Physical classes have been suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic, which first began in Wuhan, China in late 2019. Online teaching has been adopted by all schools.
Gaokao, university entrance examination in China, which was originally scheduled on June 7th to June 8th has been postponed by a month in 2020. This decision affects over 10 million candidates. Preparing for the public examination during the outbreak is a challenge for senior three teachers, students and their parents.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which first began in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, has spread across the world. The global economy struggles in the outbreak and South Korea is no exception.
South Korea faced a steep increase of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reaching over 10,000 in February 2020. Small businesses operators face the biggest crisis of their lives as a result.
The South Korean government introduces various measures to help them. The small business operators, however, find them insufficient.
Photo courtesy of HKEAA
A long delay of DSE examination amid the COVID-19 pandemic puts extra pressure on candidates.
Reporter: Kelly Yu
In light of coronavirus outbreak, the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination has been postponed to April 24, a month later than initially planned. The postponement has affected over 52,000 DSE candidates this year.
Jay Yu, one of the DSE takers, thinks that the sudden rearrangement of the public examination has added extra pressure to candidates. Yet, he says words of encouragement on social media have shown great support to them.
Even though the government has adopted several health measures to prevent the risk of infection, Bernice Shum, parent of a DSE candidate, expresses concerns over mental and physical health of students.
School closure amid the outbreak forces classes to be held online. A secondary school teacher Samson Wong points out difficulties in teaching and learning while conducting online lessons amid the pandemic.
Editor: Howard Li
When Hong Kong people join the many anti-extradition bill protests, they wear masks. The habit of wearing masks continues, as Hong Kong is battling against COVID-19 outbreak which first started in Wuhan, China in winter 2019. The pandemic has so far affected more than 1.3 million people worldwide and killed over 70,000. The latest pandemic reminds Hong Kong people of the horrible SARS outbreak in 2003 during which mask played a crucial role in fighting against the deadly virus.
The Chinese government is criticised for not being open about the spread at its onset. The same accusation was made against the Mainland authorities back in 2003. The lack of transparency and information about the virus is blamed for causing the pandemic that plagues the globe.
On January 23, Hong Kong confirmed its first two COVID-19 cases. The number of cases reached 914 on April 7. Online teaching was introduced to all kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and universities in late January and early February. Ironically, the mask which was banned by the government with a new legislation months ago is now a daily necessity which helps combat the highly infectious virus.
As COVID-19 has been raised to the top of the global agenda, Varsity decided to launch a special section in this issue to cover stories about the pandemic. In this section, our reporters investigate how patients with chronic disease in Wuhan struggled to seek for medical treatments which are vital for their survival during the city lockdown. Our reporters also speak to university students to find out what they think about Zoom online classes when physical classes are suspended during the pandemic.
Periscope examines the impact of the anti-extradition bill movement. Varsity looks at how Hong Kong people are affected physically, mentally and socially.
The pandemic indeed has brought tough challenges to news reporting which heavily relies on face-to-face communication. Varsity members have to discuss work and even conduct interviews online. It is an unprecedented news production experience to all of us, but our pursuit of news quality remains unchanged. Reporters, editors and instructors who are thousands of miles apart, are all staying on the job, taking responsibilities, working hard for good content and producing meaningful stories.
Impacts of the pandemic to global economy and politics is beyond our imagination. This is a long and harsh winter for everyone in the world. Hopefully, spring will come soon.
Jasper Cao
Managerial Editor
Patients with chronic diseases in Wuhan faced severe difficulty receiving treatment when the city was sealed off due to the coronavirus outbreak. Volunteers lent them a helping hand.
By Savoki Zhang & Coco Zhang
“Without hemodialysis, death for her is only a matter of time,” wrote Wang Gongbao in his post on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, on February 1, 2020, pleading for help for his sick sister.
Wang’s sister, who suffers from chronic renal failure, lives in Xiantao, a small city only 100km from Wuhan. She was among thousands of patients with chronic diseases who were in urgent need of life-sustaining treatment or medication, while nearly all medical resources were deployed to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
“My sister used to receive regular hemodialysis at the No.1 People’s Hospital of Xiantao before she was tested positive for the novel coronavirus on January 28,” says Wang. “The hospital then refused to offer her dialysis.”
The 25-year-old and his sister had to transfer their files to another hospital which is designated to treat febrile patients. “We are under quarantine here, but so far no hemodialysis is arranged either,” he says on February 2. “I called the health bureaus but to no avail.”
Although Wang’s sister was admitted to a hospital after being diagnosed with coronavirus, she was not given timely treatment for chronic kidney failure. Many other patients with chronic illnesses, however, could not even leave their neighborhood for hospitals to receive treatment vital for their survival.
The devastating coronavirus outbreak sickened over 82,000 and killed over 3,300 nationwide, mostly in Hubei Province and its capital, Wuhan, as of March 30. In the epicentre of the pandemic, collateral damage was also devastating. Apart from a dearth of essential medical treatment, strict lockdowns of cities as well as traffic bans cut many people off from supplies of drugs, leaving desperate patients with underlying conditions such as uremia, leukemia, and Aids in a deeper plight.
Although the newly established Wuhan Novel Pneumonia Prevention and Control Headquarters issued an order to make arrangements for “chronic renal failure patients, the pregnant, surgical patients and other types of special patients” on February 5, there were still patients with other conditions who could not gain access to medical assistance.
In an extreme case, Liang Shutao, a 70-year-old patient with uremia, committed suicide on February 10. No hospital offered Liang either testing for COVID-19 or further dialysis since February 2 after he showed fever symptoms when receiving dialysis. The man was in great pain days before his death and begged staff of Luo Jiadun Community, Wuhan, to arrange him a car to a hospital for dialysis several times, but all requests were rejected.
A doctor working in the emergency ward of Wuhan Central Hospital, one of the designated hospitals with fever clinic, who declines to reveal her name, says there was indeed a large number of patients with underlying conditions who were facing difficulties when seeking medical treatment.
She says once these patients caught a fever, they could not go to non-designated or designated hospitals which only admit patients who are confirmed to be infected with novel coronavirus.
“Fever clinics of non-designated hospitals were all closed… (The authorities) need to make these hospitals as clean areas…where anyone can come without protective measures,” she says. “If febrile and non-febrile patients are treated at the same hospital, it may cause cross infections.”
In the face of the abrupt withdrawal of medical care for non-coronavirus patients, many of them and their families sought help from social media out of desperation.
By March 12, the hashtag #Non-coronavirus patients asking for help had 100,000 posts with over 120 million views on Weibo, since its approval of opening on February 6.
Under the topic, volunteer groups and non-government organisations have joined forces in establishing chains to open up avenues for people with chronic diseases. Most volunteer teams, cofounded by friends, alumni, or passionate and caring strangers active in cyberspace, are fostered by the pandemic and have played a vital role in saving those whose pressing needs are unmet by authorities.
No Red Pocket, a volunteer team founded on February 12, was initially dedicated to helping coronavirus patients. “But we soon found there were already numerous well-organized volunteer groups supporting coronavirus patients, which means efforts might be wasted if their work overlaps each other,” says Hai Hai, leader of the team.
The team, with over 50 members so far, shifted their focus to bridge the gap between non-coronavirus patients, hospitals capable of providing corresponding treatment, and logistics chains of medical supplies to avoid overlapping work with other volunteer groups. “Apart from facilitating the flow of information between those in need of help and those offering help, we also closely follow every case to ensure their pressing needs are handled properly and efficiently at each stage,” she explains.
The team collaborated with other volunteer groups to enhance efficiency. They collected information of patients with other diseases with the help of a volunteer group named Thunder Rescue. Another volunteer group, NCP Life Support, provides contacts of doctors who are willing to offer patients telemedicine support.
“My own voice is small, but our voice is loud,” wrote Hai Hai in her work journal posted on Weibo on Feb 12. By March 1, No Red Pocket had managed to help 266 patients suffering from other diseases and in a quandary to receive timely care. Among them, 13 were in need of dialysis, 51 suffering from cancer or tumors, and 21 stricken with acute diseases such as heart attack and stroke.
Wuhan Homosexual Centre is a civic organization founded in 2011, aiming to provide help for the LGBT community in Wuhan. Amid the pandemic, volunteers of the organization have shifted their work to deliver drugs for HIV carriers in the locked-down provincial capital. Without multiple drugs essential to cocktail therapy, those living with HIV may die from any infection as their immune system is weak.
“There are over 20,000 people infected with HIV in Hubei Province and a large number of them cannot receive their medicine due to the pandemic, making them at high risk of drug resistance and morbidity,” says Huang Haojie, a member of the organization. “Problem lies in medicine delivery but not its supply.”
Although some residential communities in Wuhan arranged staff to pick up medicines for people infected with HIV as the city tightened its traffic control, most of them refused to seek help from community staff in the light of privacy concerns, and they were more likely to turn to civil groups. However, inside the paralyzed city, civic groups were also bogged down sometimes.
Huang’s fellow member was stopped and questioned by police on a delivery run on February 25, because he did not have a pass permit. Huang says though health bureaus and hospitals had expressed their support in issuing special permits for civil organisations, volunteers were not informed of any channel to acquire the pass permit from authorities by then. “Civil organisations do need support from government to function better,” Huang says.
“Civil organisations do need support from government to function better.”
As collateral damage triggered by the pandemic escalated, anger spread on social media against the government’s slow initial response to the coronavirus outbreak and their negligence of patients with chronic illness as the administration only focused on combating the coronavirus.
“I think the emergence of so many non-governmental channels was due to the lack of official channels at the early stage of the outbreak. If there was any, the people did not have to resort to social media for help,” says Fang Kecheng, assistant professor of the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The Red Cross Society of China Hubei Branch also received a nationwide reproach for its inefficiency and misconduct in distributing donated materials during the early stage of the outbreak.
The Society, together with Hubei Charity Federation, had received an overall donation of ¥4.36 billion (US$610 million) and 5.29 million pieces of materials by January 29. However, according to a doctor in Wuhan Union Hospital, a hospital designated to treat febrile patients with more than 8,000 staff, was only given 3,000 surgical masks, while 16,000 were given to a hospital of Putian network specializing in gynecology and obstetrics.
Putian network, the largest private hospital system in China, has long been criticized for deceptive promotion and low-quality medical service.
Despite being suppressed instead of trusted by the authorities, civil society in China is striving to thrive. “Even if we do not have an official pass permit, we will still violate the traffic control to save people’s lives… I hope even during ‘wartime’, people still pay attention to vulnerable groups,” wrote Huang Haojie on his Weibo account on February 26. He received the pass permit on the same day.
As tension in Wuhan eases, operation at hospitals is gradually resuming normal. The National Health Commission declares that by March 31, 62 hospitals in Wuhan are providing medical services for all patients. According to Hai Hai, most patients No Red Pocket has helped can now receive routine treatment.
Edited by Jasper Cao
Subedited by Emilie Lui
University students in Hong Kong express their views on online teaching arrangement amid the COVID-19 outbreak
By Eve Lee in Seoul & Linn Wu in Taipei
Shin Jeongyeon, a 20-year-old South Korean student, who studies Operations Management at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), has put off her study in 2019/2020 Term 2 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. She now is in Korea with her parents.
“My parents suggested a suspension, considering the severity of the coronavirus outbreak,” Shin says.
Coronavirus Disease 2019, or COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a virus first identified in Hubei, China, late last year. It is now confirmed as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to its rapid widespread nature.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong is 915 as of April 7. The Hong Kong government has announced the closure of all kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools until further notice.
This is the second time Hong Kong universities have announced a suspension in the school year of 2019/2020. The universities suspended physical classes in mid-November 2019, due to violent clashes between protesters and police officers on campuses during the anti-extradition bill movement.
HKUST implemented the online teaching arrangement in response to the suspension, on November 12, 2019. HKUST began online lectures via Zoom, a platform adopted university-wide to conduct online teaching.
Zoom is now widely used by not just universities but also by secondary schools, primary schools, and even kindergartens as a means of education amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Based on the experience of e-learning, Shin notes online teaching is not as effective as physical class meetings. She also adds virtual classes miss out on “the connections and the unique campus memories” of physical classes.
Shin is not the only student feeling unhappy with the online teaching arrangement.
Fair Assessment?
On January 30, HKUST announced final examinations of the first term would be conducted online from February 17 to 22. Jeon Sanghyun, 25, a South Korean student studying the Master of Philosophy programme in Electronic and Computer Engineering at HKUST, took his online examination on February 18.
Jeon has concern over fairness in assessment. “I heard students actively exchanged messages (with instant messaging tools) during online examinations,” he notes.
In a bid to combat cheating, Marco Ho, lecturer of the Department of Information Engineering at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), prepared multiple sets of questions for two of his courses in the first term of 2019/2020 school year.
“The questions had different numerical values and configurations so that the difficulty level was more or less the same, and the differences (of each set) were very minor to be detected,” Ho shares. “Time allowed for the online exam was barely sufficient (even) if the students well understood the course material and were well prepared,” he continues.
“That means if the students try to collaborate and work on the exam together, they will not have enough time to spot all differences in questions,” he says.
Ho suggests that measures could be implemented for future online examinations. “For example, examinations could be held in a centralised manner at a fixed time, similar to conventional exams. Stricter regulations (like making multiple question sets) can also be enforced so that students are further discouraged to attempt cheating,” Ho says.
Calls for Refunds
Apart from technical concerns regarding the operation of online teaching, another major issue lies in tuition fees.
Anne, a Taiwanese who refuses to disclose her real name, is a Year 1 Biomedical Sciences student at CUHK. She believes fee adjustment or relevant explanation is necessary.
“A reasonable amount of refunds has to be considered. We need an explanation if the school decides not to give a refund,” says Anne. “My practical classes are heavily affected. Lab courses are all cancelled. Sometimes, my professor presents with a skeleton model, but I can hardly see it through the camera.”
Her first year of university has been rough. The university cancelled most of the classes about three weeks earlier than the schedule, in the first term. They emptied the campus and advised staff and students not to return until the campus environment was confirmed safe and restored. The school now replaces face-to-face classes with virtual ones due to the current pandemic.
“I know it’s not the school’s fault for what happened in the first term, but I lost those remaining classes. We do not only care about grades but also the learning outcomes. The present class suspension and what happened in the last term make it (studying in Hong Kong) a bit meaningless to me,” Anne explains.
According to a survey conducted by the Student Union of CUHK in February, 98 per cent out of 5,685 undergraduates said that at least a part of the second term tuition fees should be refunded. Nearly 95 per cent responded they deserved a full or partial refund for the first term tuition fees. HKUST Students’ Union has also submitted a petition for a 60 per cent refund.
At public universities in Hong Kong, tuition fee for local students is about HK$ 42,100 (US$ 5,400) per year; for non-locals, the fee ranges from HK$ 140,000 to HK$ 171,000 (US$ 18,000 – 22,000).
Registration and Examinations Section of CUHK makes no remarks on fee refunds but postpones the due date for tuition fees to April 30. Johnny Tam, the Public Relations and Media Manager of HKUST, says tuition fees will stay the same as classes are conducted by the same professors.
Save Time, Save Money
There are, on the other hand, students who prefer online teaching. Yvonne Leung is a local student of CUHK who lives in Siu Sai Wan. She used to spend about three hours per day to commute to school by bus and MTR. Despite occasional unstable internet connection, she appreciates the advantage of taking online classes – saving money on travels. “I think online teaching is good because it saves a lot of transport time and costs. I used to spend around HK$ 30 a day, which is HK$ 600 a month,” she says.
Another CUHK student Marcus, who declines to reveal his full name, shares Leung’s view. Marcus lives in Kwun Tong and his journey to CUHK takes him about 40 minutes to an hour. “I used to get up more than an hour before my classes. But with online classes, I can just get up and turn on my laptop,” he says. “I think I am more proactive (in online classes), because it’s not (a) face-to-face (interaction). I feel less shy in class discussions.”
Advice from Teachers
“I am still learning how to use the platform to overcome challenges that limit interactions with students,” says Professor Fan Tingting, assistant professor in the Department of Marketing at CUHK Business School. Fan advises students to be more proactive and make more initiatives to interact with their professors.
“Students have to accept that we do not have any choice for now,” Fan says. “Don’t hide behind your computer. Ask your professors questions,” she encourages.
Ho, lecturer of the Department of Information Engineering at CUHK, also believes communication between teachers and students is crucial, especially for online classes.
“The students should be aware that they are not only given a set of online notes and online videos for learning, but also individual assistance and extra learning resources in the same way as in the conventional classroom teaching,” Ho says.
The Unknown Future
As of April 7, 2020, 1,347,235 of the world population is confirmed with COVID-19 and reported 46,150 deaths according to WHO. Countries across the world went into nationwide lockdown, including school closures, to slow down the spread of the outbreak. WHO advises “all countries to continue efforts that have been effective in limiting the number of cases and slowing the spread of the virus.”
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) says the COVID-19 outbreak has deprived education of nearly 300 million students worldwide. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO notes “ (if) the global scale and speed of the current educational disruption is unparalleled and, if prolonged, (it) could threaten the right to education.”
Edited by Soohyun Kim
Sub-edited by Cynthia Sit
Social unrest might have quieted down amid the outbreak of coronavirus, but those who have bled have to live with physical injuries for life.
By Chaelim Kim, Isaiah Hui
As Hong Kong has experienced prolonged protests related to the anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (anti-ELAB) movement since June 2019, violent confrontations between police officers and protesters have made news headlines all over the world. Many shed blood and tears during the social movement, and some are suffering from serious physical injuries which affect them for the rest of their lives.
Raymond Yeung Tsz-chun, a liberal studies teacher at Diocesan Girls’ School, had his right eye and chest shot by an alleged police projectile during a rally in Admiralty on June 12 last year. Protesters gathered outside Legislative Council building in a bid to stop the second reading of the extradition bill.
My right eye only has 2.5 per cent of the normal vision. I underwent an operation and a painful yet ineffective face-down recovery last year as the macular hole is bigger than natural cases of degeneration.
Yeung is looking for evidence in order to launch a legal action against the Hong Kong Police Force. He has made an appeal in his Facebook account on January 2 and 18, asking for photos and videos near the intersection of Harcourt Road and Cotton Tree Drive outside the People Liberation Army’s Hong Kong headquarters during the protest.
Shot at the scene, Yeung felt shocked and overwhelmed. “I could not believe the police would fire suddenly as I was not doing anything offensive,” he recalls. “A protester nearby carried me away (after I was shot). I was interviewed by a citizen while a first aider was treating me. The aforementioned protester and I then hitched a ride to a hospital, where I was eventually located and arrested for rioting.”
Yeung reveals he received some hostile calls and messages on his Facebook account after he got injured. “I told the media that I did not hate the police officer who fired, as it is not my intention to let hatred take center stage. I just want to stay rational and have those who have violated the law punished.” He wrote on his Facebook on March 9, 2020.
And he feels fortunate that most of his family members and friends are on his side. “Some of them (Yeung’s family members and friends) think that the price I paid is too high when they first saw my injured eye. But the ever-escalating physical and institutional violence against the people from the authorities and the continuous sacrifices made by numerous citizens have shown us that this is everyone’s fight,” he adds.
“Police brutality is real. It could happen to you and me. It is also one of the greatest threats to human rights and democracy. It may seem less destructive than military oppression, but it may be even more harmful as it is often committed in the name of law enforcement,” says Yeung. “Some people and even judges would believe it as justifiable to a certain extent. It becomes the best weapon of a tyranny as it can be abused without much consequence.”
Tear gas, weapons like pepper spray, water cannon, bullets and batons are also used by the police in protests during the anti-extradition bill movement.
Jacob Chu, an 18-year-old high school student, is one of the protesters experiencing long-lasting impact from serious injuries caused by an alleged police attack.
Chu joined a human chain campaign in Tai Po on September 7, 2019, in support of the anti-extradition bill movement. As he was leaving from the peaceful protest, police stormed into Tai Po Market MTR station and made some arrests. Chu was seized by a police officer and beaten with baton. His head was wounded with heavy bleeding. He also suffered bone fracture on one of his fingers on the right hand.
“After being pressed to the ground, I shouted my name and school to people nearby. A police officer warned me not to play tricks before giving me first aid. I was frightened. My dad was angry, and my mom was worried about my head injuries. They came to the hospital immediately,” says Chu. A picture of him being pushed onto the ground with a pool of blood around his head was widely circulated online.
The 18-year-old was sent to Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital. Chu had two stitches on his scalp, and his doctor told him he was fortunate that he got no other serious problem. He was hospitalised for two weeks and underwent physiotherapy and had to attend psychiatric consultation for three months. Chu says he still feels traumatised.
This kind of feeling comes all of a sudden. It is painful every time I walk past Tai Po Market MTR station. I feel dizzy and I want to vomit. Though I guess it’s much better now, I still have nightmares.
“In Hong Kong, no one is holding the police to account. You can’t charge them as they wear masks and do not show their work identity cards when they are on duty. IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Council) is useless. I feel hopeless and frustrated,” says Chu.
The injuries make it difficult for him to write and affect his preparation for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination this year. He now decides not to sit for the examination and considers leaving Hong Kong to continue his studies overseas and for better mental health.
A doctor who works in a public hospital and addresses himself as Dr K, says he encounters many patients with head injuries, which often lead to open wounds like scalp lacerations (head wounds).
Dr. K is also a volunteer first aider in protests related to the movement. He says that many injured protesters are reluctant to seek medical treatment: “They worry that they might be located by police officers in emergency rooms at public hospitals,” the doctor who also coordinates first aid teams on the frontline says.
Dr. K had to deal with many patients with serious injuries while serving on the frontline. “A person was shot by bean bag rounds in the head, causing deep laceration and fragment of foreign body embedded in wound, with subsequent infection,” says Dr. K. He says wounds from rubber bullets and bean bag rounds are quite frequent in protest sites. “They very often cause open wounds like scalp lacerations,” he says.
Tear gas and pepper spray were frequently used in protests sites too. “It is very likely to cause eye and skin irritation,” says Dr. K. “Shot wounds by rubber bullets and bean bag rounds are also common injuries. They can be severe if involving face and orbit.”
You can only reach out to patients and realize the fragility of life when offering them treatment in the frontline.
He adds that even though many patients suffer from a series of illnesses, they show dignity in fighting for what they believe in.
Mark, a medical student studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who declines to reveal his identity, says he cannot turn a blind eye to the force used against protestors so he joins the first aid team with Dr. K.
“I have been risking myself on the frontline because I knew that the government would not treat protesters with minimal force,” says Mark, adding that he knew excessive force would be used because he witnessed much tear gas used during the Umbrella Movement in 2014.
Mark says he felt heartbroken while helping the injured. “I had to deal with many severe cases of injuries. I remember a boy who was shot in the face by a tear gas bullet. He couldn’t even open his eyes nor take off his contact lenses. And his forehead kept bleeding,” he says.
Edited by Wayne Chang
Sub-edited by Emilie Lui
By Soweon Park & Kassandra Lai
On November 17, 2019, more than 1,000 radical protesters and their supporters occupied the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) campus and engaged in fierce clashes with the police, sparking off violent exchanges of petrol bombs and tear gas.
Volunteer first aider, Sam, who declines to reveal his full name, was one of those barricaded inside the PolyU during the confrontations.
Trapped inside the campus, the 20-year-old says what he witnessed and experienced there was just traumatic. “The police locked down the campus, manning every exit, and leaving many young protesters on the brink of mental breakdown. You just never know when the police would stage a raid. At that moment, I thought we were once promising young people, but we might lose everything the next second,” he says.
Days after his escape, he was still gripped by fear that he would be accosted by police. The paranoid thoughts still keep clouding his mind.
“Every time I take a minibus to Mongkok, passing by Block Z of the campus, my hands and body shake involuntarily. I try to avoid talking about the PolyU incident. But whenever I come across news about it, I get very emotional,” he says. “Sometimes tears just keep streaming down my cheeks uncontrollably.”
Sam has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder which develops after experiencing an exceptionally threatening or a catastrophic event, such as getting into a serious accident, witnessing violent deaths of others, or being a victim of a violent crime.
Mental Health crisis
According to an article in volume six, issue 12 of The Lancet, a medical journal published by the University of Hong Kong academics, more than two million Hong Kong adults have shown the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder during the ongoing political unrest in the city. Sam is one of those.
Questionnaires were sent to more than 18,000 residents aged 18 or above between 2009 and 2019. The result suggested that the prevalence of probable depression is five times higher during the 2019 social unrest than the 2014 Occupy Central Movement. Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were also estimated to be six times higher, with 1.9 million more adults compared to 10 years ago.
The Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists also conducted a mental health survey on various groups of people, including journalists, property management staff, teachers, social workers, and the general public between October and December 2019.
About 90 per cent of respondents from the survey reported that the social movement had affected them psychologically. Journalists and property management staff were found to be especially vulnerable to trauma exposure during the social unrest.
“We refer to trauma exposures as one or more of the following: directly experiencing trauma, witnessing trauma, learning that a traumatic event occurred to a close family member or friend, or extreme/repeated exposure to aversive details of traumatic events due to the needs of your work,” explains Dr. May Lam, Vice-President (Censor/Education) of the Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists.
“Those who have direct involvement in the social turmoil due to occupational needs are more prone to developing depressive and anxiety symptoms than other groups of people,” Lam adds.
The survey also shows that about 50 per cent of the respondents experienced feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.
Wendi Fu, a 20-year-old business major student of the Lingnan University, is one of those who suffers from mental problems. She does not seek help from doctors and medical treatment, but she does suffer from anxiety due to arguments and family conflicts over the recent protests.
“I feel very pressured and anxious when I am with my family, as we have different political stances. It is very hard to avoid the topic in our daily conversation. My parents kept bad-mouthing protestors at dinner and this gave me a hard time. So, I chose to live in school dorm, instead of going back home most of the times, to avoid conflicts,” she says.
In light of the current situation of Hong Kong, Fu is pessimistic about the future of the city. She has been thinking about moving to other countries since 2014 and her determination got stronger this year due to the fears against the Communist Party of China.
“I don’t see any hope in the future. It is upsetting to see Hongkongers don’t get what they deserve or what they should have had – justice and freedom,” Fu says. “Our freedom of speech and our independent legal system are all being threatened since the 2014 Umbrella Movement,” she says.
Care4ALL programme
Pokky Choi, director and education psychologist of Edge Development Centre, explains that the protests are tearing families apart. “The differences in values and views could develop into doubts regarding each other’s personality and moral standards, and thus breeds mistrust and criticisms,” he adds.
Civil society in Hong Kong has been quick to respond to fears of the mental health crisis, with many launching targeted campaigns and psychological counselling services to the public.
Edge Development Centre set up a free hotline in June 2019, to provide counselling service by voluntary educational psychologists to the needy, during the social unrest. Currently the centre has about five educational psychologists on voluntary basis.
While programmes and services are being offered to curb rising mental health problems, it is likely that some are still some suffering in silence. Some may not recognise their problems or may not be willing to seek help.
“Many protestors prefer not to talk about their experience. They are not worried about being labelled, but they are afraid of whistleblowers. You never know whether they are friends or foes,” Sam, the volunteer first aider says.
Echoing what he said, Lam, Vice-President (Censor/Education) of the Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists, states that the hardest part is getting those who need help to come forward and receive service they offer. “Once participants come to us, things are actually very easy.”
In hopes of helping more who are reluctant to seek help, the Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists launched a volunteering programme named 「Care4ALL香港精神 – 同舟共行計劃」in August 2019. It is targeted at people who are mentally disturbed by the recent social unrest.
The programme is designed to be easily accessible and approachable. The college tries to offer a comprehensive and volunteer-based community model to achieve early intervention and remission. Patients are also encouraged to voice out their worries and concerns before their consultation.
It is run by volunteering psychiatrists and social workers. “We offer a maximum of eight free psychiatric consultations and a medication subsidy of up to HKD$6,000,” Lam says.
How can people help themselves?
The Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists has also shared tips for maintaining mental well-being with the public.
One of the tips is to find activities to do or be with families to take everyone’s minds off the troubles. It is also important to get unplugged from the internet and let emotions run free instead of suppressing them.
“We believe that high levels of exposure to trauma through social media is worrisome, and we would advise those with PTSD symptoms to refrain from excessive social-media exposure to traumatic events,” Lam advises.
Despite all the self-help tips, Lam repeatedly emphasises the importance of finding the right person to talk to. “The best way is to seek professional help as soon as possible, especially when the symptoms are recurring and intrusive,” she says.
*If you are feeling depressed or suffering from symptoms of PTSD, you can call the Social Welfare Department hotline service (2343 2255) or Care4ALL香港精神 – 同舟共行計劃 (6020 2493) to get consultation and help.
Edited by Kayi Tsang
Sub-edited by Soohyun Kim
Family conflicts and deep-rooted intergenerational division in the anti-extradition bill movement
By Kelly Yu
Family conflicts
Betty, a 20-year-old student majoring in sociology, and her younger sister found it increasingly difficult to communicate with her parents who bitterly oppose the anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill movement (anti-ELAB) since June 2019.
The Year 2 student, who declines to reveal her full identity, did not have dinner at home for two months after the social unrest broke out last summer. “My relationship with my parents was on the brink of collapse. They said I was not their daughter and did not let me go home. I went out the whole day to avoid facing them,” Betty recalls her ordeal with her parents.
The impact of the large-scale social movement spills over to family relationships, as heated debates over differences in political views and the protests are tearing families apart.
Betty says she argues with her family about the political stance. “My parents think fighting for democracy upsets social stability. They label protesters as rioters who have ruined the city,” she says.
The conflict Betty has with her parents is not an isolated case. According to a survey conducted by Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) in October 2019, 42 per cent of 300 respondents aged 18 to 29 said they often argued with their parents in the past six months, among which 70 per cent said the main reasons were the recent social events or difference in political stance. About 31 per cent of another 302 respondents aged 54 to 73 in the same survey said their family relationships had deteriorated since last June.
Views from opposite sides
Betty’s parents think fighting for democracy is unnecessary, and they think it is meaningless to set up road barricades and join a strike. But Betty believes that when the government does not respond to peaceful protests, a citywide strike can be used as a bargaining chip for political demands.
With a preference for local and international news over news in mainland China, Betty says the only channel for her to know about issues in China was during Liberal Studies lessons in secondary school. She recalls learning news about the Chinese milk powder crisis and corruption cases of mainland authorities which shapes her negative perception about China.
Growing up in the Mainland and Hong Kong with different life experiences affects ways of thinking, Betty says. Her parents are Chinese immigrants with low education level and limited knowledge about freedom and democracy. But Betty grew up and is educated in Hong Kong. She has been exposed to these concepts at a young age.
“My parents are brainwashed by the communist party into believing that Chinese-style governance is great.”
While some parents do not share their children’s views and oppose to political participation of any kind, some parents show understanding and support peaceful protests.
A 40-year-old father of two children, who names himself David, says he supports the use of peaceful means to express political views and his children have been taking part in human chain activities, but he finds behaviours like vandalism and desecration of the Chinese national flag unacceptable.
David, working in the logistics sector, has frequent contact with colleagues who are from mainland China. He thinks most Hong Kong people misunderstand China as an uncivilised country.
“Over the past decades, China has been developing at a fast pace, but Hong Kong has made no progress.”
He adds that the young generation hopes to restore the British colonial rule because they hate the Chinese identity.
David thinks that his children have wrongly interpreted the concept of democracy. While he thinks fighting for democracy triggered social instability, his children think it is good for the whole society. “The younger generation overestimates the power of democracy and freedom, but in fact both are not the panacea for all social problems,” he says.
“No matter which side my children stand for, I hope that they can distinguish between right and wrong rather than following the social trend blindly… They (children) do not have to accept my views. I only want them to figure out the truth and to understand the complexity of a society,” he continues.
Intergenerational differences and social division
According to the same survey conducted by HKFYG, while youngsters ranked freedom as the most important core values, their parents considered social stability as the top priority. Among all respondents from two age groups, 70 per cent believed that difference in values was the main reason for intergenerational conflicts.
Explaining the result, Beji Ho San-moon, researcher of the Youth I.D.E.A.S. and Youth Research Centre of the HKFYG, says, “Every generation has its own values, opportunities and standard of life. These shape paths that individuals take and their attitudes towards society.”
Apart from personal beliefs, Ho also attributes intergenerational conflicts to difference in the sense of identity. He says while the older generation generally recognises themselves as Chinese, the younger generation tends to be more diverse and they label themselves as “Global Citizen”; “Hongkonger in China” or a “Hongkonger”.
| Age 18-29 | Age 54 to 73 (with children) | |
| Core values | Average score (respondents) | Average score (respondents) |
| Social stability | 7.39 (300) | 7.77 (302) |
| Rule of law | 7.71 (300) | 7.63 (302) |
| Democracy | 7.84 (300) | 6.30 (297) |
| Freedom | 8.18 (300) | 7.14 (299) |
| Fairness | 7.96 (300) | 7.52 (301) |
Table 1: A study on the core values recognised by two generations from Hong Kong Federation of Youth Group (HKFYG) (Source: HKFYG)
Agnes Ku Shuk-mei, associate professor of Social Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), shares Ho’s view. She says that different generations hold different values due to different experiences. This explains why parents argue with their children over the social movement.
Ku explains that baby boomers who have enjoyed the post-war fruits of prosperity and stability are likely to uphold a conservative outlook in favour of stability above all, while youngsters born in a more affluent society tend to embrace their individuality and post-materialist values.
She says that most parents embrace stability and the idea of “openness”. “Most of them experienced economic hardship in the 1950s and 1960s. They believe that society has a relatively open structure that allows social mobility, and everyone can climb up the social ladder through hard work.”
Unlike the older generation, Ku thinks young people do not believe in upward social mobility today. “Young people see inequality in society. Employment opportunities are not very promising and social advancement has become difficult,” she says. “They turn to collective action and increasingly adopt radical means, as seen in the recent anti-ELAB movement.”
She adds that the former has strong ties with China, while the latter seeks to separate themselves from the Chinese identity and connect with the rest of the world.
She observes that a sharp sense of localism has emerged among the young generation recently as reflected in the significant presence of young protesters in the anti-ELAB movement. The young generation emphasises individual autonomy and core values that separate Hong Kong from China to resist the integration between the two. “Such a trend of localism reflects the mistrust in the existing political system,” she says.
“It is the intertwinement between generational and ideological differences that causes the political differences between the older and younger generation,” Ku concludes.
Edited By Howard Li
Sub-edited By Ariel Lai
Schools pull out of a debate contest after a Chinese state media has raised an outcry over debate motions which they call “politically sensitive”.
By Fiona Cheung and Gloria Wei
Twenty-six schools, about one-fifth of the participating teams, withdrew from the Hong Kong Secondary School Debate Competition after debate motions related to anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (anti-ELAB) movement sparked controversy in late December last year.
The action came after Ta Kung Pao, the state newspaper, criticised contest organiser of “brainwashing students” in a news article dated December 20, 2019, with a title “Education fails, Interschool Debate Contest becomes a means of Brainwashing Students”. (教育病了 | 縱暴派辦學界賽 假辯論真洗腦)
Controversy over debate motions
“Not everything is suitable to be a debate motion,” says Ho Hon-kuen, the chairman of Education Convergence, a pro-government organisation, when interviewed by Ta Kung Pao in the news article. He thinks some of the motions have wrong presumption which may radicalise students’ thoughts.
Debate motions like “Hongkongers should fight for Hong Kong independence” and “Restructuring the police force does more good than harm to Hong Kong” are denounced by Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers (HKFEW), a pro-Beijing teachers’ union, accusing the organiser of proposing inappropriate topics in the name of “defending freedom of speech”.
“The ulterior motive of attempting to politicise school campuses through this debate competition is obvious,” HKFEW says in a statement issued on December 19 last year.
The first-ever Hong Kong Secondary School Debate Competition is organised by the Hong Kong Schools Debate Federation (HKSDF) with more than 120 participating schools. The application started in October 2019 when police and demonstrators were squaring off each other during the anti-ELAB movement.
Debate motions were proposed by applicants. The motions were then evaluated by a panel with members who have more than 10 years of debating experience. They examined the motions to see if they were debatable and whether the usage of wordings was accurate.
Hong Kong has been plagued by the anti-ELAB movement after the government proposed a controversial amendment to the fugitive offenders bill in February 2019. A public backlash sparks off protests and now includes demands to fight against the escalating police brutality and the tightening grip of China.
Responding to the pull-out of 24 schools from the contest in December 2019, HKSDF says in a written reply that they are disappointed with the schools’ decision to withdraw. “No school should be exposed to such pressure for doing something that has long been a major part of education,” the statement reads.
No school should be exposed to such pressure for doing something that has long been a major part of education.
HKSDF refuses to self-censor debate motions amid severe criticisms made by the state media outlet and pro-Beijing teachers’ organisations. “We try our best to explain our values and ideas of the debate contest,” HKSDF writes in a reply, “We will keep doing all of these.”
Everything is debatable
A secondary school debater who addresses herself as Jose is one of the participants of the Hong Kong Secondary School Debate competition. The Form Five student finds the “brainwashing” accusation made by Ta Kung Pao ridiculous. “We have the affirmative side and the negative side in a debate, so I do not see how we can be brainwashed,” Jose says.
Jose started joining debate competition five years ago. She thinks debate motions adopted by HKSDF are timely and “more grounded”.
“Many debate motions have been used many times in other competitions and we even call them ‘motion of all ages’,” Jose says, “The debate topics selected by HKSDF are about current affairs which are really worth discussing.”
As Jose is looking for opportunities to discuss more “innovative” topics, she shares her view that everything is worth debating. She thinks debate motions cover all kinds of topics and it is natural that some topics might touch on politics. “Nothing is absolute after all. Anything can be a debate motion,” says Jose.
Nothing is absolute after all. Anything can be a debate motion.
Another student who identifies herself as Ann was one of the participants of the Hong Kong Secondary School Debate Competition. Her school was one of the 24 schools which decided to pull out from the contest. Students were not consulted and were only informed about the decision afterwards.
“It is our freedom to choose whether to join the competition or not,” Ann says, expressing her disapproval of being forced to quit the event. “I feel like we are being suppressed and the opportunity of participating in the match is taken away,” she adds.
Equipped with three years of debating experience, Ann cites debate motion such as police disbandment as an example to explain how the topic can help students develop an intellectual discussion.
“For example, discussing police disbandment does not only target on police brutality, the discussion also covers other related issues such as the impact on governance and overseas experience,” she says, “We don’t simply argue on police brutality but we have to discuss issues like power vacuum with examples from foreign countries.”
Debating politics at schools
The political storm over the debate contest not only affects participating schools. A secondary school which did not take part in the competition received a letter from the Education Bureau due to parents’ complaints about some interschool activities which were perceived to be held in favour of the anti-ELAB movement by parents. A teacher who identifies himself as Keefe was the organiser of a friendly debate competition.
Since some debate motions of the friendly match touched on political topics, Keefe also received a letter from the Education Bureau, requesting him to explain motives behind the match and the motion, the number of participants and whether alumni were involved.
Concerns from parents, school management, sponsoring body of the school and his colleagues were aroused when Keefe was preparing to organise the match. He realised a political storm might have been triggered even if he had kept the match low-profile to avoid public attention. People around him might also be affected if the match continued.
“I realise things are beyond control once they are related to politics,” Keefe says, “I tell my school I am willing to bear any consequences but then I notice some consequences cannot be borne by myself.” He had no choice but finally compromised – no political topics when setting debate motions in future competitions.
Keefe believes it is hard to brainwash students simply by debate motions. “Students can have their own stance,” he says, “and their stance does not have to be the same as the stance they are assigned to in a competition.”
He believes forbidding students to discuss politics is in fact politicising schools. “The Education Bureau is the one which politicises schools by banning certain ideas such as Hong Kong independence to be discussed. This limits students’ thoughts. It is the bureau which brings politics to schools,” Keefe says.
The Education Bureau is the one which politicises schools by banning certain ideas to be discussed.
Prospect of students debating
A debate coach of a secondary school surnamed Wong, who refuses to disclose his full name, worries criticisms over debating politics will affect future development of debate training in secondary schools.
The school he works for also participated in the Hong Kong Secondary School Debate Competition.
“I think the future of students debating is definitely going to be harder in Hong Kong,” says Wong, “The future development depends very much on whether debaters uphold the value of searching for truth as we say everything is worth debating.”
The future development depends very much on whether debaters uphold the value of searching for truth.
Concerning the controversial debate motions, the Education Bureau says in an email reply, “Many of the motions are related to the current social incidents with a slanted angle of topics. It makes people suspect that there is a strong propagandistic purpose.”
The bureau sent notices to various schools, stating the basic principles of teaching controversial issues with unbiased and pluralistic views since late August 2019, but refused to provide an exact number of notices or letters issued to teachers and school upon enquiry.
Edited by Tiffany Chong
