No. 7 - November 2016
MONTHLY
The online edition.
PASS-ed Events
Trumpocalyse
Television
Education
PA Workshop, academic talks and Christmas Charity Sale
The greatest political upset; Why and how?
What does TVB tell us about the entertainment industry?
Six articles, six topics, take your pick!
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Editor’s Note PASS-ed Events PA Workshop: POTUS Elections US Election Panel: American Brexit? SS Christmas Charity Sale What’s On the Blog? (Dis)United States of America? Trump: Who’s to Blame? A Talk with Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma The Demise of Political Participation 宣誓釋法事件對民主運動的戕害至深且遠 從「煲劇」看香港的文化產業 Theme: Education The Students’ Exodus 從「跳船」看香港的教育制度 過嚟英國讀唔到Oxbridge或者神科嘅話真 係唔好同姨媽姑姐講讀大學 Is Your University Education Worth It? Mental Health Gone Wrong What are the basic functions of education?
EDITORIAL Hi Readers! This month has been a very, very busy one for LSESU HKPASS. In terms of events, we had our first PA Workshop and academic talk on the very topical POTUS elections, as well as our annual Christmas Charity Sale to fundraise for our charity partner Happy Grannies. We hope you’ve enjoyed all our events so far, and we’re very excited for Lent Term events. This issue’s theme is “Education”. The LSESU launched a campaign earlier this month to raise awareness on teaching quality in response to the TEF, but we believe that we should also look at the impact of higher education on life prospects and how education reflects the society we live in. Articles this month look at education at all kinds of angles, so something will definitely pique your interest. As always, we are accepting submissions from anyone on anything at lsesusochkpass@gmail.com, so make your voice heard! Janice Leung
(Publications Officer 2016-17) 3
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Pass-ed Events November This month, we had our first PA Workshop by Linus Cheung and Cody Wang on Donald Trump’s shock victory in the US presidential election earlier. We also had a panel of LSE Professors on the same topic - lots of great insights on the future of conventional politics. On the Social Services end, we had our annual Christmas Charity Sale to fundraise for our charity partner this year, Happy Grannies. 5
PA Workshop: POTUS Election November 29, 2016 By Linus Cheung, Cody Wang “Umm… what just happened?” After the results of the 8th of November, it was only natural for our first PA Workshop to be on the debates regarding the United States’ Presidential election. We decided to prepare an approximately 30 minutes long interactive workshop about the election for our PA division meeting on the 16th November. To begin with, we went through the technical knowledge regarding the election. While democracy is thought to have originated in the West and the USA is widely regarded as one of its strongest advocates, it may be surprising to those who are not familiar with the USA presidential election system that a popular vote majority does not always produce the winner. Instead, a unique system called Electoral College is in charge. As we researched the topic, various statistics surprised us, and we could see that most of our audience shared our thoughts throughout the presentation. Then, we had an interactive quiz to test our fellow PA subcommittees of their knowledge regarding the policies by which Trump and Clinton stood. This covered a range of topics, ranging from tax systems to the Trans-Pacific-Partnership (TPP). Not surprisingly, the results of this exercise reflected the amount of emphasis each campaign put on its various policies; for example, more members were familiar with Trump or Clinton’s view on immigration as opposed to death penalties. Also, the ambiguity regarding the differences in specific issues suggested that Trump and Clinton are not as different as people instinctively feel they are. For example, both Trump and Clinton oppose the North-American Free Trade Area (NAFTA). Put forth by Bill Clinton, NAFTA was assumed by some to be defended by Hillary Clinton. However, she has spoken to denounce the plan as “not liv[ing] up to its promises” on multiple occasions. In addition, her negative stance on the TPP seems to indicate that in terms of international trade (which was one of the key elements in the 2016 election), she resonates moderately with Trump.
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Following this policy-oriented outlook, we turned the workshop to a more demographic and statistical focus. An initial analysis by the New York Times suggests that of those who voted for Obama switched to vote for Trump, a large percentage were citizens in the five north-eastern swing states (Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and Ohio). Colloquially, these states are coined the “Rust-Belt States (RBS)”, supposedly denoting the deserted factories in the once booming industrious zone that is now facing economic decline and loss of population. Naturally, our point of inquiry targeted RBS with an emphasis on racial diversity and level of education. Our method of study came in three stages. First, we observed the exit poll results in 2016. Second, to provide a more dynamic prospect, we cross-examined the 2016 data with that of previous elections. Finally, contextualizing the national data by comparing them with RBS demographics based on census. In order to make numbers more lucid and presentable, we used diagrams, graphs and maps as much as possible. This provided us with some insights. For example, nationally, a white voter with below college education was far more likely to vote for Trump. In RBS, the demographic maps indicate they have some of the lowest racial diversity in the US and percentage with college education. With this demographic phenomena and further research in mind, one may be able to draw more in-depth conclusions. At the end, we left an open discussion for policies we envisage and reasons that led to the unexpected result. During this session, it was highly encouraging to us that we received positive feedbacks, highlightening that we’re able to maintain the workshop informative while interactive. We believe that more of such workshops in the future would benefit both the participants and the person-in-charge.
US Election Panel: American Brexit? November 29, 2016 By Joyce Chan Soon after Trump's astounding victory, HKPASS organised a US presidential election panel with LSE professors, including Professor Christopher Coker (Professor of International Relations), Professor Thomas J. Leeper (Assistant Professor in Political Behaviour), and Dr John Hutchison (Associate Professor in Nationalism in Europe). Prior to the panel, two members from the Public Affairs division, Cody and Linus, also gave enlightening analyses on the US election to warm up the audience. I was specifically intrigued by the reference to the US ‘Rust-belt States’ in relation to factors such as unemployment, income level, education and ethnicity. The two-hour panel had a close focus on the reasons why Trump was elected, as well as the future of conventional politics worldwide. One of the major reasons Trump was so popular, the professors believed, was that he rode the wave of populism, a political ideal used to gain the support of ordinary people (the ‘unsophisticated little man’) against the ‘corrupt dominant elites’, and nationalism. With Brexit just behind us and the French presidential election just around the corner, this wave of populism and nationalism may continue to change world politics as we popu know it.
Prof. Leeper also brought an interesting perspective on the behavior of the electorate; he argued that Trump was elected because of the electorate’s long-standing commitment to one party to another. Long-time Republican supporters chose to vote for the endorsed candidate of the GOP under the divided political realm of the US, regardless of who the candidate actually was as an individual. ad In addition, the panel shed light on the potential impact of a Trump presidency on a plethora of areas. The US economy (which has been hit by multiple crises caused by globalization and migration), the rise of political Islam, rapid technological changes, were all examined and discussed. The impact of a Republican Senate and House of Representatives on the new administration will also be significant in the federal government’s implementation of various socioeconomic policies, although whether Trump will deliver on his campaign promises po remains to be seen. All the above insights were well-received by the audience, sparking a heated Q&A session. Several follow-up questions on a wide-array of issues, such as comparing the US election outcome to Brexit, and discussing the future of the Asia-Pacific region in US policy. The panel was a huge success, thanks to the support of all attendees. We hope that panel events in the future will also receive such a warm welcome from academics and students alike.
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SS CHRISTMAS CHARITY SALE 2016 December 6, 2016 By Janice Wong (PO) Designed by Zoe Liu (Ex PO)
It is this time of the year again - when you see friends exchanging secret Santa gifts, families gathering around their Christmas tree. While the Christmas carols can be heard from the streets, can you imagine being all alone in your small, cramped flat, far away from your loved ones? This is the story of many elderly people in Hong Kong - statistically there are over 100,000 of them neglected, ‘invisible’ to society and living alone every year. In most of these cases, they have become unattended to and isolated due to loss of their life partners, lack of family interaction, with common illiteracy and low financial subsidies from the government to further aggravate their problem with being involved in the community. It has increasingly become a serious social issue as 30% of the suicides in Hong Kong are from the elderly population, most of which can be traced back to depression as the major cause. This is unfortunate, especially when it is possibly preventable. Elderly people are not asking much from us but some care, compassion, most importantly -company. And these are exactly what Happy Grannies Hong Kong - a non-profit social enterprise that supports the elderly - wishes to achieve. They provide holistic emotional support through 8
engaging the elders with volunteers during visits and lively activities they design, and implement basic financials aids with fundings from donations and their sponsorship schemes. Their effective business model has lead them to impact more then 340 elderly people and organise over 1500 visits. In order to give our support and demonstrate our awareness on this commonly overlooked social issue in Hong Kong, we held a charity sale to raise funds for Happy Grannies on both 24th and 25th of November, outside LSE Saw Swee Hock Student Centre. Our booth was selling Christmas cookies, stir-in-milk hot chocolate spoons, bubble tea sponsored by Chatime UK, and in my opinion the most special and delicious - Hong Kong traditional tofu pudding (Tofufa). Except the bubble tea and tofu pudding, our teams made the cookies and hot chocolate spoons by ourselves from scratch. I was part of the chocolate spoons production team. With every chocolate spoon we made, I can assure you there was a dose of our creativity, care and Christmas spirit poured into it. So you would understand how accomplished we felt when all of our goods were sold out after the two days. The cookies were sold the fastest with some of our customers so satisfied that they came back for more. I was also glad to see some non-Hong
Kongers trying out our tofufa and appreciating the divine dessert. We would love to thank everyone who supported our sale - or even just donating to the organisation. With your help, we have successfully made about £200 for Happy Grannies. On another note, it was delightful when people asked us about our cause and Happy Grannies because I believe that the aim of holding this charity sale was not only to raise the funds but also more crucially, the awareness to the social issues we have. Although standing in the cold for hours was not exactly pleasant, especially when the selling needed extra persuasions - but I believe I can, on behalf of all of us, say that it was all worth it and we’ll be looking forward to the next event.
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What’s On the Blog? trumpocalypse, basic law, soap operas This month we have a reaction to Trump’s victory as it happened, and an attempt to figure out why it happened; Hong Kong issues such as the Basic Law and the entertainment industry, and a recap of a talk by the Hon. Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma. 11
(Dis)United States of America? November 9, 2016 By Adrian To First Brexit, then this. Sweeping across the Atlantic, the wave of xenophobia and bigotry catches the United States off guard, electing Donald Trump as the 45th President of United States. I am shocked and disgusted to say that man is going to join the ranks of 44 great men and become the most powerful person in the free world. Past Presidents have not been perfect, indeed many are flawed, but none have been so lacking in attributes of a decent human being, let alone the attributes of a President. He embodies the ugliest parts of American politics, the politics of hate and fear. His campaign has been nothing short of a farce, with very little substance, focusing instead on his opponents and minorities, whipping up racist sentiments with hateful rhetoric. America’s prospects do look quite grim. Fortunately, there is still a way ahead. Short of any major electoral fraud, Donald Trump is going to be the President. This is a political fact. Disbelief and outrage would not change that. What we have to do now is to accept it and start breaking down the walls that he had already built. We can do that by talking policy and make sure that Trump acts in the best interests of all Americans. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once said: "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people”. Let us move from discussing Trump the person, to what Trump should and would do as President. Despicable as his past acts may be, what matters most is his actions from now on, especially those concerning foreign policy and the economy. If Trump goes through with any of his ludicrous foreign policy plans, it would be nothing short of a disaster. Fortunately, this does not seem like it would be the case. In his victory speech (very tame by Trump standards), he assured the country that he would be President for all people, not only the ones that elected him. Compared to the divisive rhetoric used on the campaign trail, this is a good sign. However, Trump has yet to detail reasonable foreign policy plans, and in a world where the balance of power hangs on a very thin thread, this is a pressing problem.
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Best case scenario is the hands-off presidency that Trump has
described, with much of the foreign policy decisions delegated to people with far more foreign policy experience than Trump. Most importantly, the administration has to assure other foreign powers that there is no major change in foreign policy dealings in the US. While the Trump administration may have a different foreign policy compared to Obama’s administration, they would do well if they enact such changes in a predictable manner, with a focus on preserving stability. The emphasis now is on how he crafts a credible foreign policy: one that is reasonable and doable. Another matter of concern is the economy. Stock markets have tumbled since the news of Trump’s victory, indicating the market’s uncertainty about his presidency. Throughout the campaign he has used anti-establishment rhetoric, campaigning against the ‘elite’, pandering to the downtrodden and the disenfranchised. While his views on the American economy is rudimentary at best, it does bring up an important point on the “forgotten men and women” of United States, people that feel left behind in the era of globalisation. Inequality is indeed a big problem in the United States, and if there’s one silver lining in this election, it’s that we now know the extent of discontent in the nation. Hopefully, with their candidate of choice in office, they would feel that they have more say in policies and begin to heal the great divide. Whatever Trump’s policies may be, I think it is important for him to consider Obama’s advice: “[T]he economy is not an abstraction. It cannot simply be redesigned wholesale and put back together without consequences for real people.” With the Presidency, Senate and House under Republican control, there is potential for positive change to be enacted. Regardless of one’s personal view on Trump, differences must be put aside in the name of pragmatism and progress. Citizens of United States must 'come together as one united people’ and forge a path forwards, a path built on trust and mutual understanding. Make America United Again.
Trump: Who's to Blame? November 19, 2016 By Janice Leung When Hillary Clinton lost the election two weeks ago, the first thing Democrat voters did (after looking on in shock and horror) was to look for a scapegoat. Like so many unsuccessful presidential campaigns, they found an easy target in the people who voted outside the two-party system. Accusations that Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, and other third party supporters “voted for Trump”, “don’t care about social rights,” and “should be ashamed” are, in my opinion, completely unfair. Third party are not to blame for the final result – the Electoral College is. voters a The claim that third party votes belonged to Clinton rests on the unfounded argument that all Johnston and Stein voters would have otherwise voted for her, despite the candidates each having substantially different political views. There are very obvious and valid reasons this election cycle provided that explain why so many voters refused to support either major party candidate. In Clinton’s case, the email scandal, accusations of covering up for her husband, the DNC email leak, and so many other attacks on her trustworthiness combined with some pretty poor campaign strategy was enough to turn away potential voters, third party or otherwise. To say that this should not have stood in the way of voting against Trump would be to deny the very real concerns of a good 4.9% of voters, whose choices are just as important as anyone else’s. There is also very little evidence that voters’ second choice would have been Clinton anyway. There were three other possibilities besides choosing Clinton as a second choice candidate: a) choosing a different third-party candidate, b) not voting at all for someone who wasn’t their first choice, and c) choosing Trump. The first two options would have had no effect at all on Trump’s victory, whereas the third would not only have secured Trump as the winner of the popular vote but could also have bumped up his electoral college votes. Some would have picked option A, some would have picked B, and some would have picked C – it is very dangerous to generalize the possible behaviour of third-party voters because that denies them personal agency.
The real problem lies on the institutional level. Clinton, even with some votes that were potentially hers going to third party candidates, won the majority of the popular vote by 0.9%, even more than that of Al Gore’s win over Bush of 0.5%. But in contrast, Trump won 306 Electoral College votes to Clinton’s 232, compared with Bush’s 271 to Al Gore’s 266. Such an imbalance between the popular vote and the Electoral College vote reflects one of the key flaws that the Electoral College system inherently has: that almost every state chooses to allot all its electoral votes to whoever comes in first place statewide, regardless of the margin of victory. For decades, polls have shown that large majorities of Americans would prefer a popular vote system instead of the Electoral College. For example, a 2013 Gallup poll showed 63% of adults wanted to do away with it, and only 29% wanted to keep it. But to ditch the Electoral College entirely, the US would have to pass a constitutional amendment (passed by 2/3 of the House and Senate and approved by 38 states) – or convene a constitutional convention (called for by 34 states). Either method is extremely unlikely, because each would require many small states to approve a change that would reduce their influence on the presidential outcome. To pile the blame on third party supporters is also unfair; they voted for who they believed to represent them, and Clinton’s and the Democratic Party’s faults are their own, not anyone else’s. The Electoral College, however, needs to go; every vote should count equally if election results are to be representative of the will of the electorate.
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A Talk with The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma
November 19, 2016 By Jennifer Lau Photo Credits: Jennifer Lau On the 15th November I was lucky enough to be able to attend a talk by The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma (co-organised by the UCLU PASS and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London). He talked about the importance of rule of law in Hong Kong.
served Hong Kong well. It is evident that it is a sound system as many countries around the world continue to adopt it as their legal system. He hopes that Hong Kong will be able to convince the authorities that the current legal system is good enough so that it can be perpetuated.
For many people, rule of law means the court delivering a decision they like. If the result is something they do not like, to them the rule of law does not exist. However, Mr. Ma argues that this result-driven perspective is wrong. The result is not, and should not be a complete indicator of rule of law. What matters most is the process undertaken by the courts in reaching the decision. Whether rule of law exists depends on two things: 1. Whether laws, good laws, that respect the dignity of individuals exist, and 2. Whether there are truly independent institutions such as courts to enforce the good laws. He argues that both of these two conditions are satisfied in Hong Kong. Besides, he reminds us that we must ask ourselves a few questions to see if rule of law does exist in Hong Kong objectively. First, are court proceedings transparent? Are the reasons of court decisions publicized? Is the court fair and impartial? Can every member of the public go into a court and see what is going on? If the answer to these questions is yes, then objectively rule of law stands in Hong Kong.
Many people believe that the recent interpretation of the Basic Law by the standing committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) regarding the oath-taking incident constituted a heavy blow to the rule of law in Hong Kong. Although Mr. Ma declined to comment on this, I believe that whether we like it or not, the NPC standing committee does have the power to interpret any part of the Basic Law. However, should they be allowed to do so anytime it wants, not just when referred to by the courts? Another interesting question to reflect on would be “When is it an interpretation, and when does it go beyond?”
On concerns that the Basic Law would not be continued after 2047, Mr. Ma believes that the common law has 14
As a law student myself, I felt drawn to what the Chief Justice said not just because my lecturers have just finished covering these two topics, but also because after listening to him, I realised that the concept of rule of law does not just exist in textbooks, but vividly in real life, where it protects our fundamental rights. It was definitely a fruitful experience.
The demise of political participation? The most conventional and institutional form of political participation would be voting. In Hong Kong, despite our handicapped electoral structure such as the existence of functional constituencies, “split-voting” mechanism and the prohibition of raising bills relating to public expenditure and political structure, our legitimate and perhaps the only genuine form of institutional public participation is the election of the thirty-five LegCo members from geographical constituencies, plus the five functional constituencies nominated by the District Councillors elected by territory-wide electorates. Such a crippled democratic formula, in conjunction with the judicial independence and rule of law, is the last bastion defending the autonomy of Hong Kong. From this year onwards, our remnant of check and balances arrangements are finally compromised by Beijing’s persistent interference, from a gradual erosion such as vote-rigging to the recent Basic Law interpretation by the National People’s Congress (NPC) in defining “oath-taking”. Originally, the only impediment for the Hong Kong government in implementing rogue policies against public interests has been the existence of non-establishment faction (i.e. the pan-democratic camp and localist faction) through veto power against constitutional amendment and strategies like filibuster. However, with the “divine” power derived from the NPC interpretation, the Hong Kong government is now officially able to crush their opponent and eliminate all the encum-
November 19, 2016 By Daniel Wong brances who are deemed as having made insincere pledges of allegiance.
This is extremely worrisome. For one thing, the Hong Kong government has, in effect, already set a precedent in disqualifying candidates who endorse self-determination like Leung Tin-kei and Chan Ho-tin prior to the Legislative Council election. This indicates the future propensity of precluding potentially disloyal lawmakers as the Hong Kong government is now even more legitimate in doing so. The barring of Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching, therefore, is just a beginning of the fall into the authoritarian abyss. For another, the NPC interpretation shows ultimate contempt for our rule of law. Defining the ground rules for “oath-taking” could be a slippery slope for any foreseeable interpretations of many of our liberties such as freedom of speech and press as guaranteed by the Basic Law. This could be the beginning of the end of Hong Kong. The bulwark of our de jure political participation is no longer relevant and conceivably the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle would eventually fall to the manipulation of Beijing. However, the end of the formal political participation does not give us an excuse to give up and be apathetic to politics – we can still always participate in politics outside the establishment. With the increasing attention of Western media towards the deteriorating predicament of Hong Kong, we ought to reorganize our civil society to fight back and retake the power of discourse. 15
宣誓釋法事件 對民主運動 November 19, 2016 By Simon Cheng Designed by Zoe Liu (Ex PO) 宣誓釋法事件跟進：雖然由「辱華」引起，但 是其懲治的對象已超出「港獨」本身，所衝擊 的遠不止於司法獨立丶三權分立、京港關係丶 一國兩制等香港憲制的健全，它對民主運動的 戕害更是至深且遠，史無前例：
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件 動的戕害 更至深且遠 一丶民主派的立法會議員歷來有利用各種暗示 丶手勢丶道具和語氣作就職宣誓，目的是向選 民彰顯自己的民主理念，即只效忠人民，不效 忠政權等原則宣示，以分隔內地所習慣的黨國 一體關係。釋法後，將可能被認定不「真誠莊 重」，而被剝奪民意代表的資格。 二丶中央認定凡香港有「民主自決」政治理念 主張的人士 ( 二零四七年後香港人民自主決定 前途)，即等同「香港獨立」，政府選舉主任 有可能會剝奪該人士被選舉權，而現已獲選的 民選議員，即可能因不「真誠莊重」宣誓效忠 ，而裁定被禠奪公職資格。 三丶香港的反對黨派人士的參政空間將進一步 被壓制，使建制派及反對派的政治發展空間更 加懸殊。當建制派被北京定調為「愛國者」， 仕途可以官至港府執政，或參選全國人大政協 ；反對派除了永久不能執政，現不一定具法定 權利去競選香港的各級議會，成為議員。
五丶除法律和政治層面以外，中共在國家硬實 力增長，話語權擴張形勢下，對香港事務的主 導丶影響丶融合和滲透，日益明顯，隱性壓力 和自我審查施加於生活的方方面面，包括經濟 丶工作丶教育丶媒體，甚至輿論及群眾動員。 六丶政府及親政府派至今以釋法為由，向大眾 聲稱仍會針對一些嫌疑「不莊重宣誓」的反對 派議員，包括極高民意認受的，且沒有觸及到 「港獨」底線的議員，保留日後追究其議員資 格及法律責任的權利，強化北京希望香港「特 首超然、行政主導」的三權關係。
目前，香港民主自由運動陷於主權移交以來最 嚴峻的低潮，在這樣的關鍵時刻，是最不應該 放棄和絕望的時候。天佑我們所選舉的代表， 天佑香港。
四丶北京的本次「解釋法律」，有充足理據可 被視為「增修法律」，再一次展示香港在「一 國兩制」之下，既受北京政權支配，且被國家 主體區隔，恩庇侍從的關係昭然若揭。香港官 場政壇與司法界在媒體和民眾面前，繼續與北 京「以法論法」，其政治智慧令人失望。 17
November 19, 2016 By Joyce Chan Designed by Zoe Liu (Ex PO)
說起TVB你會想起什麼？「事事但但」的新 聞精神？單手攀山等被網友戲謔為「膠」的 劇情？大團圓的BBQ公式結局？還是被稱為 CCTVB的「維穩」作風？ 七八十年代家家戶 戶「電視汁撈飯」、趕回家追看劇集的現象 不再復現。香港的電視、電影以致整個文化 產業頹廢不堪，一潭死水的原因又是什麼？ 自「亞視」倒閉及「香港電視」不獲發牌後 ， TVB在缺乏競爭下節目質素走下坡。一成 不變、缺乏新意的「公式電視劇本」受到詬 病， 卻仍然保持慣性收視。其中一些超乎常 理的劇情更引來不少「高登仔」的瘋狂「Cap 圖」恥笑。更甚， 不少香港演員北上發展「 搵真銀」， 人才凋零，青黃不接， 間接也造 就今天的悶局。 18
著名評論員蔡子強曾形容「今天的TVB就是 一個恃著坐擁百萬慣性收視而生驕的暴發戶 ，對大家的批評闊佬懶理。」這固然不無道 理，但另一方面， 觀眾的水平也有待提高。 「天與地」被譽為「神劇」，收視卻慘淡收 場。改篇自同名小說的「瑯琊榜」，在海峽 兩岸有著居高不下的人氣， 劇情絲絲入扣， 反映了作者高超的創造力及文化蘊藏， 到了 香港卻被不願意思考的觀眾視為「沈悶」。 當然每個人的愛好及要求不盡相同， 但香港 市民長期習慣了只有一個免費電視台可以觀 看，「缺乏了對更多元節目，如文化知性節 目的需求」的說法卻不無道理。 近年Viu TV嘗試打破「大台」固有的收視率 。它的重點節目《跟住矛盾去旅行》首集找
來政見對立的建制代表曾鈺成及泛民主派議 員梁國雄，二人平日在立法會內針鋒相對， 同遊波蘭引發的溫馨故事成為討論焦點。另 外，《煮吧！換咗我阿媽》有別一般的廚藝 節目，找來三對母子，讓他們交換母親進行 廚藝比賽，從而探討箇中親子關係。Viu TV 為香港的電視產業帶來一絲轉機； 可惜的是 它近日抽起敏感人物與學運領袖王丹，被遞 奪參選資格的梁天琦等人的節目，自我審查 的機制受到批評。這種與TVB遭飽受抨擊的 「河蟹式」報導不遑多讓， 又令香港的電視 業發展添上陰霾。
MBC以及SBS形成激烈的良性競爭。各台致力 於節目品質的提升，題材愈趨向多元化，更 廣納資訊。 另一方面，香港市場沒有自由競爭的環境。 首先，人才培訓嚴重不足， 又缺乏實踐的機 會。創意文化必須要在培訓及實踐兩方面相 互結合，只依賴學術機構絕對不足夠。第二 ，香港在電視產業制度上，根本未能提供足 夠的平台讓人才發揮。如今的市場只有TVB ，ViuTV，香港電台電視，及尚未啟播的奇妙 電視，根本不算自由。製作公司的價錢被壓 得很低，只可勉強生存。反之， 在歐美國家 ，電視台出資讓業餘製作公司拍pilot program （試播節目）。可行的便再拿pilot program去 找其他電視台，以及發行商去融資，方法很 靈活。
你可能認為電視業已經步入垂暮之年， TVB 只是遭時代拋棄的犧牲者。可是， 南韓的文 化產業發展蓬勃， 「韓劇」也是東南亞的發 展趨勢。無可否認大氣電波已不能反映主流 觀眾看電視的習慣，相反手機與平板才是新 生代的「電視機」，但在如何順應著這潮流 香港的電視、電視台等文化產業何時才能夠 發展這問題方面，香港比起其他國家的進展 ，或是否能夠重回軌道仍然是未知之數。但 有一件事我們都很確定： 再不求變，香港的 只能說是望塵莫及。 文化產業將在現實的淘汰及洗禮中敗壞，變 香港的電視產業缺乏良性的競爭，免費電視 得萎頓不堪、一蹶不振。 牌照作為政府特許經營種類申請門檻相當高 。相反地，韓國政治的民主化令政府不再干 預媒體，促成了電視劇的躍進。韓國電視劇 從90年代開始，三家無線電視台包括KBS、
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Education it affects us all
Earlier this month, the LSESU launched a campaign on the current changes to Higher Education being pushed through by the UK Government. Although the campaign is aimed against the new Teaching Excellence Framework, and aimed to generate discussion about teaching quality at the LSE, we believe that a broader look at education is necessary. Our articles this month span quite a wide range of topics based on education. The first two articles focus on the comparisons between the Hong Kong DSE and the UK’s A-Levels, aiming to see why so many students leave Hong Kong to pursue sixth-form education and so reflect on the state of Hong Kong’s education system. The third article takes a comedic look at the idea of “god subjects” and prestige in popular perception of studying abroad. The fourth article questions whether higher education is worth the effort and cost, given the continuously rising tuition fees. The fifth article looks at the fundamental aims of education and how to evaluate the effectiveness of education systems according to such a framework. The last article takes an anecdotal approach to the spectres of mental illness in higher education institutions, and gives advice specific to LSE students on how to tackle those problems.
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THE STUDENTS’ EXODUS
December 3, 2016 By Jennifer Lau Designed by Zoe Liu (Ex PO) In the past, being able to send one’s children to study abroad was a privilege limited to the extremely wealthy. The same cannot be said for the situation in the present day. Recently, more parents are choosing to send their children to schools around the world. Hong Kong students can be found around the globe. Countries such as the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia are some of the most popular destinations. This phenomenon reflects a decrease in parents’
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confidence in the quality of education provided by local schools. In this piece I will discuss the factors that may have influenced parents in deciding to pay sky-high tuition fees so that their children can go to school outside Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, most of our time spent in secondary school revolves around preparing for the DSE. The DSE is considered a major hurdle for students who wish to enter university. The higher marks you get, the better chance you stand to gain the entry ticket to the degree you wish to pursue at university. Therefore, instead of absorbing knowledge, students are trained to become examination machines. Instead of studying the subjects they are truly passionate about, students take the subjects that will give them the most competitive standing in applying to universities. After school, students have to rush off to their second school – tutorial centres. Students do not return home until the sun has long set. It appears that every stage in a child’s learning experience is a preparation
for the next stage in life. From competing for entrance to a “good” kindergarten, to entering primary and secondary school, and subsequently to university, the education curriculum does not seem to have incorporated any discovery or recognition of personal talents and interests. In contrast, the general atmosphere in schools abroad appear to be the exact opposite as those in Hong Kong. With the exception of cram schools, independent schools in the UK, for example, place a heavier focus on the personal development of each individual student. Class sizes are small, allowing the teacher to oversee each student more carefully. Having summative coursework throughout the term also takes some of the burden off students as opposed to following an exam-oriented curriculum. Students can also choose to study a wide variety of subjects, including subjects like Design & Technology, which encourages students to be more innovative and creative. The boarding experience also helps Hong Kong students learn how to communicate and integrate with students from the UK and other countries. These are some of the characteristics of schools abroad that act as an incentive for parents who want their children to receive an arguably better education. Ultimately, the root of the reason for the phenomenon of the mass migration of Hong Kong students to schools abroad lies in the distrust of parents towards the local education system. There is a common perception that people are only considered to have achieved success if they become lawyers, international bankers or doctors. A degree in arts or language subjects is often regrettably frowned upon. By sending their children to study abroad, some parents hope that their children may be able to bypass the DSE and gain entrance to a university in Hong Kong through the non-JUPAS admissions scheme. Others hope that their children will become better people and be able to continue studying what they love abroad. Unless the Hong Kong education system undergoes some serious reform, this phenomenon is unlikely to die down in the near future. 23
December 3, 2016 By Joyce Chan Designed by Zoe Liu (Ex PO)
眨眼間，香港新高中課程實施已逾五年，第 六屆中學文憑試如箭在弦。可是， 近年香港 學生在完成F4/F5 課程後負笈升學的情況屢 見不鮮，不少海外升學顧問公司更是大行其 道。很多人對於別人這種「逃兵似」的行為 或是嗤之以鼻，或是很是「葡萄」。作為對 Alevels及DSE都略有認識的「跳船人員」之一 ，究竟兩種教育制度的分別在哪？西方教育 受到香港人青睞，我們不惜離鄉背井，千里 迢迢求學的原因又是什麼呢？香港的教育制 度究竟有什麼弊病？ 首先，有些人認為Alevels難度不高，不屑前 往海外升學。然而，我認為這是不盡不實的 指控。無可否認，A levels的Science subjects 及 Mathematics 雖然課程深入，卻很少會像DSE般 24
把不同的topics incorporate來考，題目較淺白及 機械式，比較容易掌握。可是，新修訂的A levels已漸漸提高題目難度，以配合國際學生 水平。另一方面，我認為A levels的人文學科 比起DSE的來的更有挑戰性。例如，經濟科要 求學生與時並進，廣閱英國與國際財經時事 。Evaluation一環鼓勵學生多元思考，沒有固 定答案，言之成理便可，很有彈性。又例如 英國文學，我還記得year 12 「Property」一書 至今仍令人津津樂道。作者筆下的主角作為 奴隸的主人，經常透過房間裏的「spyglass」 （小望遠鏡）窺看下人的生活，而這個「 spyglass reflects a layered and reverted image」, 象徵了主角limited 及narrow的世界觀（ perspective）。當然，你不喜歡以「spyglass」 去分析這本小說也無傷大雅，往往可以從其 他的角度或象徵意義出發，言之有物即可。 有云「學而不思則罔」，香港的「填鴨式教 育」則未必能鼓勵學生多角度思考。 另一方面，較為熟悉A levels的可能會有一種 迷思－何解不少素來在DSE成績不算「標青」
的同窗到了國外成績突飛猛進？這當然不是 因爲外國人成績較「不濟」。我認為主要的 原因是有別於DSE強制學生修讀 「core subjects」，Alevels沒有必修課，課程組合任君選 擇，具很大的自由度。「文人」大概可以take English Literature, History and Economics。「理 科人」大概可以take Phy Chem Bio，熱衷於數 學的可以take Double and/or Further Mathematics。這有利學生早一步鑽研自己更有興趣和 能力的學科，也不用被不適合的必修學科「 拖後腿」，事半功倍。反之，DSE 「3322」 的最低入學要求，令有些數理的尖子可能因 為敗在中文這「死亡之卷」上，入學夢碎。 這不但沒有達到「因材施教」，更浪費人才 ，實為可惜。 學業以外，A levels的求學壓力無可否認相比 「一次定生死」的文憑試少。除了學業，A levels升學也看重ECA (Extra-curricular activities)，如sports, leadership programmes, community services等。相信經歷過UCAS 的同學都記得 我們是如何在Personal Statement咬文嚼字，務 求在600多字內把一生重要的ECA以及所學的 「soft skills」交代得淋漓盡致。可是，在DSE 的制度下，除非我們是體壇或音樂界的明日 之星，否則OLE再豐碩，說到底也不夠文憑試
一紙成績來得重要。 我認為今天香港教育制度的最大弊病就是過 於催谷讀書升學的重要性，這也與社會意識 形態息息相關。香港的學生要「贏在起跑線 」，但什麼才是社會及家長眼中的「贏」呢 ？教育及升學的目的又是什麼呢？在傳統的 思想中，學生讀書名列前茅，考進高等學府 及「神科」便是「成功的化身」，有著令人 欣羨的光環。反之，讀書不成卻往往會被標 籤爲「沒出息」及「懶怠」。然而，人各有 志，也洋溢著不同的才華，一味鼓吹子女讀 書猶如把學生倒模在同一款式的「模餅」中 ，磨去個人不同的菱角，埋沒自我的潛質及 能力，阻礙各方面專才的發展，實為可悲。 德國的教育制度中不見得每個人都會想去擠 大學那一道窄門，值得借鏡。在小學畢業後 ，孩子就可選擇將來要進大學或是接受技職 教育的訓練，如學習製作麵包、美容美髮、 電車公車司機等，保障不同人的潛力得到發 展。 香港的教育制度與社會風氣根深蒂固，非朝 夕可改，看來到海外求學的莘莘學子數量還 是會持續上升，補習風氣也會依舊盛行，值 得我們深思。
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過嚟英國讀唔 到Oxbridge或 者神科嘅話... So what are you studying now?
I do International Relations at LSE
Not Oxbridge? It’s okay you did your best
...真係唔好同姨 媽姑姐講讀大學 26
姨 學
又到聖誕，就嚟翻香港見翻啲親戚，飲吓茶、食 吓飯、出席吓啲咩家庭聚會。每次見翻嚟，啲好 耐冇見嘅Auntie Uncle， 總係問你而家讀咩/第 時諗住點。但係香港呢個側重某啲行業嚟發展嘅 地方，呢啲个聚會對於唔係讀神科/Oxbridge嘅 人就係最頭疼嘅時刻。 以下對話純屬虛構，如有雷同，實屬不幸： Auntie/Uncle：咦，好耐冇見你啦啵。而家讀大 學未呀？ 我：啱啱入咗大學啦，而家讀year 1。 Auntie/Uncle：咁而家喺邊到讀呀？ 我：LSE，倫敦經濟與政治大學。 Auntie/Uncle：（疑惑?）哦，倫敦大學呀。咁 而家讀咩呀？ 我：（算啦唔識LSE的話...）讀國際關係呀。 Auntie/Uncle：（吓？去外國讀書咁貴仲唔讀醫 生/法律，真係嘥晒阿爸阿媽啲錢）噢，咁你讀 完可以做咩架？ 我：(.....我點知姐; 中意咪揀嚟讀囉) ~下刪三千字 就係唔知點解，明明嗰個親戚又唔係呢啲名校/ 甚至讀過大學/更加唔使講神科，但就偏偏覺得 你一定要係讀呢啲科，如果唔係就眼神帶點不解 +鄙視。但係講到神科呢樣野，真係不得不講講 香港人對佢嘅仰視，同埋對相反嘅頹科所帶有嘅 鄙視。 無論親戚們有冇講出聲叫你讀環球商業管理/醫 學/藥劑/物理治療/精算/計量金融/牙醫/法律，你 周圍嘅氣氛都係話俾你聽，有得揀一定要揀讀神 科。如果你係外國讀而不幸地唔喺 Oxbridge, 你 唔讀呢啲神科，讀埋啲咩 PPE, Computer Science, 甚至咩 Anthropology, Classics, Oriental Studies, History, Linguistics, 永遠家庭聚會甚 至中同聚會講到呢個話題都一定會勁尷尬。呢類 人文科目，或者英文有個術語叫“soft subject”, 有少少相似香港嘅"頹科”。
喺香港讀頹科，俾人嘅印象就係唔知畢業做乜、 揾到都唔方賺得多。去到英國啲 soft subject, 直 情香港啲普羅大眾都唔知嗰啲野係讀乜(大多數 人連 Philosophy 都唔知讀乜，PPE更加一頭冒 水啦)，俾人嘅感覺就係唔實際，唔知有得做乜 ，唔嗲唔吊；喺香港呢個又功利又要生活有保障 嘅社會，潛意識就唔鼓勵啲人去讀"頹科”。而 正正相反嘅神科就一係有專業資格夠穩陣，一係 就吸金力勁高，當然大多數都兩者皆是。再者， 讀到呢啲神科出嚟一般有一定嘅社會地位(醫生/ 律師/金融才俊)，讀到呢啲先光宗耀祖，報答父 母恩；而調翻轉頭，尤其是係呢個大學學位氾濫 嘅年代，再讀埋啲唔知乜冷門/頹科，比較起隔 離陳太個仔/同事個女有咩神科Oxbridge 云云， 讀 soft subject 就唔夠威。 最後，對於頹科，我有個 friend 對於”頹科” 有個理論，睇吓大家 comment 吓認唔認同佢對 “頹科”嘅定義。（利申：佢讀 engine, 香港普 遍公認嘅水泡科） Friend子：計我話呢，成日話咩 Engine, SoSci (Social Science 社會科學)係頹科，我相信讀咩 都好，行行出狀元嘅；但係呢我覺得PE就真頹 科：如果運動真係勁嘅人，晨早就加入青訓，升 港隊做全職運動員啦。 我：……又好似幾啱喎 其實，嚟得外國讀嘅，無非都係想擺脱一下香港 對於大學選科嘅社會定型，讀書多翻少少為咗興 趣。如果姨媽姑姐你地咁想讀神科，入名校，就 自己去啦，唔使指指點點。我哋自己知自己想讀 乜，讀得唔開心就識轉，更何況冇人話畢業一定 要做翻本科嘅。
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v i e n r u s r u i t o y y Is
Firstly, there is the signalling effect of higher education to consider. When employers are faced with a pool of talented applicants, they look at factors that signal a candidate’s competency in an area. One of the main signalling factors they look at is the education level as well as their academic achievements. While academic achievements can be a good way to find competent employees, the problem arises when Generally speaking, the more education more and more people hold higher educaeveryone gets, the better off society is. tion degrees. When faced with a pool of There is a strong correlation between candidates with equally high education education levels and the productivity of a country, as well as many other indicators of levels, candidates will seek ways to differeconomic and social well-being. It stands to entiate themselves, most often being purreason that a more educated workforce suing postgraduate education. Herein lies the question: Is this extra education worth would be better equipped to bring it? forwards progress and use their education to create more value in society. There are, however, two points that challenge this long held assumption and forces us to consider education in a new light. College fees have steadily risen through the years, with the latest LSE school fees for international undergraduate students being at a staggering £17712. School fees for local students in UK have also seen a large spike from £3000 to £9000 in 2010. So are the exorbitant school fees reflective of the increased quality and value of teaching?
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o i n t w a o c r t u h i t d ? e Further education will increase the knowledge and possibly the skill set of the candidate, as well as signal to the employers that they are competent. On the flip side, with rising tuition fees, there is the monetary cost as well as the opportunity cost of the extra education to consider. The merits of this education may vary from person to person depending on their situation, but there is a growing number of people that require this signalling factor in order to advance in their careers, especially when a promotion requires further education. This is not a welcoming trend, as it implies that signalling competence is more important that engaging in activities that increases on competence. While it can be argues that further education can increase one’s competence in a job, this argument becomes significantly less persuasive when you consider that a significant number of people do not work in the area that they majored in.
Secondly, higher education does not teach one all the skills needed to succeed in the workforce. While universities are a great place for imparting knowledge and honing essay writing skills, there is only so much that can be taught in a lecture/class. Key skills such as preservation and practical decision making are more suited to be learnt by practical experience. So a higher education degree is an imperfect signal: it displays mainly the academic aptitude of a candidate, but does poorly in assessing other skills such as teamwork and communications, which are arguably more important in the workplace. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not higher education is worth it depends on personal circumstances. However, it would be worth keeping in mind the signalling factor and its flaws when making that decision.
December 3, 2016 By Adrian To
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It’s the end of Michaelmas Term, and never in my life have I been so ready for school to end. For the past few weeks, I have been exhausted, irritated and sometimes downright unpleasant to be with. After three solid months of sleeping for five hours a day to do readings and meet essay deadlines, a part time job with a superior who has no sense of appropriate times for work (i.e. not midnight), job applications and multiple extracurricular commitments all jockeying for attention, I can finally take a break and recover. For many, however, burnout doesn’t happen at times nearly as convenient as the end of term. While burnout is usually ignored or downplayed as normal college stress, burnout is in fact much more serious than just that.
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Burnout usually happens when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. While burnout manifests itself differently in every individual, it usually comes as a package of exhaustion, depression, hopelessness and resentment. Personally, burnout puts up a flashing neon sign in block capital letters “I CAN’T DO THIS” in my mind, combined with a lot of pent up anger because I feel like I should be able to do this. The difference between regular stress and burnout is duration – if you feel like a walking mass of negativity all the time, you’ve probably burned out. So obviously, what you need when facing burnout is a timeout; but how can you get a timeout when university is slowly sucking the life out of you day after day?
Well, LSE isn’t a monster trying to destroy you – at the end of the day, it wants graduates with decent 2:1s and comfortable job prospects, and that’s not going to happen if its students aren’t functioning well. On the academic front, your teachers, who are most likely PhD students and also swimming in stress, will be willing to push back your formative essay deadlines (good luck with trying that on summatives though) if you ask nicely and explain what you’re going through. Go to their office hours and ask about the readings for some extra help if you need it – trust me, 15 minutes with them can be equivalent to spending two hours trying to understand the theoretical debates around bureaucratic politics and foreign policy.
The LSE, like most other higher education institutions nowadays, also has a Student Counselling Service which offers individual and group counselling, as well as self-help guides. Although I have never gone to a counselling session so I can’t say how helpful they are, the self-help guides are very useful in forcing you to face the fact that you have a problem by setting them out in block letters (the actual advice is quite basic). While your grades are important, your mental well-being is also very important – you only have one brain, so treat it nicely! Rest well over winter break, and hopefully you now know what to do if you feel things getting tough in Lent Term.
December 3, 2016 By Janice Leung.
Mental Health Gone Wrong 31
WHAT ARE THE BASIC FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATION? December 4, 2016 By Daniel Wong While different nations may have different interpretation to its education system that suits its particular political, economic, social and ideological uniqueness, this article sought to explore the basic functions of education through establishing an assessment framework, which would be deemed necessary evaluating the education system for our reflections. According to the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 26: - Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. - Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. - Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. - Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
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Education plays a vital role in developing students’ intelligence and rationality. Particularly, the curriculum should nurture students’ with an ability to think critically in differentiating what is right or wrong. Besides, the development of “livelihood skills” should also be stressed so as to enable students to pursuit an independent life. It is also crucial for an education system to “pass on” a culture with a thought of “improving” it to students from generation to generation such as the transmission of common language, geography and norms and values.
With references to findings of the literature review, an ideal education is one that promotes social development, which should carry the follow eight virtues: - Equally and freely accessible to all in primary and secondary education - Equally accessible to all in tertiary education on the basis of merit - Focuses on skill-training that enables people to strive for independent living and become productive members of the society which include socialization trainings and knowledge building - Dissemination of cultural norms of that particular nation - Development of potential of students including their critical thinking and their creativity so as to make reflection to the deficiencies of the society and the government - Instilling the students with understanding of fundamental human rights and freedoms.
Apart from cognitive development of individuals, Mincer affirmed the economic value of education. According to Clater’s paper “Human Capital and Economic Growth”, it is essential to recognize the link between education and the production of human capital in the realm of economic growth – “Human capital analysis deals with acquired capabilities which are developed through formal and informal education at school and at home, and through training, experience, and mobility in the labor market” and;
- Different stakeholders, including parents and teachers, should have certain bargaining power vis-à-vis the government in the interplay of the formulation and implementation of educational policies - Carrying socio-economic functions to provide human capital in the labour market for enhancing economic growth So to what extent has our education facilitated the above purposes? In what role do neo-liberalism and globalisation has shaped the priorities of our education system? Regardless of the stance, the above framework provides different assessment criteria for our evaluation.
“Human capital is a link which enters both the causes and effects of these economic-demographic changes (of a society).” 33
The ďŹ rst step towards change is awareness. - Nathaniel Branden
LSESU HKPASS is a politically neutral society and any views expressed belong entirely to the author themselves.