📡Guardians of Hong Kong aka BeWater HK
585 subscribers
804 photos
16 videos
602 links
We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
Facebook: http://bit.ly/BeWaterHongKong
Instagram: @guardiansofhk
Download Telegram
#Oppression #InformationFatique #QuitNews
Information fatigue and news avoidance are impacting Hong Kong people's mental well-being: Psychiatrists

Every day, people in Hong Kong are bombarded by an outpour of news broadcasts. As many contents of these news are frenetically negative, citizens started evading news. Graduates of journalism, on the other hand, have become disillusioned with their future career.

Psychiatrists advised that getting away from these negative emotions is necessary to avoid causing mental disorders.

Among the 30 people interviewed by i-Cable News, the majority said they get by their spare time by watching TV dramas or barely "do nothing". While no one chose to cook, only two said they read news.

Ms Chan, one of the interviewees, commented, "There is no good news, especially during this period of time, there is a lot of pressure, and it seems that Hong Kong is trapped."

Another interviewee, Mr Hui mentioned, "Hong Kong is under a lot of pressure due to COVID-19. People don't want to pay attention to these news in their own time or on holiday."

Ms Kwok said, "there are too many negative news, I don't want to be dispirited by negative information."

Not only the general public wants to get away from news, a former journalist have also quited her job.

A journalism graduate, Algy explained, "I read only news titles as I don't feel like reading into details. Even when I am avoiding news, I still feel the growing negative ambience around me."

In late 2021, the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong surveyed among 1,066 respondents. Across all age segments disregarding their political stance, the growth in people quitting news is apparent.

Those who quitted newspapers have grown from 11.2% in 2020 to 23.6% in 2021. Those quitted TV news also increased from 13.2% (2020) to 18.8% (2021).

Most of the respondents claimed that the ongoing political conflict, the growing sense of helplessness after pro-democracy Anti-ELAB movement and information fatigue as reasons to quit reading / watching news. Experts call such phenomenon as #NewsAvoidance.

In the meantime, psychiatrists in Hong Kong also found growing cases in mental illness due to negative news contents in recent couple of years.

A psychiatrist said, "when people relates a news piece to themselves, e.g. the death toll of COVID-19, they are saddened and distressed. Such feel could linger for hours or couple of weeks."

An organisation specialised in psychological counseling said that about 70-80% of recent requests for help is related to epidemic news.

The organisation reminds the public to look after their mental well-being, and look out for symptoms like insomnia, poor appetite and sweaty palms. They are advised to seek professional assistance when needed.

#Lockdown #WFH #WuhanPneumonia #MentalHealth

Source: I-Cable News
http://cablenews.i-cable.com/ci/news/article/37/796250?utm_source=hk.iott.app&utm_campaign=share&ts=1646544444012
#Oppression #PressFreedom
Now news ‘deeply sorry’ over reporter’s question to HK leader about complaint mechanism for Chinese medical staff from China

#WuhanPneumonia #FreedomOfSpeech #RuleByFear #GratitudeEducation

Source: Inmediahk; #Mar17

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
#PressFreedom #Accountability
Now news ‘deeply sorry’ over reporter’s question to HK leader about complaint mechanism for medical staff from China

As the government waived registration requirements for mainland Chinese medics coming to Hong Kong to help treat COVID patients, questions of medical accountability begun to surface. During Carrie Lam's daily pandemic briefing on March 16, a #NowTV reporter asked about the process by which a patient could lodge a complaint, in case of a medical mishap while being treated by a mainland medic.

The question, however, was not well received by the government and the pro-Beijing camp in Hong Kong.

While Carrie Lam stressed a sense of gratitude for China should come first, former chief executive Leung Chun-ying lashed out at the reporter on Facebook, questioning if "her brain had a problem, or her morals had a problem".

Other pro-Beijing groups went on to describe the reporter's question as "unprofessional" and "spreading hate speech."

Politihk Social Strategic, a group of pro-Beijing activists formed to support former CE Leung, claimed that the NowTV reporter had triggered “public anger” with her question.

The group posted photos of the female reporter online, and called for an online petition condemning her conduct as unprofessional and a possible violation of the #NationalSecurityLaw.

Owing to public pressure, the TV station issued a statement of apology on the same day.

“We are deeply sorry that the question about mainland medics at yesterday’s Covid-19 press briefing caused concern and discontent among citizens,” the statement read. “The fifth-wave outbreak is still severe, and we are extremely thankful to the central government and the mainland’s selfless support.”

The Hong Kong Journalists Association (#HKJA) expressed regret for Now TV's apology, as well as concern that such attacks on a journalist's question would exacerbate the self-censorship among editorial staff. The association noted that a similar question was posed by pro-Beijing LegCo member Tang Fei on March 15, the day before the press conference.

The association stressed the journalistic value of posing these questions at press conferences, as it gives officials an opportunity to explain their policies to the public. Furthermore, the question received informative replies, showing that government officials also recognized the question's value. The association hopes that the public could better understand the workings of journalism, and would view the work of reporters without political preconceptions.

#WuhanPneumonia #RuleByFear #GratitudeEducation

Source: Inmediahk; #Mar17
https://bit.ly/3IiqAh0
#WuhanPneumonia #RuleByFear
Hong Kong police arrests two Covid-positive men for ‘inciting others’ to spread virus on social media posts

Two men have been arrested after they allegedly used the internet to incite others to spread the Covid-19 virus.

Screenshots shown by police at the briefing indicated that the 22-year-old allegedly posted a photo of a positive rapid antigen test result to Facebook, along with a caption asking for recommendations of pro-government eateries in Yuen Long.

Other excerpts taken from the popular LIHKG forum showed a user making claims that “there would be a major outbreak in Hong Kong and in the mainland.” The content was partially censored during the police briefing.

Source: Inmediahk; #Mar15
https://bit.ly/3tZOj0o
Two Covid-positive men arrested in Hong Kong for ‘inciting others’ to spread virus on social media

In Hong Kong, two men have been arrested after they allegedly use social media to incite others to spread the Covid-19 virus.

Screenshots shown by the police at the briefing indicated that the 22-year-old allegedly posted a photo of a positive rapid antigen test result to Facebook, along with a caption asking for recommendations of pro-government eateries in Yuen Long.

Other excerpts taken from the popular LIHKG forum showed the user making claims that “there would be a major outbreak in Hong Kong and in the mainland.” The content was partially censored during the police briefing.

The police used the government-developed #LeaveHomeSafe mobile application to track the past location of the men.

Source: Inmediahk; #Mar15
https://bit.ly/3tZOj0o

#Covid19 #WuhanPneumonia #Pandemic #Arrest
#ChineseVaccine
Hong Kong's immunised who died of #Covid19 mainly got #Sinovac vaccine: Media

//Almost 87 per cent of Hong Kongers who died from Covid-19 after getting at least one dose of vaccine received China-made Sinovac Biotech Ltd's shot, Ming Pao reported, though most deaths occurred among those who weren't immunised.

Most deaths in Hong Kong have occurred among under-vaccinated senior citizens, particularly those living in elderly care homes.

There have been more than 5,400 fatalities in the latest Omicron-driven outbreak, making the city's death per capita the world's highest.//

Read the full article:
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/hong-kongs-immunised-who-died-of-covid-19-mainly-got-sinovac-vaccine-media

Source: Bloomberg; Strait Times; Mingpao #Mar20

#Omicron #Pandemic #5thWave #Death #Vaccination #WuhanPneumonia
#Pandemic
#China locks down millions more as #Covid19 spreads, reports first deaths in over a year

//More than 4,000 new infections were reported across China on Sunday, March 20, 2022 — with two-thirds in #Jilin province, which borders Russia and North Korea.

Since March 11, Changchun’s nine million people have only been allowed out once every two days to buy food.

Tens of millions of people are currently in lockdown in other Chinese regions and authorities are scrambling to create hospital beds, fearing the outbreak could put the healthcare system under strain.//

Read the full article:
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/03/20/china-locks-down-millions-more-as-covid-spreads-reports-first-deaths-in-over-a-year/

Source: AFP; Hong Kong Free Press #Mar20

#WuhanPneumonia #Lockdown
#Shanghai starts China's biggest #COVID19 lockdown in 2 years; residents call it "insane"

Although Chinese officials said lockdown would not be imposed on #Shanghai, two days later the authorities announced that the city will be locked down in two stages from Monday, March 28, 2022 onwards for nine days.

According to BBC, this is the biggest city-wide #lockdown since the Covid outbreak began more than two years ago.

Soon after the government's announcement was out, panic buying occured in various parts of Shanghai.

Videos on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, showed people fighting in supermarket over produce. Some Chinese netizens commented that it was "unbelievable that they are looking at 21st-Century Shanghai" and that the policy was "insane".

Source: InMedia; BBC #Mar28
https://bit.ly/380pPwx

#WuhanPneumonia #ChineseStyle #Lockdown #Pandemic #Regime
#FailedState #CovidResilience
Hong Kong ranks last on COVID Resilience Ranking among 53 countries

Hong Kong declines to the last spot in Bloomberg's COVID Resilience Ranking among the 53 economies after its outbreak became the deadliest in the world in March, 2022.

According to the report, the Asian financial hub also scored poorly on Flight Capacity and Community Mobility.

Next to Hong Kong is Russia (ranks No. 52), which is weighed down by a slow vaccine rollout and the worst GDP growth outlook among all the ranked places in 2022 largely due to its invasion of Ukraine.

Since November 2020, the Covid Resilience Ranking has provided a monthly snapshot of where the pandemic is being handled the most effectively with the least upheaval to people and business.

#WuhanPneumonia #Bloomberg

Read full article:
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-resilience-ranking/
Make vaccines mandatory for elderlies, Pro-Beijing lawmaker urges

Hong Kong's COVID-19 death toll soared to its highest at 7,612 on March 31, during the fifth-wave of Omicron outbreak.

Elderly care homes are reportedly facing the gravest threat, as too many elderly residents were not vaccinated due to chronic health issues. Staff shortages and lack of on-site isolation facilities also added to the soaring death rate.

During a Legislative Council Health Affairs Committee meeting, Holden Chow Ho-ding, vice-chairman of the pro-China Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Progress of Hong Kong (#DAB), urged the government to act “decisively” and make it mandatory for the city’s elderly to be vaccinated.

“Reduce deaths. Reduce severe cases. The government should act decisively, and make it legally required for seniors aged 70 and above to be vaccinated," said Chow.

Source: Inmediahk, #Apr1
https://bit.ly/3wVogu8

#WuhanPneumonia #Elderly #VaccineMandate
HK Schools Resumed after "Early Summer Vacation", with Daily Rapid Testing for Students

#WuhanPneumonia #OmicronWave #ClassSuspension

Source: Inmediahk; #Apr11

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
HK Schools Resumed after "Early Summer Vacation", with Daily Rapid Testing for Students

During the daily #COVID19 press conference on April 11, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced plans for schools to resume beginning on April 19, after nearly 2 months of suspension due to a wave of #Omicron sweeping through the city.

Students will need to take a rapid test every day before attending school; only those with a negative result will be allowed in.

The government also laid out guidelines for closing schools: if 5% of a school's students and staff test positive, the Centre for Health Protection (#CHP) will investigate the outbreak.

Vaccination will not be required for students, but those without it will not be allowed to attend extracurricular activities.

The timeline for resuming in-person classes:

Secondary schools: Starting May 3, schools can resume their classes in stages or entirely. By May 10, all classes must resume.

Primary schools: classes can resume in stages or entirely starting April 19. All classes must resume by May 3.

Kindergartens: One-third of classes are to resume starting May 3, with the remaining to resume on May 10. All classes must resume by May 16.

This will bring an end to the suspension of classes, which was began on Feb 21 when the government announced an "early summer vacation" for all schools.

During the press conference, Carrie Lam expressed her thanks that more schools have proactively taken anti-pandemic measures, including arranging vaccinations and distributing prevention kits, as a result of the government-mandated "summer vacation".

During the questioning period, a NowTV reporter asked whether parents could opt for online classes, instead of sending their children to school.

Secretary of Education Kevin Yeung replied that the policy was a balance between needs and risks, and they found that despite the risk being non-zero, resuming in-person classes was necessary. He further stated that students aged 6-15 are required by law to attend school.

#Apr11 #WuhanPneumonia #OmicronWave #ClassSuspension

source: In-Media HK
https://bit.ly/3Jrc6vN
$90 Million HKD Collected in Anti-Pandemic Fines, Govt Data Shows

In response to the outbreak of #WuhanPneumonia in early 2020, the government enacted a series of social distancing measures, including a #GatheringBan, #MaskMandate, and mandatory use of the "#LeaveHomeSafe" contact tracing app. These regulations are part of the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance, also known as Cap. 599.

From April 1, 2021 to Feb 28, 2022, police had issued 21,613 tickets against more than 1,100 individuals for Cap. 599 violations, collecting $89,980,000HKD in fines for the government.

The number of tickets issued, by regulation, are:

Gathering ban (599G): 13,525 tickets
Mask mandate (599I): 6102 tickets
Business and premises regulation (599F): 1986 tickets

Since the 5th wave of outbreak earlier this year, the number tickets for violating the mask mandate more than doubled, rising from January's 550 to February's 1909.

Source: In-Media HK
https://bit.ly/37enUnZ

Related news: a few instances when 599G and 599I tickets were issued:

Hong Kong Police Ticket 14 Pro-democracy Elderly for violating gathering ban, each fined for HK$5,000
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/27235

Hong Kong Police Accuse Civilians Queueing Up to Enter Courtroom of Breaching the Gathering Ban
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28952

Carrie Lam Defends Top Officials for Violating Gathering Ban in Extravagant Banquet with Property Developer: "You can't just turn away after seeing abalone"
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30485

#SocialDistancing #COVID19 #PoliceState
#FailedState
Hong Kong's #COVID Hospital Switches Computer to Chinese for Mainland Medics, but Needs Local Staff to Retype in English

The first batch of Chinese mainland medical staff arrived in Hong Kong in March 14, 2022, and are assigned to work at the temporary #AsiaWorldExpo isolation facility.

In preparation, the computer system for clinical management at the facility has been changed to display Chinese.

The President of Hong Kong Public Doctors' Association, #LingSiuChiTony, revealed in a radio interview that after discharging a patient from the makeshift hospital, Hong Kong medical staff have to retype the documents by mainland medics before submitting them to the #HospitalAuthority (#HA) network, as Hong Kong's medical records system is in English. He was also concerned about the diagnosis process; although most of the mainland staff were from Guangdong -- where Cantonese is spoken -- their medical as well as conversational language both have differences from those used by Hongkongers.

The mainland medical staff serving in the COVID hospital are exempt from registration. Although the HA claimed to take responsibility for them, if a medical incident were to occur, it would be difficult to hold them responsible.

"Since they (mainland staff) are not locally registered, we cannot hold a disciplinary hearing on them or revoke their license. By the time of the hearing, they may have left Hong Kong already."

Source: Inmedia #Mar15
https://bit.ly/3q7pn5P

#HKPDA #WuhanPneumonia #OmicronWave
#ShanghaiLockdown
Shanghai Violinist Leaped to his Death after COVID Restrictions Denied him Medical Assistance

Source: In-Media HK

#HumanitarianCrisis #ChenShunPing #WuhanPneumonia

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
#ShanghaiLockdown
Shanghai Violinist Leaped to his Death after COVID Restrictions Denied him Medical Assistance

71-year-old amateur violinist Chen Shunping, who lived in #Shanghai, had taken his own life after being denied medical help for his suspected pancreatitis during the city's month-long lockdown. He was a member of the Shanghai Pops Orchestra.

Three #COVID19 deaths had been recorded [Ed: as of April 18] since Shanghai's lockdown began in late March, all of whom were seniors with chronic illnesses.

However, reports often surfaced on Chinese social media surrounding deaths of patients not being able to get medical treatment.

According to chat messages from Chen's family, he began to feel unwell in the evening of April 13, with stomach pains and vomiting; from experience, he suspected it was pancreatitis.

His family called an ambulance, who took Chen to two separate hospitals, but both turned him away, citing COVID restrictions. Unable to endure the severe pain, Chen left suicide notes for his family before leaping to his death from his apartment.

Chen's wife was stricken with grief as she remembered him as a cheerful and kind man, with a passion for life and music: "This society had taken an ordinary, lively man and pushed him to his death!"

His death also sparked outcry online; netizens commented that he "didn't get COVID, but died because of COVID."

A separate incident of a pregnant Shanghai woman who died from blood loss during a premature birth also circulated on social media. Shanghai police quickly refuted it as "fake news", announcing that the woman successfully gave birth to twins, and that they had arrested the spreader of the rumor.

Netizens were quick to react: "Why don't you refute Chen Shunping's fake news?" "Chen's case still hasn't been refuted, so it must be true."

Source: In-Media HK
https://bit.ly/3OeDLUx

#HumanitarianCrisis #WuhanPneumonia #ChenShunPing
Studies point to China's #HuananMarket as #epicenter of #Covid19, wildlife trade associated

The following is excerpted from a statement released by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (#AAAS), which is the publisher of the peer-reviewed journal "Science", on July 26, 2022:

//Two studies published in #Science by #MichaelWorobey et al. and #JonathanPekar et al. use complementary approaches – involving spatial and environmental analyses, as well as molecular analyses – to provide evidence that the Huanan market in #Wuhan, China, was the early epicenter for the COVID-19 #pandemic.

The scientists concluded that SARS-CoV-2 was very likely present in live mammals sold at this market in late 2019 and suggest the virus spilled over into people working or shopping there ... //

Read more:
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/959879

Source: AAAS; Canada TV #Jul27

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/studies-suggest-covid-19-likely-emerged-from-wuhan-market-1.6003139

#WuhanPneumonia
Surveillance for All: China Pushes for Permanent Health Code by 2025

Source: Radio Free Asia #Nov10

#CCP #SurveillanceState #WuhanPneumonia #HealthCode #BigData #BigBrother

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
Surveillance for All: China Pushes for Permanent Health Code by 2025

Although the #WHO had clearly stated that there had been a drastic 90% decrease in COVID deaths across the world, China had not embraced this optimistic view. Instead, it has declared a goal of making the Health QR Code mandatory for everyone in the country by 2025, enforcing a long-term, real-time surveillance for its citizens.

On Nov 9, The National Health Commission of China announced on its website that by 2025, every Chinese citizen will have a dynamically-managed electronic health file and a fully-functional electronic health code. The announcement is jointly published by the National Health Commission, State Administration of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the announcement, the health code systems currently in use are run by each province separately, and the systems from different provinces do not generally recognize each other's codes. In response, the central government aims to create a basic, inter-connected surveillance platform by 2025, in which each resident will have a dynamically-managed electronic health file and a fully-functional electronic health code.

With such a system in place, the Chinese government will be able to leverage big data to trace the so-called "high-risk individuals", establishing a long-term, real-time surveillance and control of the Chinese populace.

Source: Radio Free Asia #Nov10

https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/code-11102022062758.html

see also:
"Encode us": Health Code, or is it CCP's Social Credit System? (Aug 17, 2020)
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/24283

#CCP #SurveillanceState #WuhanPneumonia #HealthCode #BigData #BigBrother
China is set to open reopen its borders on January 8 after scrapping its draconian zero-COVID strategy as large-scale outbreaks sweep through its population.

WHO criticized the nation of 1.4 billion for under-representing the severity of its outbreak, calling China's data "incomplete".

Many countries have since imposed restrictions on travellers from China, a response the WHO has called "understandable". The list of countries continues to be growing.

source:

Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/2/which-countries-have-placed-covid-curbs-on-travellers-from-china

Time
https://time.com/6243967/covid-travel-restrictions-china/

#ChinaReopening #WuhanPneumonia #COVID19 #TravelRestriction