June 2020
HE YOUNG REPORTER Issue 06 - Education
Cover Story
Digital divide widens for HK’s international students
Editor’s Letter It has been a tumultuous year for universities in Hong Kong. Following an early end to the Fall semester because of protests, the Spring semester also came to an abrupt end when the COVID epidemic turned into a pandemic. Online learning became the new normal. In this issue, we look at the challenges to learning in the time of COVID. We talk to secondary school leavers about the stress of coping with the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education during a pandemic. We also look at the strain on personal relationships when couples can only meet online. Also on relationships, we report on how a teenager connects transgender people in Hong Kong. Technology might have enabled us to connect during a lockdown, but it has also unleashed an “infodemic”. From misleading information about face masks to confusion on how the virus spreads, we delve into the impact of disinformation. The Young Reporter Vol. 52 No. 5 Printer Department of Journalism School of Communication Hong Kong Baptist University
At the time of writing, Hong Kong has finally relaxed the social distancing rules to allow gatherings of up the 50 people. But we are not out of the woods yet. We will keep you posted in the coming months, and hopefully when we finally get back to our campus at the end of the Summer. Sincerely, Eurus Yiu Editor-in-chief
Editor-in-Chief Eurus Yiu Deputy Editors Carol Mang Carol Yuan Kylan Goh Mark Chen Art Designers Bella Huang Carine Chow Clara Ip Liony Xue Moon Lam Sunny Sun Editors & Reporters Alec Lastimosa Bella Huang Cassie Zhang Carine Chow Cherry Lee Clara Ip
Cynthia Lin Han Xu Hong Wong Jay Ganglani Leone Xue Lisa Liu Mereen Santirad Moon Lam Nicole Ko Ronald Fan Samuel Mo Suey So Sunny Sun Tomiris Urstembayeva Yanni Chow Yetta Lam Advisers Jenny Lam Robin Ewing
In This Issue
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Digital divide widens for Hong Kong’s international students
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China’s billion-yuan dance industry lacks standards, teachers say
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Special needs students in Kazakhstan struggle with online learning during the coronavirus pandemic
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Infodemic: pandemic misinformation spreads across social media
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Faced with a lack of resources, a transgender teen builds a supporting community
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Love in the time of coronavirus
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Society
Reported by Mereen Santirad
Edited by Cherry Lee
Digital divide widens for Hong A lack of motivation, increased media consumption and frustration with poor internet connection during online classes are some of the challenges for a year 3 chemistry student.
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Whenever there is an online class, I struggle with my wifi connection. By the time my wifi is connected to the Zoom online class, I already missed some points. Tee Jing-yi A Malaysian student in Hong Kong
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The university cancelled all face-to-face classes, moving everything online, in midJanuary, as Hong Kong began to see its first COVID-19 cases. The first COVID-19 case was confirmed on January 23 when a mainland Chinese tourist tested positive at Queen Elizabeth Hospital according to the government official website. In consecutive days, Hong Kong health authorities confirmed three more cases where all patients are from Wuhan, China. On January 25, the government declared a suspension of classes and implementation of travel restriction at some entry points to Hong Kong as an pandemic outbreak emergency. “Whenever there is an online class, I struggle with my wifi connection. By the time my
Kluang, Tee Jing-yi’s hometown in Malaysia.
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g Kong's international students
wifi is connected to the Zoom online class, I already missed some points. But it is good that some of the lectures are recorded and posted on moodle,” said Tee Jing-yi, referring to her university’s learning management system. Moodle is a university learning management platform which is designed to provide lecturers, administrators and students with a secure and integrated system to personalize their learning environments. Tee is one of close to 12,000 international students in Hong Kong’s public universities, according to government data, many of whom returned home when classes went online. From rural Malaysia and with no reliable internet connection, Ms. Tee, like other students in developing countries, is struggling to keep up with her e-classes.
Vishesh Shrestha, a yearone business management student at Polytechnic University, returned home to Nepal when his university classes went online. Shrestha usually faces the connection problem because the internet is slow in Nepal. “There is a time when my lecturer is explaining something important and I missed it,” said Mr. Shrestha. Yang Aung, a master’s student from Myanmar studying at University of Hong Kong who also returned home, said he relies on mobile data to access online classes. His mobile data connection is not fast enough to interact with the lecturer and other students during the classes. He said it’s easier and cheaper for him to watch recorded videos of the lecture.
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Yang Aung’s apartment in Dalla, located around the corner of former capital Yangon, Myanmar
But it’s not just Hong Kong’s international students that are dealing with limited internet connections. “Some students from grassroot families in Hong Kong are also dealing with this difficulty,” said Ian Holliday, Vice-President of the University of Hong Kong. “So, we deliberately opened the campus facilities so that those students could come and use it.” Mr. Aung, who has been dealing with online learning since November, when his
university was closed during the pro-democracy protests, said he prefers face-to-face learning where students can exchange critical analysis. In a one-year master’s program, Mr. Aung will have spent only a few months in an actual classroom when he graduates. “ I almost gave up my master’s degree because of online learning. To me, a lecturer will take a role as facilitator and motivate students to lead the discussion in class. Online class began last semester, so I was thinking there is no point to
studying here and it is a one year program,” said Mr. Aung. Universities started to teach online when the antigovernment protest took place in June 2019 and it has become the central teaching model when the government announced to suspend school. The app Zoom has become the preferred software for real-time lessons. During the lockdown period, universities have been using Zoom to support their teaching and learning.
The neighborhood surrounding Yang Aung’s apartment in Dalla Township, Yangon, Myanmar
Yang Aung’s apartment in Dalla, located around the corner of former capital Yangon, Myanmar
Zoom is a cloud-based video communication platform that enables multiple video connections up to 100 at the same time and allows over 250 participants. The platform is compatible with all types of window and nearly anyone can access it.
and impossible to convert to online classes.
“Online lectures may not be as good as face-to-face, but lecturers and students are now getting familiar with the custom format. We have seen that some students who do not participate in face-to-face class are now asking questions privately to their lecturers. Online learning provides flexibility where students can use different functions to communicate with their lecturer,” said Prof. Holliday.
Universities have postponed the classes related to laboratories to summer where students could use the lab to enrich their understanding. For final year students at University of Hong Kong, the tasks related to the lab were changed to theory assignment rather than application task, according to Prof. Holliday.
Many of Ms. Tee’s chemistry classes are in a laboratory
“When applying for a master’s degree, the university will assume that you know how to use equipment in the laboratory. So I need to get familiar with it,” said Ms. Tee.
“I wish I could go back to my university soon. I plan to conduct research with my professor and start my final year project earlier this
summer, but I am not sure if the situation would be better in summer,” said Ms. Tee. Hong Kong Universities are now preparing to reopen in September as COVID-19 cases are gradually decreasing from April to May according to the official website. Some universities also plan to offer make-up classes during summer. “Some online learning would be a part of the teaching when the universities resume face-to-face lectures, some of the teaching platforms are effective, we are not going to discard everything,” said Prof. Holliday.
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Society
China’s multi-billion yuan dance industry lacks standards, teachers say Reported by Cynthia Lin Edited by Leone Xue
Li Jin is 22 years old and has been dancing for 15 years. She now works as a part-time dance teacher in Foshan, China. For her, dancing is a passion and a way of life. At the beginning of this year, Ms. Li was looking for her next part-time teaching job on 58 Tongcheng, a Chinese website that lists jobs and apartments. She felt insulted by one of the advertisements. It read: “We promise to get everyone certified as a dance teacher within three to five months! No experience needed, come and join us!” The advertisement was meant for a dance teacher training class run by an agency, JS Dancing. The ad claimed that they have 1,000 branches nationwide. “I was shocked and angry when I saw this advertisement,” said Ms. Lin.
Ms. Li qualified for a grade-3 jazz dance teacher certificate in 2017, and a grade-3 Chinese dance teacher certificate earlier this year. It took her many years of training because she did not graduate from a professional dance academy. She believed that it’s impossible for anyone to become a dance teacher in five months. “I’ve seen their (JS Dancing) dance videos. They were really amateurish. It’s unethical for them to make money from people who cannot recognize the professionalism of dance. But you cannot stop them because they are not doing anything illegal,” she said. Ms. Li tried to figure out how the agency ran its business. So she contacted the person in charge, the “principal” of a branch of JS Dancing agency in Foshan, whose name is Liang Qing, and told them she had no experience but
The advertisement for JS Dancing on 58 Tongcheng: “No experience necessary. Get certified in 3-5 months. Job guaranteed!”
Photo Credit: Liang Qing The “coach class” at one of the branches of JS Dancing. Usually there will be up to 20 students in one session.
wanted to get certified as a jazz dance teacher.
recruiting new students all over again. What a ‘smart’ way to sustain the profit!”
Ms. Liang told Ms. Li that the six months of coaching would cost 22,000 yuan. Upon finishing the course, she was promised a certificate plus a job at any one of the branches of JS Dancing. Being employed as their coaches, according to Ms. Liang, can earn up to 20,000 yuan a month and would only need to work three to four hours a day.
According to the Market Analysis of China Dancing Industry in 2016-2023, the total value of dance training classes in China was estimated at 14.6 billion yuan in 2016. It increased to 16.82 billion yuan a year later, accounting for 26% of the value of domestic art education and it is expected to reach 35 billion yuan over the next seven years.
“The coaches attract customers to coach classes and teach these students some basic techniques and a couple of choreographies. After that, the students were offered certificates and got employed by the agency. Then they start
“The dance training industry has been growing fast in recent years but meanwhile, it’s hard to control,” said Yang Qing, a council member of the China Society of Children’s Song and Dance. She has been engaged in ballet education for over 30
years and now has her own dance troupe in Shenzhen. “There are thousands of registered dance agencies in Shenzhen, but the qualities vary and hard to be assessed,” said Ms. Yang, “Everyone can own a dance agency as long as they have a business license. Thus, it allows unethical people to take advantage of it.” Ms. Li herself has been to many dance classes in different types of agencies over her 15 years as a dancer. On one occasion, she felt cheated. “It was a one-to-one private teaching class recommended by my previous dance teacher,” Ms. Li recalled. “I’ve learned that the new teacher graduated as a Chinese dance major
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“Because dancing is not a tangible product. There is no objective standard to gauge the quality and professionalism.” Yang Qing
A council member of the China Society of Children’s Song and Dance
from Xinghai Conservatory of Music,an art school where dancers are mostly professionals, and she owns an agency herself so I thought she might be good enough.” However, Ms. Li found that she herself was better than the new teacher. “I don’t think this teacher was professional enough for me. Maybe she could teach some freshman. I paid her 600 yuan for a one-and-ahalf-hour class but I learned nothing,” she said. According to Ms. Li and Ms. Yang, there are no objective or national standards in deciding whether a dance teacher is qualified, and there are no associations or government departments in charge of the marketing of the dance training industry.
Caption: Ms. Yang’s students in her dance troupe. She sets different classes for students youngest are around 5 years old and the oldest are over 22 years old.
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“The Dance training industry is waiting to be protected. Before that, we have to protect ourselves.” Yang Qing
A council member of the China Society of Children’s Song and Dance
Ms. Li took time to obtain her certificates from the China Dancers Association, and she needs to update her training every year, but she admitted that the certificates do not mean much to many agencies. “I was once employed by an art agency to teach some teenage students who had never danced before but needed to take the art college entrance exam in two months. The agency didn’t even ask about the certificate. They just simply asked me to send them some of my videos,” said Ms. Li.
Photo Credit: Yang Qing
s in different age groups. The
Ms. Yang pointed out that being a dance teacher needs to satisfy at least two aspects - graduating from a professional dance academy and having certain knowledge of physiology. She also warned that unprofessional dance
training may hurt the body and lower students’ ability to appreciate the arts. “It’s a pity that this industry is not well managed,” said Ms. Yang. “If you want to learn to dance, always be careful in selecting the agency. I suggest seeking advice from people you know who are professional dancers or searching the official website of China Dancers Association.”
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Society
Special needs students in Kazakhstan struggle with online learning during the coronavirus pandemic Reported by Tomiris Urstembayeva
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The coronavirus pandemic has put teachers and students in front of computer screens as schools around the world have shifted to e-learning. But in Kazakhstan, it’s not that simple for the country’s thousands of special needs students. Maksat, 12, who was diagnosed with hearing loss in his first year of life, has been under quarantine in his home for a month. He attends online classes on Zoom every day since the country suspended face-to-face classes on March 19. Maksat is one of more than 6,000 children with hearing impairments in Kazakhstan, according to the Ministry of Education, with 2,000 studying in special needs schools. Ms. Karlygash Zhantaeva, a teacher at a special needs school for students with hearing impairments in NurSultan, says using platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet is not enough. Ms. Zhantaeva said that students with hearing problems mainly rely on visual comprehension and online education lacks stable images and sound.
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12-year-old Maksat is attending an every day class with Ms. Zhantaeva using Zoom application. The Kazakh on the picture means “Space travel“.
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Face-to-face learning is very important to students with special needs in education. If quarantine affects normal students, just imagine how it affects students with hearing problems. Ms. Karlygash Zhantaeva A teacher at a special needs school for students with hearing impairments in Nur-Sultan
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“To better understand the course curriculum, students with hearing impairment need to hear the sound and see the articulation of words and hand gestures at the same time, but because of unstable internet connection, there are difficulties in learning,” she said. Maksat’s mother, Aigul Raimbek, 43, said his school hasn’t equipped children with the technological skills to navigate online courses and did not take into consideration families with limited financial means. “Neither parents nor teachers were trained how to use such apps as Zoom, and some of us can’t even afford to buy better computers or accessories, such as web cameras to help our children with their studies, ” she said. “Maksat has two siblings, who also need to study online.
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We just can’t afford to buy one more laptop right now, as none of us works due to the quarantine. ” To address the lack of computers in some homes, the Ministry of Education has launched a new TV programme where secondaryschool teachers conduct classes in mathematics, history, geography, English, Russian and Kazakh languages and literature. Roza Yeszhanova, a teacher at a special-needs school for children with hearing impairment in Almaty, said the TV episodes need to include sign language translation to help hearing-impaired students learn.
“It’s already very difficult to make sure our students are not lagging behind the curriculum, as parents are not trained on using Zoom and other apps, and it’s also hard to attract students’ attention to the screen because of their behavioral problems due to their hearing impairment,” she said. Bakhytgul Koishibayeva, a psychologist at a school for children with hearing impairment in Nur-Sultan, said that many students are experiencing stress from online learning as they adjust to a new experience. “They are very different from what we call ‘normative’ students. They need more time
and very detailed explanations. They need someone to prepare them when it comes to a new experience, especially when it’s about studying methods, ” she said. “So the question is what should be done to help them?” Ms. Zhantaeva said that families that can’t afford computers and needed computer accessories should be subsidised by the government. “I know that it’s a tough time for everyone, not only us, but I wish our government would help us with all needed equipment, so all of my children, especially Maksat, will have an opportunity to study,” Ms. Raimbek said.
A mathematics teacher holds class on a TV programme for elementary-school students. However, there is no sign language translation for students with hearing problems.
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Society
Infodemic: pandemic misinformation spreads across social media Reported by Eurus Yiu Edited by Jay Ganglani
On March 20, Fay Tse received an audio message from her friend on Whatsapp. It claimed that a branch of Café de Coral in Tuen Mun Town Centre had closed because there was a case of coronavirus. But, according to the Centre for Health Protection, there was no such case on March 20 in the area. “Just received a new piece of information. The Café de Coral shop located in Tuen Mun Town Centre has one confirmed case. The whole shop is now shut. The virus has now invaded Tuen Mun. Everyone take care,” said an anonymous male in a voice message on WhatsApp. This is one of the audio messages related to the coronavirus that has been forwarded to Ms Tse. There was only one confirmed case found on March 16 with a flight attendant, who lived in an apartment in Tuen Mun Town Centre. Café de Coral was closed for a day for sterilizing, a few days later. “Actually, I don’t know who is the one that’s speaking in this audio message,” Ms. Tse said, “but sometimes I am scared by such messages.”
A screenshot of an audio messages sent to Ms Tse on WhatsApp shows the widely-circulated rumor that local chain restaurant Café de Coral was closing. The message is false.
Ms. Tse receives around five messages daily about the coronavirus from friends and group chats. The 49-year-old mother admitted that some of the messages were useful, but most were not. “I find these messages a bit annoying, but I just say ‘thanks’ to my friends to remain polite,” says Ms.Tse.
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“Most of the time, I just ignore the messages, and don’t forward them to my other friends.” Ms. Tse said her kids strongly rejected these messages and often informed her that those messages are fake news. She now chooses to get her information from local news shows on her television instead. Mrs. Leung, a 47-year-old housewife, who is keen on spreading virus-related messages on messaging platforms such as WhatsApp has previously forwarded a message stating that “some people who wear protective clothing would knock on people’s doors and come to sanitize your apartment.”
The man who originally recorded the audio claimed that robbers would pose as government officers. “After they get into your house, they rob you. Please pay attention,” said the message. Mrs. Leung also forwarded a 30-second video, which included CCTV footage showing a small group of people wearing protective clothing and knocking on people’s doors. But the location of the incident and other important information such as the identity of the people in the video could not be traced from the footage. She admitted that she often spreads messages without verifying them.
“I just received these messages from some of my friends and I
“I don’t think I’m doing anything bad. People need that kind of information.” Mrs Leung, a 47-year-old housewife
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forward them to my other friends,” she said. She wanted to remind her friends to pay attention and remain cautious at all times. In recent months, however, social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have been bombarded with fake news articles that provide incorrect advice on how to deal with COVID-19.
and make people take greater risks, as a result. Professor Hunter’s team focused on three other infectious diseases in their study: influenza, monkeypox, and norovirus, but results were also useful in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. He points out that fake news does not value correctness, and is often based on conspiracy theories.
This could further exacerbate the current pandemic, according to an April 1 study by East Anglia University on Simulation. The study points out that any effort to prevent people from sharing fake news could save lives. For instance, a 28-year-old Canadian influencer claimed that he might have contracted COVID19, causing an entire flight to immediately return to its original airport. Finally, he was found to be playing a prank and so wanted attention from the incident. Some young people have even filmed videos of a coronavirus challenge on TikTok, which involved licking toilet seats. Larz, 21, from Beverly Hills, revealed on Twitter that he had been confirmed to have the virus after joining the challenge.
Researchers created theoretical models of outbreaks of the three aforementioned diseases. The model took into account real-life behaviour, how different diseases spread, incubation and recovery time, the speed and frequency of social media postings, and reallife information sharing.
Paul Hunter, a professor at East Anglia University, said there is a lot of false information circulating online during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular regarding how the virus originated and how it spreads.
Departments and colleagues of the government’s rumoured social platform “Tamar Talk” often need to post clarifications late at night to help deal with the virus.
He stressed that false information means that rumours can spread at a very rapid rate, which can change people’s behaviour
Prof. Hunter believes that people who have a low level of trust in their government or other local authorities are more inclined to believe in conspiracy theories. The research found that people would prefer to interact with the stratosphere online, and “the fact that people are more likely to share false advice on social media than to share factual information from reliable sources says a lot.”
In a situation report issued in February, the World Health Organization said an overabundance of information about COVID-19 has caused an ‘infodemic’.
The government clarifies false information on their Facebook Page and encourages people to subscribe to their official Telegram channel to obtain more accurate information.
This posed a challenge in tackling the spread of fake news on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Inaccurate and fake information makes it hard for people to tell reliable sources from lies. The demand for timely and trustworthy information means the WHO has been working tirelessly to identify the most prevalent rumours that have gone viral. Those include, for example, false preventative measures and treatment. In late February, the WHO launched a TikTok account. In a statement, the WHO announced they would have
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live streams and videos to curb the spread of the virus and provide both reliable and immediate public health advice to its followers. Not only has the situation set an alarm to authorities, but online messaging services are also pushing out new policies to help mitigate the spread of false information. WhatsApp issued a new policy on April 7, which limits how many times its users can forward a message to maintain its “privacy and intimacy.” “When you forward a message, you can choose to share with up to five chats at one time,” said the American cross-messaging platform in a statement. WhatsApp added that when a message is forwarded from one user to another more than five times, this will be flagged with a double arrow icon. Facebook also announced that it would launch a new coronavirus information centre function, allowing its users to understand the current impact of the pandemic through placement information. Users can quickly find information and advice from related health institutions, such as the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Facebook stated that fake news and misinformation that deliberately causes panic will be blocked through a filtering mechanism. The social media giant also promised to continue to develop its fact-checking mechanisms to remove and flag suspicious information.
The official TikTok Account of the World Health Organization that has helped spread information, awareness, and helpful practices during COVID-19 to those that need it the most.
“Rumours, false news, smearing, and differentiation have made it harder to fight the pandemic.” Carrie Lam
Hong Kong chief executive
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Faced with a lack of resources, a transgender teen builds a supporting community Reported by Carine Chow Edited by Samuel Mo
During a recent family gathering, Sam Mo Sin-ying, 19, told his family he wanted to have sex reassignment surgery to restore his “true gender,” which is male. “Surprisingly, my dad did not oppose my decision. He just worried that the surgery would be too painful and dangerous,” Mr. Mo said. Mr. Mo started injecting male hormones, including testosterone, in November 2019. Hormone replacement therapy enables individuals to develop the secondary sex characteristics of their idenitified gender, including changing voice pitch and muscle and fat distribution. Gender dysphoria, which is known as Gender Identity Disorder (GID) in Hong Kong, is a conflict between biological gender and gender identity and can cause psychological
distress. Mr. Mo, who was born female, said gender dysphoria was one of the reasons he wanted to undergo the surgery. The Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong has provided psychiatric treatments to over 600 gender dysphoria cases, according to hospital data from 2018. Established in October 2016, it is the first GID clinic in Hong Kong. Patients have to wait on average 31 weeks to receive a consultation, with the longest waiting time of 96 weeks. Due to the high demand, the Hospital Authority adopts a multi-disciplinary approach in treating GID patients. “It is hard to even find information regarding this topic,” Mr. Mo said. He started an Instagram account called “happytohelp_hk”, trying to fill in the gap. He uploads his experiences and
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progress photos on the page, encouraging people who may suffer from GID to seek consultation. Prior to setting up the account, Mr. Mo came across a family member of a transgender on Instagram, asking him about things that he can help. “It is rare to see family members willing to assist their transgender family member,” he said. “These are the people I want to help.” Since August 2018, Mr. Mo has already provided advice to over 10 cases, with some eventually recommended to receive medical treatments. Despite helping some transmen and transwomen, Mr. Mo said that it is hard to help them unless they seek help proactively as he cannot disclose any contact information of psychiatrists, including their names, addresses and phone numbers, publicly. On Mr. Mo’s instagram posts, he explained that is because of privacy reason. Through the recommendation of a trans man Mr. Mo met in high school, he began his gender identity consultations at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the only hospital in Hong Kong that provides private gender identity service to children under 18.
No detailed information about the service has been provided by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on the Internet. Mr. Mo said that the service is provided through recommendation, thus not publicly known. During the 7th Asian Conference on Sexuality Education, a two-day event co-organised by The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (FPAHK) and the Department of Special Education and Counselling of EdUHK , Liam Mak Choiwan, 18, wished that the Hong Kong government can educate the public and support the transgender community. Hong Kong tightened requirements for changing gender marker Hong Kong ID card in 2012. Applicants can change their gender identity only if they have undergone the complete sex reassignment surgery, meaning the reconstruction of the genitals and compulsory sterilization. But other countries are less strict. Having one of the world’s most comprehensive gender regulations, Argentina includes sex reassignment surgery in both public and private health care plans. Countries such as Denmark and Malta have legalized gender recognition for people over
the age of 18 based on their gender acknowledgments. They are not required to go through any hormonal therapy or surgical procedure. Mr. Mo is still undecided on whether to have a mastectomy to remove the breasts or remove the uterus and vagina to construct a penis.
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All persons must be empowered to make their decisions affecting their bodily integrity and physical autonomy, The Malta Declaration
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Liam Mak Choi-wan holds a transgender flag at the 2019 Hong Kong Pride Parade. The theme of the parade is “excluding transgender�.
Photo Credit: Liam Mak Choi-wan
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“Not everyone is physically and fiscally capable of receiving the entire reassignment surgery,” he said.
Mr. Mo first realised he might be transgender and began looking up for similar experiences online.
Hong Kong currently has no figures related to transgender teens. According to a survey conducted by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong in 2004, 20% of the respondents said that they wish to change their gender among 2,000 secondary school students interviewed.
“I always dress like a tomboy but I never know that I am indeed a male in heart,” he said.
Research by the Education University of Hong Kong in 2015 showed that 85% of the interviewed teachers have never received training regarding gender identity. Nearly 65% of the interviewees have different levels of prejudice towards transgender students. Kwok Kan, an associate professor from the Department of Special Education and Counselling at the Education University of Hong Kong, said that transgender teenagers often experience discrimination. “It could come from their peers, school policies or the limited sexual education,” she added. Participating in a pride parade in secondary school,
Mr Mo has been using kinesiology tape to bind his breasts since puberty. “It costs me around $1,000 a month to buy these tools,” he said.
Mr. Mo is hopeful about the future of Hong Kong’s transgender community. “People are becoming more accepting towards LGBTQ, and I wish the government could introduce subsidies or policies that would reduce our stress,” he said.
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It is good to be your true self. Sam Mo Sin-ying
Transgender teenager
The number of psychiatric Specialist Out-patient (SOP) attendances for patients diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder (GID) from 2013-14 to 2017-18 (up to 31 December 2017).
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Society
Love in the time Reported by Bella Huang Edited by Yanni Chow
After almost four years in a long-distance relationship, Ashley Alagurajah and Gavin Pedder are finally in the same city, Toronto. But they are unable to see each other, let alone hang out as a couple. Canadians have been told to practise social distancing to prevent further community spread of COVID-19 since March 20. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the lockdown won’t be lifted until the Summer. As of June 6, 94,335 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Toronto. Ms. Alagurajah and Mr. Pedder have been dating for four years, most of the time in long distance. Before the pandemic, Mr. Pedder was an intern in Montreal and Ms. Alagurajah was studying abroad in London. Both
returned to Toronto in late March, when a strict lockdown was imposed in the city. “Now it’s so weird to call and FaceTime when I know we are a 30-minute drive away from each other, as opposed to being on different sides of the world or in different cities completely,” says Ms. Alagurajah, 20, a journalism student at Ryerson College in Toronto. It is not uncommon for couples to be set apart because of the global coronavirus outbreak, even if they physically live close to each other. As economic and financial exchange increased between mainland China and Hong Kong after the city’s handover in 1997, the number of cross-border couples has also grown. Nicole Newendrop, lecturer
of social studies at Harvard University, has been studying these couples for decades. According to her book, Uneasy Reunion, since 1995, the Hong Kong government allows 55,000 mainland Chinese citizens to immigrate to Hong Kong legally each year, among which, 98% are for the purpose of family reunion, and over 85% are the wives and non-adult children of local Hong Kong men. Since the beginning of February, Hong Kong has closed its borders with Shenzhen. After the city had been recording zero positive coronavirus cases for six consecutive days, many were expecting the borders to reopen on June 7. However, new local cases were reported in the last week of May, thus, the anticipated reopening date
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e of coronavirus has been postponed, meaning that cross-border couples have been separated for 4 months and more. Charlotte Wang, 20, majors in global and environment study at Hong Kong Education University. Before Chinese New Year, she returned to Zhejiang Province and hasn’t seen her boyfriend Joseph Lam since then. At first, they both enjoyed being alone, but as the situation of the pandemic worsened and seeing each other seemed unlikely, they started missing their couple time. “As I get used to living on your own, I start wondering if I am still in a relationship: what’s the difference between being single and having
a boyfriend far away from me?” said Ms. Wang. Lin Song, a relationship counselor based in Hangzhou, said there has been a surge in online counseling inquiries since the outbreak. According to Mr. Lin, the pandemic has exacerbated problems between couples, both for those living under the same roof 24/7 and those suddenly started a longdistance relationship. “Being set apart while everything is unclear brings worries, anxiety and upset to many couples. They miss their significant others but are unable to be with them, resulting in lacking a sense of security,” said Mr. Lin. As most companies have required their staff to work from home, couples now face increasingly overlapped
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time and space in daily life, especially in big cities, according to Mr. Lin. Before the pandemic, city dwellers had been busy with jobs, but now, many couples fight over housework chores and children’s study everyday at home. “Things get even worse when the factor of financial pressure comes in,” said Mr. Lin, “Those receiving only base salary are already lucky. Many have lost their jobs. People are already facing tremendous pressure in big cities. Financial pressures make it easy for people to get angry, sensitive and upset. This emotional instability can easily be turned into a ‘war’ between couples.”
Photo Credit: Charlotte Wang
Photo Credit: Charlotte Wang
Charlotte Wang and Joseph Lam have been dating for more than a year now.
China has also recorded a sudden growth in the number of couples applying for divorce. According to local newspapers, in Sichuan province, the previous ratio between marriage and divorce registration used to be seven to three, but during the pandemic, it was six to four. Ye Wenbo, a marriage lawyer from Beijing Yuanhe Law Firm, has observed a surge in divorce inquiries, “spending all the time with your partner during the pandemic makes pre-existing problems more obvious and acute. Different world views, different expectations on marriage lives, different perspectives on kids’ education… These can all result in huge conflicts and a divorce.”
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Ashley Alagurajah and Gavin Pedder hug in this photo taken on January 5, the last time they were together in person.
Photo Credit: Ashley Alagurajah