The Return of the Non-natives

With an ageing population, Hong Kong faces a shrinking workforce. The government’s latest initiative to boost the workforce and expand the pool of talent is to appeal to the children of Hongkongers who have emigrated overseas. But does the city have what it takes to attract these second generation overseas Hongkongers, or would they prefer competitor cities like Singapore?

Bargaining for Workers’ Power

Unions have been fighting for collective bargaining rights for Hong Kong's workers for more than a decade. Yet the government and business sector insists that voluntary negotiations are good enough. Labour groups tell Varsity all they want is a fairer footing at the negotiating table.

World City Losing World Travellers

Hong Kong has long been regarded as a World City that accommodates tourists from all over the world. But the huge increase in the number of mainland tourists in recent years has dampened its attractiveness to other international tourists. Is Hong Kong losing its competitive edge in tourism?

Doctorate Dilemmas

With a surge in the number of PhD graduates and scarce job opportunities in academia, local PhD graduates are finding it harder to find research and teaching jobs in universities. Varsity hears how they can often be at a disadvantage to holders of overseas doctorates.

The Lonely Struggle For Recognition

In America, any disease affecting about one in 1,500 people is defined as a rare disease, in European Union countries, the figure is one in 2,000 people and in Taiwan, one in 10,000 people. But in Hong Kong, there is no definition of what counts as a rare disease, let alone any legislation safeguarding their rights. Sufferers tell Varsity how this affects their treatment and care.

Make Up or Break Up

A marriage may be between two people, but when it hits the rocks, it can affect more than just the couple involved - especially when there are children. Marriage counsellors can help couples to resolve their differences or at least their hostilities for the benefit of all parties. But as Varsity learns, services are hampered by cultural barriers and a lack of support.

3D Printing opens the door to possibilities

3D printing has been used to make industrial and commercial prototypes, models, machine parts, even the body of a car. But the technology could provide even bigger breakthroughs in the world of medicine, where researchers are experimenting with 3D printed artificial limbs and organs. Varsity looks at some existing medical uses of the tenchology as well as possible future applications.

Gambling Away Youth

Young gamblers play a high stakes game with their future. Varsity talks to youngsters who brush off their gambling habit as being part of human nature and a harmless leisure activity, and to the social workers who warn of the dangers of gambling addiction.

Unsustainable Rights

The three-story "ding" houses are a familiar sight in the New Territories. Male indigenous villagers are granted the right to build these residences for self-use under the decades-old small house policy. But with soaring property prices and limited land available for development in crowded Hong Kong, critics are asking how sustainable are ding rights?

Opening Hong Kong’s Final Frontier

Sha Tau Kok - with its famous Chung Ying Street - is the last closed area in Hong Kong. Now, some residents are calling for it to be opened up to boost economic development. But others are strongly opposed to such moves and want to preserve their way of life.