HKBU Canteen Closes for Health Code Violations
Five health department officials closed down the canteen of the old campus at Hong Kong Baptist University after finding 15 sanitation problems.
Baptist Hospital admitted a student, 21, with a severe case of food poisoning. She ate dinner at the school canteen about three hours before she got sick.
An anonymous caller told the Hong Kong Department of Health that the student canteen was responsible for the food poisoning. After an inspection of the school canteen on the old campus, officials discovered 15 sanitation violations.
“The University Canteen is closed until further notice due to the violation of certain health code regulations. We have no other comment at this time,” said Lam Ping-yan, Director of Health.
Violations included canteen workers preparing food without gloves, workers smoking in the kitchen, meat stored improperly and use of expired food products. Officials also discovered some of the workers keeping rats as pets.
“This was a pretty bad case. The rats were almost as huge as small dogs,” said an official.
A nurse called Jane Chan said the admitted student is in stable situation and the cause is not determined yet.
Thomas Cook, an exchange student from England, said he only ate at the school canteen because of the lower prices and he knew lots of students who got sick after eating there.
“Workers there always wear gloves. I think it is unfair for the canteen workers. Students are just looking for someone to blame,” said Amy Wang, a student in HKBU.
Amy said she ate at the school canteen everyday and never got sick.
Conflict occurred between McDonald’s cleaning staff and students from Mainland
Two students from Mainland complained to the manager of McDonald’s at Langham Place of the unfair treatment from its cleaning staff yesterday.
The middle-aged cleaning staff in McDonald’s rejected two students to throw two drink bottles into the dustbin. The reason was that they bought these drinks from the other place.
Zhang Xue-yao, one of the students, ignored the cleaning staff’s words and threw her bottle into the dustbin anyway.
“We didn’t drink it in McDonald’s, did we? Let alone we have ordered food of McDonald’s,” said Zhang Xue-yao.
The cleaning staff picked up the bottles and put them in front of the two students. She repeated her words again.
“You should throw these bottles into the dustbin outside,” said the staff.
Other customers all noticed the quarrels but kept silent. Most of them just glanced at the two students and the cleaning staff.
“There were others also eating food from outside. One woman who looked like a local even was drinking the soup from her Thermos,” said Liu Ying, the other student.
The two students found the manager and explained what happened. They complained the differential treatment and asked for an apology from the cleaning staff.
“She treated us unfairly because we were not local. We would like to obey the regulations of McDonald’s if the staff had explained to us friendly at first,” said Liu Ying.
The manager listened to the two students and then asked another two customers what they had witnessed and heard.
“I think it is important to know more details before I make a judgement. However, in any cases, we should offer customers sincere service,” said the manager.
After the manager understood what happened, he firstly apologized to the two students and then the cleaning staff also apologized for her attitude and words.
“We do think she should apologize to us. It is so unfair and humiliated. We haven’t been treated like this before in Mainland,” said Zhang Xue-yao.
The other two customers in McDonald’s who also came from Mainland said they had been unfairly treated in other places of Hong Kong.
“Maybe because we can’t speak Cantonese or just because they don’t like us,” said one of the customers.
Stephanie McCrummen inspires students by sharing her experience
Stephanie McCrummen inspires students by sharing her experience
Beginning with her observation of a taxi driver, a Washington Post Pulitzer-winning journalist shared suggestions on writing the story about a stranger with students at Hong Kong Baptist University on Monday.
Stephanie McCrummen, the reporter of the Washington Post and the 2018 Pulitzer Prize Winner in investigating reporting, spoke to a group of students in a lecture entitled “Why Source Talk: The Importance of Listening.”
McCrummen mentioned said that the curiosity about the life of a stranger was is very important for journalists. She said if she wanted to write a story about the taxi driver she met at the airport, she would spend one day with him and listen to the conversations between him and passengers.
She also talked about the intentions of reporting.“Be open with them, tell them why you want to write about them,” she added.
When McCrummen reported the sexual harassment scandal of Roy Moore, candidate in Alabama, she mentioned said that the necessity of exposing the truth to the public overcame the fear of being attacked or threatened.
She added that she would always check her own emotion before writing the report because “it is about them, their stories, their feelings.”
“When writing the story, keep your emotion out of it, put it aside,” said McCrummen.
A student of MA International Journalism, Vivian Wang, asked McCrummen how she started the interview with someone and how she overcame the awkward moments.
McCrummen said it was not easy to ask certain questions to the interviewees, such as women suffered from the sexual harassment. She added that the responsibility of the journalists was to tell the public the truth and it was important to dig out more information and write more deeply about someone.
“Patience is quite important,” said McCrummen. She said that being patient was also one of the most essential qualities for professional journalists.
Wang Fei-fan, a student of MA International Journalism, said
McCrummen’s speech inspired her a lot.“McCrummen’s explanation about how to start the interview and deal with the embarrassing situation encourages me a lot,” Wang Fei-fan, a journalism student saidshe added.
Ou Wen, a student of MA Media Management, said she was attracted to the part of McCrummen sharing the experience and difficulties of unveiling the sandal of Roy Moore. “This lecture is the first one of the Pulitzer Prize Winner Workshop., I think it is quite worthwhile,” she added.
Michael Schudson: Journalists should Have Professional Standpoints
Independent, accountability-oriented professional journalism will still have great importance more than ever, said Professor Michael Schudson from Columbia Journalism School in a lecture at Hong Kong Baptist University today.
Beginning with the example of a story by reporter Richard Perez-Pena in the New York Times, Schudson said Perez-Pena “wrote not as a political liberal or a political conservative” but as a professional journalist.
“Perez-Pena selected a different background fact - one that recognized in a polarized political world that readers would want to know the political leanings of these judges,” said Schudson.
He said that journalism matters to democracy and there are three definitions of democracy, including the arithmetic definition, institutional definition and social-cultural definition.
“Journalists as a species, whether working in democracies or in autocratic states, aspire to independent reporting and commentary on current affairs,” added Schudson.
The US journalism history could be divided into two phrases - Objectivity 1.0 and Objectivity 2.0, said Schudson. In Objectivity 1.0, journalists in the US reached a stage of self-consciousness in the 1920s.
“In the 1920s, journalists felt themselves struggling to stay afloat in waters infested by the sharks of state propaganda and corporate public relations,” said Schudson.
He added that in Objectivity 2.0, journalists were more analytical while news were more enterprising and negative.
“From the 1960s to the 1990s, journalism became more and more critical of presidential candidates of both parties,” said Schudson.
As the professor of the Columbia Journalism School, he also said there are two scared words in this school which are report and story. The language of reporting requests journalists to totally withhold judgements while the language of story requires professional judgements.
He took a series of examples like a student asking advice from a teacher and a child seeking advice from a parent to explain how to make efforts to step one’s own standpoint and the importance of the professionalism.
“None of us can escape our own standpoint, but most of us at some point try to,” said Schudson.
Talking about the social media, he said little information produced by nonprofessional journalists led powerful institutions to respond. “Facts secured by professional journalists, at old line or at online news organizations had consequences,” added Schudson.
Lily Yao, a journalism student from the University of Hong Kong, said she was impressed by Professor Schudson’s opinions on the balance between the language of reporting and story.
“As a student journalist, I should learn more professional skills and always keep my professional integrity because this society still need journalists to tell facts,” added Yao.
A Young Film Award Winner: Insisting Dreams Does Matter
Until When standing at on the stage of the award presentation ceremony and holding the trophy, Wang Kai-xuan, the 22-year-old winner, started to believe that all the glory and applauses were true.
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As Tthe director of We Outlaws, which won was the Best Chinese-language Film of in the Global University Film Award, Wang admitted said that thisthe prize was the best present for the team and also the feedback for her insisting on film dreamson her film.
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“All the young people should always maintain self-expression and creative passion. Insisting on your dream is the best thing in the world,” said Wang Kai-xuan.
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Student filmmakers who keep discovering and creating are exactly the outstanding representatives of the contemporary youth.
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When Wang decided to shoot the film about the LGBTQ community, a lot of her friends who were members of this community gave her a lot support and gratitude. This film was to show the solidarity to LGBTQ people and improve some people’s unneutral attitudes towards this community.
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“My works are my weapon. This film is an indirect support to this marginalized group,” said Wang.
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Wang’s parents were ordinary people. Although they had witnessed the “Indecent Assault” in the 1990s, her parents were at first hard to understand her film. After Wang explained what prompted her to shoot such a film, her parents started to pay attention to the LGBTQ group and truly respect them.
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“For some people, it is not easy for them to identify with the LGBTQ group, but I hope at least they can respect the group,” said Wang.
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As a member of the LGBTQs, Wang’s best male friend, not willing to tell his name, showed great appreciation to this film and considered Wang as a talented director. He cried and said how he was eager to confess his sexual preference to parents. He said he hoped people could watch this film without being judgmental.
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“Ignore main characters’ identities and only focus on their pure love,” said Wang’s best male friend.
The process of shooting was not always without a hitch. The team almost used all their interpersonal relationships to cast and select the main character. Wang said it was hard to find someone who spontaneously had a temperament of the 1990s. Finally, they found the most suitable person and the accomplishment of the film should partly owe to him.
How to name this film also confused Wang for a long time. She wanted to come up with a short but incisive name to perfect this film.
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“Outlaw not only means the ‘criminal’, but also means people hiding to avoid being noticed and not protected by the law,” said Wang.
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Imaging if she could choose another major and profession, Wang thought she would study Chinese literature and history. She said the literary creation was exciting and wonderful too. Knowing deeper about the traditional culture could also contribute to the film making. At her childhood, she was crazy about foreign science fiction films, because she thought the themes and perspectives of these films were more profound and impressive, such as heroes saving humans. Once she read more traditional Chinese literary works, she realized that discovering valuable film themes was based on being familiar with the country’s past and present.
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“Students should pay more attention to what happened now also,” she said, her voice was so firm.
Talking about the Jasic Incident and few university students from Peking University and Tsinghua University writing to support the protesters, Wang thought it was necessary for more young people to know about this incident and learn to express opinions.
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Other film productions by university students from across the world also showed the young people’s enthusiasm and talent. 1841 films from 99 countries really connected the global film community and audiences with their outstanding works and groundbreaking ideas.
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Wang said some excellent works gave her many inspirations from topics to shooting techniques.
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“Thinking about so many young people working with me together, I am more determined to continue being a director,” said Wang.
Convenient and Fast Consolidation Service Giving Hong Kong People More Choice
After deftly signing her name on the screen, Evelyn Lau held four delivery boxes and then left the Yau Ma Tei office of Manybo - a popular consolidation company in Hong Kong.
The four products were all bought from Taobao.com in Mainland on Single Day. Lau stayed up until 2 a.m. to snap up an intelligent air purifier which was half the original price. The delivery address she filled in was the storehouse of Manybo in Dongguan, Mainland.
“Once all the products have been delivered at the storehouse in Dongguan, the staff of Manybo will pack them into a set and then transport to Hong Kong. I like the consolidation service,” said Lau.
With the increasing inclusiveness and convenience of cross-border e-commerce in Mainland, more and more Hong Kong people prefer shopping from Mainland online retailers. Consolidation service is a new industry that has benefited from the rapid increase in shopping amount of Hong Kong residents.
According to the research of Hong Kong Commercial Daily, there are up to 30 consolidation companies in Huaide District, Dongguan. The daily highest number of orders in one company can reach up to 20000.
Siyuan Lv, the manager of Yuancheng Supply Chain Company, witnessed the development of the consolidation service. Before he joined Yuancheng Company, Lv had worked on the traditional logistics industry in Hong Kong. He said that more and more Hong Kong residents buy stuff from Mainland e-commerce due to the relatively more choices and lower price. The average amount of set packages delivered by Yuancheng Company can reach up to five tons per day.
The price of the consolidation delivery from Mainland to Hong Kong is lower than the postage charged by online retailers. According to Taobao.com, the total price of one-kilogram package will cost $60. If this package is delivered to the consolidation storehouse first and then shipped to Hong Kong, the price will decrease to $24.
“Many Hong Kong investors want to seize this opportunity. Some traditional logistics companies have gradually transformed to the consolidation service. About 30 consolidation companies in Huaide District are invested by Hong Kong businessmen,” said Lv.
Once the packages have been delivered to Hong Kong, they will be dispatched to local warehouses where customers can go and pick up their items easily. Lv said Yuancheng Company have set up 82 warehouses in Hong Kong. “Unlike express delivery in Mainland, most of packages in Hong Kong are delivered to the pick-up office first. The customers pick up their items according to the order number,” added Lv.
In Hong Kong, a pick-up office may serve eight to 10 logistics companies. Each company has a different software system, which need staffs in the pick-up office totally comprehend all the systems.
Amy Yip, a staff of the pick-up office in Yau Ma Tei, used to be a shopping assistant. She said her current job is relatively easier and flexible than before. Her daily responsibility is putting the packages in order, checking the quantities of all received packages and helping customers find their items. Yip said there are two staffs in this office and it is completely enough to handle all the work. Although due to the Single Day, the customers are twice more than usual.
Yip said the opening hours are fully thoughtful for the convenience of customers. Her office opens from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Some customers can pick up their items at their lunch break or after work.
At the very beginning, customers who used this consolidation service were mostly Mainland students studying in Hong Kong. Yip said Hong Kong people gradually became the main force since last year. “Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge also promotes coordinated development of Mainland and Hong Kong logistics industry,” added Yip.
Evelyn Lau, 28 years old, could be considered as the honored customer of the consolidation pick-up office, according to her own words. She usually goes to the office to pick up her packages twice a week. Lau said before the popularity of the consolidation service, her first choice was SF express. “SF express is great but costs too much,” Lau said. “It takes two to three days for SF express to deliver to my apartment and I need to pay extra $20 for the door-to-door delivery service. Consolidation service is much more economical and faster.”
More than 90 percent of the items in Lau’s packages were small items such as jewelry, daily necessities, clothes, and small household appliances. These products were mainly from major online retailers such as JD.com, Tmall and Taobao. Lau said she bought 13 items on Single Day. All the products were delivered to her through the consolidation service.
“The pick-up office is just five-minutes from my home, it seems that I can enjoy the convenient online shopping and rapid logistics service like Mainland people,” said Lau, laughing.