09/25/content_8733691.htm

第一篇还配了图的文章，不过最后两段是广东一个记者写的，拼到了一起。

Harbor display to mark PRC’s 60th anniversary

A fireworks extravaganza marking the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China will light up the skies over Victoria Harbor on October 1. Sponsored by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong, the 23-minute fireworks show will be presented along nine different themes: “Celebrating Anniversary”, “China Pride”, “Blooming Lotus”, “Oriental Pearl”, “Motherland Prosperity”, “Scaling New Heights”, “Hong Kong Spirits”, “Sparking Hearts” and “Ode to the Motherland”. During the closing presentation, “Ode to the Motherland” fireworks will compose the Chinese characters “China Sixty” and will display them 60 times. Popular music like “Festive Gala”, “Morning Fog’s Wave” and “Yellow River Concerto” will background the performance throughout. About 31,888 fireworks are expected to be set off during the performance. The budget for staging the program was HK$4.5 million.

PLA to hold first ever art exhibition in city

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is planning for its first ever art exhibition in Hong Kong, with a fine arts and calligraphy exhibition beginning October 9. The 10-day exhibition will showcase 216 works by famous artists who are members of the PLA. The program includes oil paintings, traditional Chinese paintings, calligraphy, watercolors, woodcuts and sculptures. All the works have been distinguished by awards over the past decade. Li Xiang, deputy secretary of arts of the General Political Propaganda Department, said the exhibition focuses on artistic values and visual effects of the works.

The exhibition will be open in Macao September 26, which is also planned as a run-up event for the 10th anniversary of Macao’s handover.

China Daily – Agencies

(HK Edition 09/22/2009 page1)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2009-09/22/content_8718058.htm

昨天的两个采访都被剪成了brief news，还有一篇关于Macao Legislative Assembly选举的文章，在china daily网上暂时没有找到。不过肯定也不会被署名的。

By Li Tao (HK Edition)

HONG KONG: It’s being hailed as a milestone in unmanned aviation. A miniature helicopter designed by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) successfully made the world’s first autonomous flight to Mount Qomolangma, the university announced yesterday.

This Qomolangma flight was one of a series of test flights in mid-June, initiated and carried out by professor Zexiang Li of HKUST’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. He was assisted by his postgraduate student Frank Wang. The test flights covered sites in the Tibetan Highlands, including Mount Qomolangma, several lakes, a glacier and a maiden forest.

The 2-meter miniature helicopter weighs only about 10 kilograms, but is equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) and on-board inertial measurement units, enabling it to fly on a pre-programmed route. The aircraft is capable of taking photos and videos simultaneously and sending signals back to the ground control station. The atmospheric data monitoring equipment is also capable of collecting data in flight.

“We believe that the success of these test flights will pave the way for the future use of unmanned helicopters in surveying and monitoring high altitude environments, facilitating the protection of highland ecology,” said Li.

The recent test flights on the Tibetan Highlands were conducted with special modifications to the helicopter adapted to meet the challenges of the highland climate, including the thin air and exceptionally strong and gusty winds.

(HK Edition 09/18/2009 page1)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2009-09/18/content_8705972.htm

第一篇署名文章，不长，而且内容被编辑改动较大，看来很多表达方式依然需要改进。