Paul Yip
Cross-border marriages have become a significant component of Hong Kong marriages. According to the latest figures, in 2015, about 35 per cent of registered marriages, or 17,953 out of 51,609, were cross-border marriages. Of these, 13,123 involved mainland brides and 4,830 mainland bridegrooms. Cross-border unions are also common between Chinese and our neighbours from Taiwan (9,000), Japan (6,000) and Korea (4,500). Read More
Susan Elliott & Paul Yip
The Canadian Index of Well-being was 11 years in the making and involved consultations with people across the country. The result is 64 indicators across eight domains: education, healthy populations, leisure and culture, time use, community vitality, living standards, environment and democratic engagement. Read More
Paul Yip
According to the latest study on prices and earnings by UBS, Hong Kong ranked second in average wages, after Tokyo, among 71 cities.
In terms of purchasing power and taking into account differences in the cost of living, Hong Kong ranked top for the amount of time it would take an average worker to earn enough to buy a McDonald’s Big Mac and an Apple iPhone 6: nine minutes, and 52 hours, respectively. That’s better than the likes of Sydney, New York, London and Singapore. Read More
Paul Yip
I attended the annual performance of the School of Dance of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts last week. The theme was onward and upward and the presentation was interesting and very dynamic.
It was pleasing to see so many young local artists striving for excellence. They were trying to be innovative, moving away from classical performance into something contemporary and the coming together of East and West in a multitude of ways. Read More
Rainbow Ho & Paul Yip
The problem of child maltreatment, including physical, sexual and psychological abuse as well as neglect, has become an important public health issue. Every year, between 4 per cent and 16 per cent of children are physically abused and about 10 per cent are neglected or psychologically abused in high-income countries. Given the well-documented effects of such abuse on a child’s health, social and behavioural development, society will pay a very high cost if it is not dealt with timely and effectively. Read More
Paul Yip
Coexist, a large community and arts centre in Bristol, employs 31 staff, only seven of whom are men. It will be the first company in Britain to allow female employees menstrual leave. According to the director, Bex Baxter, it makes sense to allow women employees to take advantage of their natural cycles rather than fight against them. She reckons that by providing time out for women during menstruation, they will do even better after the leave. Read More
Paul Yip
The surge of suicides among students in Hong Kong over the past six months is very worrying. We have witnessed an increasing trend of youth suicides in the past few years, despite a continuous reduction in the overall rate in Hong Kong. Our suicide rate was about 11 per 100,000 people in 2014, below the world average of 13. While older adults have a higher suicide rate – twice the average – the recent spate of suicides among young people has triggered a response from the community. Read More
Paul Yip
Paul Yip says the problems with the Territory-wide System Assessment are just one small part of a bigger problem: the local education system’s misguided mentality that learning is best through rigorous testing and packed curriculums
There is a strong desire to scrap the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) for Primary Three children (aged 9), with critics of the exam claiming that the extensive drills and practice are counterproductive in nurturing young minds. The government seems to accept the recommendation from a working group that 90 per cent of primary school pupils could be exempted from taking it this year.
Paul Yip & Nancy Chau
The city has a compensation-focused approach to workplace injuries, and employees would be better served by rehabilitation and a timely return to work
Each year in Hong Kong, there are about 55,000 cases of workplace accidents or work-related diseases, resulting in some 200 deaths. In a working population of about 3.9 million, this means a fatality rate of 5.2 deaths per 10,000 workers, which is higher than that observed in Singapore (2.1) or Australia (1.7).
Paul Yip & Melissa Chan
Paul Yip and Melissa Chan say the ‘parental responsibility model’ that the Hong Kong government proposes should guide our would reduce stress on the affected children
The government recently launched a pubic consultation on how to amend our legislation on child custody and access, in response to the rising number of divorces in Hong Kong. Data shows that the total number of divorce decrees granted in 2013 (22,271 cases) was more than 10 times the number in 1981 (2,060 cases) in Hong Kong, and so more children are affected. The government should be commended for taking this step.
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