Four months after a giant LED screen fell down to the stage at MIRROR’s concert, ripples have not calmed. The incident has put an innocent dancer into paralysis, triggered months-long investigations, and traumatized a great number of fans at the scene.
Our Periscope section probes into individual stories linked with the tragedy. How are fans at the concert recovering? Witnessing a giant object falling onto someone was a big deal, experiencing that at their favorite band’s concert made it even worse. Then how can freelance dancers’ rights be better protected in Hong Kong? For them, getting injured on stage is common. And for a long period of time, the dancers are the only ones facing the risks without proper legal protections yet being underpaid.
A sense of negativity spreads. With the lingering pandemic and waves of emigration, both secondary school students and the elderly in the city seem troubled by depression.
But don’t worry, solutions are available as there are people standing up – Tsang Mei Sze designs industrial workwear catering to workers’ needs and Contrinx voices out for migrant domestic workers’ rights.
Other interesting trends are also covered in this issue of Varsity. In the tech field, Webtoon sweeps South Korea, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) brings controversies over art creation. On social media, “sexual fantasies providers” emerge as a seeming occupation, “glamping” is a lifestyle sold on Chinese social media platform RED, YouTuber Roger Wu shares his Thailand story, Chinese students pay for assignments on WeChat, and a new app called BeReal is gaining popularity.
So please never lose hope. Focus on the good sides and try our best to look for solutions. The world is as colorful as it always was. Enjoy your read!
Ryan Li
Chief Editor
