No Respite for Hong Kong’s Working Poor
Reporters: Andrew Choi Tsz-hong and Piano Ho
On a typical work day, 50-year old Tsoi Wai-man wakes up at around 5 a.m., gets ready and...
Poverty Rife Among Hong Kong’s Elderly
Reporters: Edith Liu and Rebecca Wong
The best money saving advice may not come from financial planners, but from the 290,000 elderly people who are...
Learning Chinese Identity: national education in Hong Kong schools
What is national education? Is it teaching students how to salute and raise flags? Should it be producing proud Chinese nationals or critical citizens? Scholars, media representatives and students are concerned that the government's unequal funding may lead to the the dominance of pro-China, one-sided national education in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Losing its Sheen for Mainlanders
The streets of Hong Kong were once seen as paved with gold for new migrants from the mainland. But today's new arrivals are as likely to be coming here for family reasons as to make a better living. Once, mainland immigrants used to try hard to become Hongkongers by learning Cantonese, imitating locals' behavior. Now, they stress they are Chinese.
Parents Conquer All
Parents are increasingly being seen as customers as education becomes more market-oriented. Some teachers in DSS schools believe this has led to greater pressure on teachers from pushy parents.
By Billy Leung and Amy Leung
Locals Who Are Not Considered Local: Hong Kong’s South Asians
Many of Hong Kong's South Asian residents were born and raised here. They have adopted very local styles of living and are unfamiliar with their ancestral countries. But the definition of what constitutes a local held by most Hong Kong Chinese means they remain outsiders.
March 2011 – Dissecting DSS
Varsity explores issues surrounding Hong Kong's Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools. Do they provide value for money? Is it harder for poorer students to get into elite schools under the DSS scheme? We also hear from teachers who face pressure from parents of students at DSS schools.
Weighing Cost and Quality
DSS schools get to receive government subsidies and charge students' fees, so they have the resources to provide better facilities and teaching environment. Does this mean they are necessarily better?
By Gavin Li and Joana U
Boosting the Best or Perpetuating Privilege?
As more and more of Hong Kong's elite schools opt to join the DSS system, they will get to charge fees and pick Hong Kong's best students. Does this mean it will be harder for poorer students to get into the city's top schools?
By Raymond Tse and John Yip
