GIVEAWAYS

WIN A MATH ASSESSMENT AND A MONTH OF TUITION FROM MATHNASIUM

www.mathnasium.com.hk

Mathnasium Discovery Bay is offering one reader a free, comprehensive math assessment and one month of tuition (worth HK$3,500). Mathnasium in DB North Plaza is a math-only learning centre that helps kids aged six to 16 years old understand and master math. The first step is a math assessment that provides a breakdown of students’ strengths and weaknesses. From there, Mathnasium builds a customised learning plan to enable students to either catch up, keep up, or get ahead. Tutors then work with students on their learning plans, and provide help with homework or test preparation as needed. Over the course of a month, students are entitled to two or three hourlong tutorials each week. Visit www.mathnasium.com.hk/discoverybay.

WIN AN AUTO SPARKLING WATER MACHINE FROM SODAMAGIC

www.sodamagic.hk

SodaMagic is offering two readers a free ‘Auto’ sparkling water machine (worth HK$980); the perfect gift for anyone who enjoys making their own sparkling water and flavoured carbonated beverages. With a SodaMagic sparkling water machine, you can carbonate your tap water, and personalise it to your taste, in seconds. The new Auto model benefits from ‘one push and automatic stop’ functionality – simply push the start button once and the machine will stop automatically when finished. SodaMagic’s sparkling water machines are stylish and modern, and guaranteed to fit the look of all kitchens. Visit www.sodamagic.hk.

Congratulations to last month’s winner Carlos Gonzalez for a Persian rug from Red Velvet Designs

A good turn every day

Discovery Bay Brownie Guides set out to make the world a better place – and have a good time doing it. Elizabeth Kerr gets inspired by three Sixers

There are now three Brownie Guide Packs in DB which by my calculation, since there are 24 girls to a pack, means DB is home to 72 Brownies. As it turns out there are ‘only’ 66 because Pack C, which started in August, isn’t quite full yet. The 66-and-counting Brownie Guides meet at Discovery Bay International School (DBIS) on Saturday mornings, COVID-19 allowing.

I get to chat with three of them – Lucia Torresi, Molly Shepherd and Olivia Oakley. Lucia, 11, attends Discovery College (DC), and more importantly she’s a Sixer for the Imps (Pack B). Molly, 10, and Olivia, 9, are at DBIS; Molly’s a Sixer for the Red Hat Sprites (Pack B), and Olivia’s a Sixer for the Gnomes (Pack A).

As a rule, the girls don’t really hang out beyond their time in Brownies, but you’d never know that by seeing them interact. Molly and Lucia quickly start giving each other some classic schoolgirl schtick. If

Lucia Torresi

you ask for one of them to explain what Brownies is, be prepared for the barrage of Vaudeville-ready banter that follows.

“It’s like Scouts for girls, but it’s not Girl Guides. Brownies are from five- to 12-year-olds,” begins Lucia, when Molly abruptly cuts her off. “It’s 11.”

“No, 12,” Lucia replies confidently.

“It’s 11,” comes back Molly. “It’s 12.” “11.”

“It’s definitely 12, otherwise I would have left already,” says Lucia. That seems to be the end of it, at least until Molly, losing the fight, gets the last word out. “It’s 11,” she whispers with a cheeky grin. Lucia’s mum Louise finally chimes in with a comment about flexibility.

Badges and The Promise

The exchange is far from precocious or aggressive, but it is assured, something the girls may be picking up from their time as Brownies, the guiding club is that, exactly?’ One day I asked

Molly Shepherd Olivia Oakley

founded by British army officer Lord Baden-Powell and his sister Agnes in the early 20th century. The trio have been tearing it up on the charitable front for months. It’s why their Brown Owls Sharon McEneff (Pack A) and Gaylene Meeson (Pack B) recommended them for some publicity.

Eventually they get around to explaining the importance of interest badges – Lucia has 18, Molly, 16 and Olivia, 13. The pet badge and friend badge are Olivia’s favourites so far. “I had to take care of a pet for a week and demonstrate friendship by participating in different activities with new and old friends,” she says

The girls also explain about the breakdown of the Pack into Sixes (groups of Imps, Pixies and so on), and how each Six is led by a Sixer, assisted by her Seconder. A Happy Bee becomes a Tweenie and then a Brownie before moving on to Girl Guides... It’s staggering. Molly asks if she should recite the pledge. “It’s fun to work on the badges, and help other people and have them help you,” begins Lucia by way of explaining what attracted her to Brownies in the first place – aside from mum Louise’s youthful stint. “There are always things on the internet telling us to be eco-friendly for example, and I thought, ‘What

with a grin. my mum, and she told me, and I thought, ‘I want to do that.’”

For Molly the appeal was similarly collaborative, and mum Laura was also a Brownie. “I like the idea that people may be having a better life because of us,” she says. “I like the feeling they’re happier because we tried to help.”

Olivia, the youngest of the group, agrees, saying: “To be a Brownie is to be helpful, friendly, creative and active… I wanted to be a Brownie because there’s camping and lots of creative and outdoor activities. I enjoy leading as a Sixer in my pack, and I feel special when I earn badges.” And yes, Olivia’s mum Berenise was a Brownie too. 

Lending a helping hand

Olivia has lived in DB for five years, and in England and Shanghai before that. Lucia and Molly have essentially spent their entire lives in Hong Kong: Molly was born here (dad was too) and Lucia relocated from her birthplace in Vietnam at roughly six months old. Hong Kong is home for all three and they have every intention of helping out where needed – as well as overseas.

How? Where to start? Not surprisingly, Molly and Lucia talk over each other about recent fundraising to supply filters and Q Drums for water transport in South Africa and Nepal (from the sale of environmentally friendly beeswax clingwrap), to finance a village well in Pakistan (through a bake sale), and to help fight Australian bushfires (via a used book drive).

Not ones to rest on their laurels, the three girls have also helped raise funds for childhood cancer research this year. Lucia is sporting a short bob, after giving away her hair for use in a wig. She’s also a young entrepreneur, co-founding ecologically conscious party supply rental service Ecoparties (find them on Facebook), and she encouraged classmates to plant 100 trees in Mui Wo as part of a Year 6 project at school. She’s the first Brownie in Hong Kong’s Bauhinia Division ever to win an Outstanding Brownie award.

No doubt Olivia is following in Lucia’s footsteps. She’s full of enthusiasm about the recent beeswax wrap sale: “I enjoyed the process, particularly picking out the fabrics and the patterns and baking them in the oven to melt the wax onto the fabric to make them waterproof. We sold them to raise money for charities in South Africa and Nepal that work on providing

Brownie Guide Law

I will care for my home, my community and myself, And I will do a good turn every day.

The Promise

I promise to do my best To be true to myself, my faith, my country and the country in which I live, To help others and to keep the Brownie Guide Law.

clean water.” And looking to the future, Olivia has her heart set on a Super Brownie Award. “You have to earn lots of other badges first,” she says. “No one in the Bauhinia Division has it yet, I think.”

Molly, meanwhile, wants to become a Brown Owl when she grows up. Right now, one of her focuses is on Impact HK, a charity lending support to the city’s homeless in a quest for employment and housing, as well as supporting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She’s already looking at charity work as a career.

Tweenies and siblings

But all that energy put into making the world better doesn’t mean the girls have no energy to be… girls.

Both Lucia and Molly like to perform on stage but neither would call herself artistic, per se, though Lucia will be the DJ in DC’s production of School of Rock next April. Molly prefers being in school to online learning, though press her to choose a favourite subject and the answer is a simple, “Not Maths.” Olivia’s into PE and Learning Technologies. There are no subjects she dislikes, not even Maths.

The girls aren’t yet sure what their Brown Owls have planned for them in December but they’re looking forward to working towards more badges and they’ll also be mentoring. Sixers help their Brown Owls lead the Pack, and the Tweenies keep them especially busy. “A Tweenie is when a girl joins the Brownie Pack but she hasn’t made her promise yet; first you have to learn about what being a Brownie means and if it’s right for you to make the commitment,” Olivia explains helpfully, i.e. for my benefit.

Before dashing off, they all shout out siblings – Olivia’s twin sister, Florence, and Lucia’s sister, Sophia, are both in Pack B (Sophia is in Molly’s Six). Molly has a brother, George. He and Sophia are both eight – and besties.

“George wanted to do Brownies,” finishes Molly with a laugh. “But we told him, ‘Really sorry, George.’ He joined the Cubs.”

If your daughter would like to become a Brownie or you’re interested in joining the leader team as a volunteer, visit www.db-brownies.com or email contact@db-brownies.com.

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

Reflecting on a tough 2020, Elizabeth Jerabek focuses on the resilience of the many Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon families in DB, and the feeling of community their plight has engendered

Looking back on the last 11 months, one of the best ways to sum up 2020 is that it was the year in which almost every single day felt like your whole life could change. From COVID-19 test results and illness, to sudden relocations and departures from Hong Kong, to the loss of domestic helpers, to school closures, to divorces, to weddings postponed or cancelled, to job losses and salary reductions, almost no one has come through this year unscathed.

Cathay Pacific’s announcement on October 21 of the company’s restructuring and the closure of the regional carrier Cathay Dragon is a recent example of how COVID-19 has reshaped our world in ways both large and small. Around 4,000 cabin crew, 600 pilots, and 700 ground staff and office workers at Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon lost their jobs as a result of the HK$2.2 billion restructuring, while others are facing punitive pay cuts.

The economic fallout of Cathay Pacific’s restructuring has been felt across the city, but its impact is particularly severe on Lantau. Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon families have long made their home in Discovery Bay, due to its proximity to the airport, and their plight has impacted the whole community. Friends and neighbours have been letting go of their helpers, scrambling to downsize to smaller flats and packing up to leave Hong Kong… It’s felt like the end of an era. Despite that, it’s been moving to see the general outpouring of sympathy for all those who have been affected.

Braced for impact

“The initial shock is quite brutal and you feel abandoned. It’s very difficult to get your head around,” opens Jon Rebbeck, a Cathay Dragon pilot who was made redundant in October. “If you scale it down to a personal level, if you’ve got more expenditure than you’ve got income, you’ve got to do something about it. You can’t out in force to help friends and

keep going into debt.”

Jon had been with Cathay Dragon, or Dragonair as it was then, since 2001. Initially employed as a first officer, he was promoted to captain within three years. After that, he moved back and forth – working in Cathay Pacific management, as a trainer and examiner for the Civil Aviation Department, and flying for Cathay Dragon, which is 2008 financial crisis,” Jon adds.

what he was doing up until he was made redundant.

“I was lucky,” he says. “I took a voluntary redundancy from Thomas Cook Airlines in the UK in 2001 but I already had a first interview at Dragonair in Hong Kong. Since then, I’ve always Bill Wong Cho-bau, is a glimmer plans to grow the fleet to as many

lived on Lantau – from the first 10 years in DB, to Ham Tin, to now in Tung Chung.”

Although the job loss is painful for Jon, with 19 years at Cathay Dragon under his belt, he had already started to focus on his retirement. He now plans to leave Hong Kong early next year, and move to France to the house he owns in Charente.

“I am looking at it positively, for me, as a new beginning,” says Jon. “But even so, there is lots to pilots to consider. Jon is quick to

sort out – taxes, MPF and shipping arrangements. It’s a nightmare.”

Like so many of us, Jon’s heart goes out to the young pilots within the Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon community, particularly those with families to support. “The shock of the job loss is horrendous,” he says, “but then supporting a family and dealing with things like international schools fees… It’s unbelievably difficult, particularly when you have to make those decisions very quickly in a short period of time.”

Hope on the horizon

While the DB community has come neighbours through this difficult time, pilots like Jon have been in a unique position to offer guidance. “I’ve tried to give good advice to the younger guys I’ve spoken to,” he says. “They should stay focused and positive as they will definitely get the chance to fly again and continue their careers.

“I was here for the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong in 2003, and for the “Things come back more quickly in this part of the world than they do in the States or in Europe. I don’t know why that would be, but it seems like it is.”

Indeed for many, the impending launch of Greater Bay Airlines (GBA) by Hong Kong businessman of hope on the horizon. Waiting on approvals from Hong Kong authorities, GBA plans to begin providing air services between Hong Kong and the mainland by summer 2021. To launch with three Boeing 737 jets, GBA will need to hire at least 300 staff and there are as seven jets by the end of 2021, 30 by 2025.

And there are, of course, alternative careers for Cathay Pacific Group to have the additional pressure of

point out that pilots have qualities and abilities that make them attractive to other industries. “Pilots tend to be highly motivated with excellent leadership skills, as well as critical thinking and decisionmaking skills,” he says.

In fact, businesses across Hong Kong have already started recruiting, with property agencies and insurance companies 

particularly interested in hiring former Cathay Pacific Group cabin crew to fill key customer service positions. Their hospitality training and expertise, their experience in dealing with passengers and their communication skills – especially if they are bilingual or multilingual – make them highly employable.

Two of Hong Kong’s biggest estate agents, Centaline Property Agency and Ricacorp Properties, as well as insurance companies AIA, Prudential, Manulife, and the beauty treatment brand, Perfect Shape, are all actively recruiting. In order to help former cabin crew staff make informed career decisions, some companies are offering to provide free retraining even before formal contracts of employment are signed.

Navigating change

DB resident Nikki Guy – who is a family and child therapist and a director at the private practice Integrate hk – has a clear understanding of what the Cathay Pacific restructuring means for families in DB. The father of her nine-year-old son works at Cathay Pacific, and as a result her family is part of the network of Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon families in DB.

Looking for a way to help, Nikki is offering free phone support for all those in need of counselling as a result of the restructuring. She says she’s been overwhelmed by 3580 1443) with enquiries on their employment rights and benefits.

people reaching out for help on how to navigate the change for themselves and for their families.

“A dramatic change, like the one announced by Cathay Pacific, can be incredibly overwhelming for both individuals and families,” says Nikki. “A change like this is

Hope is on the horizon with the launch of Greater Bay Airlines

in different ways both physically, emotionally and psychologically. Sometimes the consequential impact can be ever so subtle and these are the things that we need to look out for to help each other.

“There is no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’ way of processing a loss, each person’s experiences will be unique,” Nikki adds. “Each person will have their own way of dealing with it. The families I have seen have reminded me of the power of resilience in the face of adversity.” Nikki is also quick to point out how important it is to have a strong support network – acquaintances, friends and family who can provide non-judgmental feedback, advice and suggestions on how to move forward and gain new perspectives. “I have been moved by people stepping up to support others within the Cathay Dragon community,” she concludes. “It has been a privilege to also be part of the Midvale community in DB, where I have seen at first hand families coming together to share their kindness, support and compassion.”

Numbers to call

Staff members of the Cathay Pacific Group can call the Hong Kong Labour Department’s dedicated hotline (3580 1442 and internalised and manifests itself

Special service counters have also been set up at the LD’s 13 job centres to provide priority registration and employment services for affected employees For a reduced rate on counselling with Nikki Guy, call 6900 7798

Multi-cultural Christmas crafts

With this collection of DIY paper ornaments, you can dip your toes into the holidays as seen around the globe. Jane Drew reports

Making your own ornaments is a fun bonding activity for the whole family to enjoy in the lead-up to Christmas. And this year, rather than sticking to your own traditions, why not draw on some of your neighbours’ customs? This will make the 2020 holidays look a little different in your home, and you’ll be encouraging your kids to celebrate diversity, while recognising the universal values that connect us.

We’ve picked out three paperbased ornaments for you to make from Russia, the Philippines and beyond, all of which borrow from an established Christmas tradition. These ornaments symbolise universal values that engender love, peace and goodwill – values that transcend all borders, while embracing the spirit of Christmas.

Matryoshka dolls

Matryoshkas are wooden Russian dolls that come in a set; they are carved in decreasing sizes so they can nest inside one another. The first nesting doll sets were made in the late 1800s and since then, this toy’s popularity has spread far beyond Eastern Europe.

Matryoshkas often depict women in traditional Eastern European dress with headscarves; however, there are sets of animals, cartoon characters and now even politicians. Many sets feature the same design, painted on a different scale, but in others all the dolls are different. You can always buy a set, but if you paint it yourself, you can add educational and/ or personalised elements. At “Christmastime”, you might create a Matryoshka set of your own family, the Nativity, Santa and his elves, etc. Parols are traditionally made from through, creating the feel of a

To make a very simple paper Matryoshka set, you will need four sheets of construction paper, one sheet of decorative wrapping paper, a marker and glue.

Cut out three squares of paper, small, medium and large. Fold the first square into a triangle. Fold in the right corner and then the left corner. Glue the front piece of the triangular-shaped top down onto the folded corners. Tuck the back piece of the triangleshaped top into the pocket of the folded corners shape. This forms a little nesting-shaped cup that will stand up on streets in the lead-up to Christmas. These star-shaped, tasselled lanterns represent the Star of Bethlehem that guided the Three Wise Men to Bethlehem. In a wider sense, lighting and decorating a parol is an expression of faith, hope, goodwill and the triumph of light over darkness.

bamboo and rice paper though they are now made in a variety of materials, shapes and sizes. What’s important is that you use thin paper to allow light to shine the table.

lighted lantern.

Cut out the shape of a semicircle from the wrapping paper to form the doll’s dress. Glue this on with the flat edge at the bottom. Cut out the shape of a circle from the remaining sheet of construction paper and glue this onto the curved section of the dress. This will be the doll’s face, which you can draw on with a marker.

Repeat these steps and create two more dolls using the medium- and large-shaped squares as your starting point. Once the glue has them inside each other.

Source: www.pbs.org.

Parol lanterns

To make your own parol, you will need two 30cm strips of cardboard (each about 2cm wide), two 18cm dried on each doll, you can nest

squares of yellow tissue paper and one 18cm square of coffee filter paper, plus glue, red paint, a ruler, scissors and a ribbon.

Start by painting the coffee filter paper. While it dries, paint the cardboard strips. Once they are dry, measure two inches from the end of each strip. Fold the strips accordion style. Glue the two strips together, each end firmly glued inside the other, keeping the 

folds all at the same 5cm length. Adjust this folded circular shape into a five-pointed star. Determine which two points will be the bottom of the star and cut out a notch in each, which is where you will insert the tassels.

Put a bead of glue all around the edge of the star, and turn it over on to the square of yellow tissue paper. Readjust the strips so they stay in a star shape. While the glue is drying, make the cut-out pattern for the front of the parol – fold the coffee filter paper in half diagonally to form a triangle, then in half again. Cut a few shapes along the inner edges, staying within 2cm of the point. Fold in half again, and cut another small shape along that edge, again staying within 2cm.

By now, the glued yellow tissue paper will be dry. Cut away the excess tissue paper from the edges of the cardboard star. Now glue the cut-out coffee filter paper onto the front of the star. While that dries, make the two tassels. Fold the remaining square of tissue paper in half – its length will be the length of one tassel. Cut in strips stopping before reaching the bottom section up. Flip it up again,

folded edge, so that the tissue paper over to the other side. Fold

curls. Once the parol is dry, cut away the excess coffee filter paper from the edges. Put a dab of glue on the end of each tassel and insert them into the notches.

Finally, glue a loop of ribbon to the top of the parol and hang it somewhere that allows the light to top corner. Fold the right edge to the the left section the same way. Fold glue the back down. Your origami

shine through.

Source: multiculturalkidblogs.com.

Origami Santas

Christmas is all about giving and than Santa Claus, with his red suit, long white beard, jolly laugh and sack full of presents. This ‘American’ Santa, who drops down the chimney on Christmas Eve, has been adopted across the globe but within Europe, ‘he’ comes in many different guises – and he doesn’t always show up on December 24.

In Russia, for instance, Ded Moroz (translated as Father Frost) visits the homes of good children on New Year’s Eve; in Italy, La Befana – a good-natured witch who flies around on a broomstick – drops in on January 5. The traditional British Father Christmas wears a hooded green cloak and a wreath of holly or ivy, and he carries a staff. His French counterpart Père Noël prefers a long red cloak to a red suit.

To make an origami Santa, you will need one 20cm square of paper (with a red and a white side), plus a little glue.

Place the paper on a table with the red side facing upward. Fold the paper in half, from bottom to top and from left to right. You will now have a neat cross. Flip the paper over to the other side (the white side). Fold the bottom edge up to meet the horizontal crease and unfold. Fold the left edge to meet the vertical central crease and unfold. Fold the bottom right corner up to the top left corner, then unfold.

Rotate the paper so that the diagonal line is vertically centred and flip the paper over to the other side. Fold the bottom section up and unfold. Fold the bottom corner up to the previous crease and unfold.

Fold the bottom corner up to the crease you just made. Unfold. Fold the bottom corner up again to the crease you just made. Flip the and fold it up once more.

Flip the paper over to the other side, and rotate it so that the folded corner is now at the top. Bring the top left and right sections in towards the middle. Collapse the top section down and fold well. Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner.

Fold the top corner down, leaving a small gap between what will be Santa’s hat and beard. Fold another small section down, creating Santa’s moustache. Flip the paper the bottom right corner up to the top corner.

Fold the bottom left section up to the centre, folding all of the layers. Fold the bottom corner up a little bit and few things symbolise that better

Santa is complete!

Source: www.thesprucecrafts.com.

Discovery Bay International School: Launches the Mini and Junior Duke Award for primary aged students

Launched in October 2020, the Discovery Bay International School (DBIS) Mini and Junior Duke Award progamme has already attracted an incredible 210 sign-ups from students in Years 1 to 6.

Proud to lead the way, DBIS is one of the first schools outside of the UK and Dubai to offer the programme. Inspired by the wellknown Duke of Edinburgh Award for secondary school students, the Duke Award gives primary aged participants the time and space to develop independence, resilience, enquiry, organisation and selfmotivation through a journey of life skill challenges.

DBIS Primary Outdoor Leader Jonny Haines helped adapt the Duke Award UK programme for international school students. “When I learned about the Duke Award in the UK it made clear sense to offer it to our students here in Hong Kong,” he says. “There is clearly a demand for young people to have a platform to share their skills and interests and to learn new things, especially with COVID-19 restricting children’s access to after-school clubs and activities.

“Developing the ‘whole child’ beyond conventional academics is imperative to preparing our young people for the future,” Jonny adds. “With DB’s rolling hills, open spaces and the water, it is the perfect environment for children to get outdoors and take part in the Duke Award. They are asked to participate in a variety of new experiences and they are challenged to learn new and varied skills at an early age. In a community where most families are lucky enough to have the support of domestic helpers, the Duke Award teaches children that it is important to ‘have a go’ and seek independence. It helps them to develop the resilience they will need throughout their lives whilst rewarding them for their hard work.”

Students aged six to 12 years old are provided with a series of progressive life skills challenges, including first aid, cookery, swimming, budgeting, fixing punctures and domestic duties, to expose them to the skills needed for the real world.

Participating DBIS students are busy filling their journals with photographs of baked cakes, puncture repairs, shop visits using a budget, completed domestic

chores, first-aid provision, confidence building presentations based on their passions and lots of child-organised hikes.

“I like the Duke Award because I like to try new things and learn new skills,” says DBIS student Zach Stanton, aged eight years old. “So far I’ve completed my swimming and washing-up challenges but I’m looking forward to junk modelling the most because I am a creative person.”

The brainchild of Dawn Waugh, a teacher at Hutchesons’ Grammar School in Glasgow, Scotland, the Duke Award has been running in schools across the UK since 2007, and its popularity has quickly spread to the United Arab Emirates, and now to Hong Kong at DBIS and beyond. The programme was inspired by the reality that many busy parents simply do not have the time to allow their young children to acquire basic life skills. For example, many parents can recognise the feeling that it’s easier and quicker to tie a child’s shoelaces for them rather than allow them the time to persevere and eventually get it right for themselves. “The children select which challenges they’d like to complete and set their own goals, which keeps them interested and motivated,” says Jonny. “There is space for children to add self-assessment comments on their progress and photographic evidence.”

On completing a challenge, the children receive either a ‘Duke Approved’ sticker or feedback on how to evidence their skill further. This process of reflection is an important life skill and habit to

FIND IT

foster. On completing a challenge, the children earn a ‘Class Dojo’ for being committed learners. This helps them contribute to their House team’s weekly score.

“DBIS is proud to adopt the Mini and Junior Duke Award,” says Stuart Bridge, Head of School. “It complements our current Learning for Life programme and ever-developing outdoor Forest and Beach Schools programmes perfectly. It really is an exciting environment for our young learners.”

• Discovery Bay International School (DBIS), www.dbis.edu.hk

Are you a divorcee looking to relocate from Hong Kong with your children? Samantha Gershon, Partner in the family and divorce team at Withers, has some timely advice

As soon as divorce proceedings begin in Hong Kong, the children of the family will fall under the jurisdiction of the court. This means that should the father or mother want to relocate with the children, they need each other’s consent. Without the other parent’s consent there is a need to make an application to the Court for leave to remove the children from Hong Kong. Any temporary removal from Hong Kong also requires the other parent’s consent or an Order of the Court.

A temporary removal is normally requested when a parent wants to take the child out of Hong Kong on holiday, to see ailing grandparents or to study abroad. A contested application can arise when the other parent is fearful that the parent making the application does not intend to bring the child back to Hong Kong. lockdown or where the COVID-19 numbers are very high.

Even if the parents agree to allow a child to be permanently removed from Hong Kong, there still needs to be an Order of the Court permitting the child to leave. The party leaving must also agree to return the child to Hong Kong if required to do so.

In contested permanent removal applications, like with temporary removal cases, the best interest of the child remains the overriding consideration. The parent applying to leave with the child needs to demonstrate to the Court that they have a proper plan for the child’s future, including future schooling, accommodation and proposed future access arrangements. The Court will then look at the existing care arrangements. For example, if there is shared care from which the child benefits, then it may not be in the child’s best interest to relocate.

During these uncertain times, a parent wishing to leave Hong Kong could be forced to put their relocation plans on hold. They may want to move to a country which has travel restrictions or does not accept non-permanent residents which would affect the access rights of the remaining parent. If it is not possible to fly in and out of Hong Kong with ease, and if quarantine restrictions are in place for the parent, relocation would not be in the best interest of the child since they would be at risk of having no direct contact with one parent for a considerable amount of time.

These are complicated issues and ones that need to be carefully considered by the parents when making the decision to relocate. At Withers, our family specialist lawyers can guide you every step of the way.

When making its decision, the Court will focus on the best interests of the child. During the pandemic, the Court may not agree to a child leaving Hong Kong temporarily if they need to quarantine in a hotel for 14 days when they return, or if they are going to a country that’s in FIND IT

• Withers, 30/F United Centre, 95 Queensway, Admiralty, 3711 1600, www.withersworldwide.com/en-gb/hong-kong Samantha Gershon is a Partner in the family and divorce team at Withers. Find more from Samantha at www.withersworldwide. com/en-gb/people/samantha-gershon.