HK posts 31k turnout in overseas voting with 16 days to go

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

More than 1,600 people voted today despite an overcast day (photo from Congen Raly Tejada)

Hong Kong looks on track to surpass the 49% turnout recorded in the 2016 overseas voting presidential elections with the daily tally not falling below 1,000 despite the most severe social distancing restrictions  imposed by the government.

According to Consul General Raly Tejada, the turnout in the past 14 days of voting has topped 31,000.

With 16 more days to go, which include three Sundays and two statutory holidays on May 2 and 9 (day after Labor Day and Buddha’s Birthday, respectively), he is confident the final figure would at least eclipse the 42,000 posted in 2016.

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The total registered number of voters then was only slightly less than the 93,265 logged for this year.

Congen Tejada said he was hopeful that alongside a higher turnout, the ongoing vote which ends on May 9 would remain peaceful and orderly with help from the Filipino community.

He also reported that all 10 precincts or SBEIs (special board of election inspectors) each with a working vote counting machine will be in place for tomorrow’s vote, and that this should considerably cut the queuing time for voters.

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“10 VCMs and 10 SBEIs tayo tomorrow,” he said.

Last Sunday, two VCMs broke down, leading to longer lines for voters, with some allocated to the nun-functioning precincts being forced to wait for more than six hours to cast their ballots. Despite this, a record 5,000 plus people managed to vote.

Congen Tejada said the replacement machines arrived on Thursday, and they were able to set them up immediately.

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On Thursday, the turnout was a steady 1,300, then dipped slightly to about 1,000 on Friday. Today it was back to 1,600.

The queue quickly cleared because all precincts were open again

The country’s top diplomat came under fire from militant groups over the police decision to stop queuing on the first Sunday of voting less than four hours after it started. United Filipinos-Migrante Hong Kong blamed this on only five precincts being opened initially for the vote.

Unifil said more than twice as many voters could have cast their ballots that day if the “chaos” did not happen.

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The group also deplored that the Consulate had run out of poll watchers’ IDs because of indiscriminate distribution to various groups.

But during an online hearing at the House of Representatives on the chaos claims earlier this week, Congen Tejada said cutting off the queue on the first Sunday had to be made at the request of the police who said they could no longer control the crowds.

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He also said the initial decision to cut the number of precincts in Hong Kong by half was made by the Commission on Elections. The Consulate, he said, would never have made that decision because it made their job more difficult.

He appealed to all members of the community to just work together to ensure an orderly and successful overseas voting.

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High Court tells police to reinvestigate trafficking claims by abused Filipina DH

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

The court ordered police to reinvestigate the sex trafficking case against the convicted doctor

In an unprecedented move, the High Court has ordered the police to reinvestigate whether a Filipina domestic worker who was sexually abused by her octogenarian employer was also a victim of sex trafficking and forced labour.

In a judgment handed down on Friday, Judge Russell Coleman also said the case of the Filipina named as "CB" in the case showed the need for Hong Kong to have a “bespoke” or specific legislation criminalizing trafficking in persons and forced labour.

“In conclusion, I think the facts of the CB case do establish the ‘causal connection’ between the particular failures in the case and the lack of a bespoke criminal offence,” said Judge Coleman.

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He also said such legislation should not only cover FDHs as urged by CB’s counsel, Abraham Chan, SC, but to all other people who might be victims of forced labour and exploitation under section 4 of the Bill of Rights.

Thus, Judge Coleman told the police to widen its investigation to include at least two other Filipinas who had also worked for CB’s expatriate employer and were shown on video to have engaged in sexual acts with him.

In a statement issued through her solicitors, Patricia Ho and Associates, CB said she was happy that the court had acknowledged the need to have a law that deals specifically with  human trafficking and forced labour.

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"I hope the police will be more aware of the everyday exploitation of helpers. Maybe they will revise not only their laws but how they approach investigation of these matters. In my case, there were too many lapses and they did not see the wider picture," she said.

The court heard that CB, now 44 years old, was subjected to repeated sexual abuse by her employer named in court as Z, a retired British doctor, after she was hired in September 2018.

Z, who is now aged 85 and identified in the lower court as Dr Brian Apthorp, was eventually charged of two counts of indecent assault at Eastern Court. He was convicted of both charges and sentenced to 30 months in jail.

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He is now appealing against both his conviction and sentence at the High Court.

During his trial, the doctor was found to have groped and poked inside CB during a supposed “body check” in August 2018, before signing her up.

About three months after CB was hired, the previous helper Janice, left, and CB was made to take over the task of doing a daily body massage on a fully naked Z and help him masturbate.

Once a week, during days Z called “Whipping Thursday”, CB was made to use various whips and devices on the employer during the massage sessions for his sexual gratification.

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The doctor also made CB watch a video clip showing him having sex with Janice, the Filipina helper she replaced.

Sometime after Z left for his annual vacation in France in April 2019, CB saw other videos and photos showing the employer engaged in sexual acts with various women, including Janice and other previous helper.

CB took the chance to notify the doctor of her intention to quit her job, although the accused claimed that is was he who terminated their contract in July 2019.

After CB filed a complaint to the police in December 2019, a frontline officer determined that the case met three criteria of TIP, and recommended further investigation by a body created for this purpose. Her superior endorsed her recommendation.

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But a senior officer, without interviewing CB and relying on a letter supposedly written by Janice and handed in by Z who suggested the applicant had lied about her ordeal, overruled the junior officer’s recommendation.

No further attempt was made to contact the other alleged victims directly, and the force  eventually concluded CB was not a victim of trafficking nor was she recruited for the purpose of forced labour.

In his judgement, Justice Coleman said the police had failed to take into account a number of facts in the case which could have led them to determine that CB was recruited precisely for the purpose of sex exploitation.

These included (1) video evidence of Z engaging in sexual acts with his previous FDHs, including Janice; (2) CB was recruited specifically to replace Janice; (3) CB was sexually assaulted during her recruitment on the guise that it was part of the recruitment process; (4) CB was routinely sexually assaulted as soon as Janice had left Z’s employment; (5) the sexual assault on CB were similar to the sexual acts between Janice and Z as shown in the videos; (6) it was not necessary  to have a larger or more organized scale of activity to give rise to suspicion of trafficking, although in this case this element was also demonstrated and (7) even granting that some monetary or commercial gain would have excluded CB’s claim from the ambit of TIP, the case clearly showed Z was obtaining sexual services at no cost and for which he would otherwise have had to pay someone else.

Judge Coleman said such public law failures had led to police investigations into TIP and forced labour in this case being prematurely curtailed.

“The consequence is that the investigations should be revived (and) the revived investigation should not be limited to the position of CB alone,” said the judge.

CB’s case was heard simultaneously with another forced labour claim filed by another Filipina domestic worker identified only as “AM,” who however, failed in her bid.

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HK opens door to tourists, relaxes flight suspension rules from May 1

By The SUN

 

HK opens up to the world by allowing tourists to come in

Starting on May 1, non-residents will be allowed to enter Hong Kong, while rules for suspending flights that bring in passengers who test positive for Covid-19 will be eased.

Incoming flights will be suspended for just five days instead of a week, and they must bring in at least five passengers who test positive on arrival, instead of the current three.

In addition, a rapid test will be conducted on arriving passengers on top of the RT-PCR one so they can be taken to their quarantine hotel more quickly if they test negative.

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The new measures were announced by the government through a press release issued late on Friday, after health authorities reported 574 new Covid-19 cases, down by around 50 compared with the previous day.

Among the new cases, 11were imported and included four passengers who flew in from Australia on flight CX100 on Wednesday. As a result, the flight operated by Cathay Pacific has been grounded for a week.

The cases also included a 38-year-old Indonesia domestic helper who arrived on Apr 8 and tested positive on the 12^th day after she had finished her seven-day hotel quarantine and moved in with her employer.

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Dr Albert Au of the Centre for Health Protection said the helper had a low viral load, and both she and her employer’s family showed no symptoms. The CHP said it appeared to be a re-positive case.

Au also said around 20 students taking their university entrance exams had been sent to Penny’s Bay quarantine center, either because they or their family members are infected.

He said another report of a student preparing to attend in-person lessons for the first time tested positive for Covid-19 but the pupil had not been to school recently.

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Another 15 patients with Covid were reported to have passed away, raising the total death toll in the fifth wave of the pandemic to 9,014.

In its statement, the government said non-residents who arrive in Hong Kong will have to meet the same requirements as arriving residents.

They need to present a valid vaccination record, a negative result for a PCR test conducted within 48 hours of boarding their flight, and confirmation of a seven-day stay at a designated quarantine hotel.

Passengers who test negative on rapid test will be taken to their quarantine hotels immediately

The government said the new arrangements aim to minimize risks coming from imported cases while making it easier for Hong Kong-bound travellers to reserve flights and hotels.

It is also a response to the need of residents to return home, and the demands from relevant sectors.

A government steering committee reportedly monitored inbound flights and passenger flow since Apr 1 when a flight ban on nine countries was lifted, and found that the proportion of imported cases had actually decreased, instead of increased.

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While the number of inbound passengers surged to 1,200 from fewer than 300 in the two months before the lifting of the ban, the number of imported cases dropped to just one percent of the total from the previous 3 percent.

The ban on tourists or non-residents has been in place for more than a year, or since Mar 25, 2020.

The government said the ban is now being lifted because the public health risk associated with non-HK residents is the same as that of residents coming from the same place.

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In addition, tourists will be subject to the same health protocols imposed on arriving residents, while the number of hotel rooms will help limit the number of inbound passengers,

For details on the boarding, quarantine and testing arrangements for all inbound passengers, check the government’s thematic website: www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/inbound-travel.html

Meanwhile, the flight suspension rules were eased after the government took note of the view of various sectors that the previous triggers were too harsh that from Apr 1 to 20 alone, 25 flights were barred from flying in for a week.

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This in turn upset the plans of many residents planning to return home, “and severely affected the operations of airlines,” said the statement.

Recent reports suggested many airlines had refused to resume flying to Hong Kong because of the uncertainties posed by the flight suspensions.

The new rules provide that a flight will be suspended for five days if (1) five or more of its passengers or five percent of the total number of passengers test positive on arrival test, or (2) three or more passengers test positive on arrival and one or more is found not to have complied with pre-boarding requirements.

Meanwhile the addition of RAT to the “test-and-hold arrangement” at the airport is meant to shorten the waiting time of inbound passengers at the airport to reduce crowd gathering while maintaining strict rules to prevent the importation of cases.

All arriving travellers will have to take the RAT and PCR tests at the same time, and if the rapid test produces a negative result, the person will be immediately transferred to the quarantine hotel through designated transport.

Should the PCR test yields a positive result afterwards, the traveller will be moved to an isolation facility.

25 imported cases among 628 new Covid-19 cases reported

By The SUN

 

25 of the new cases were imported, and they resulted in two flight suspensions

Health authorities reported 628 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, down 40 from the previous day. They took the total number of cases to 1.18 million.

Among them are 25 imported cases, 19 of which involved passengers who tested positive on arrival at the airport. The remaining six cases were detected during hotel quarantine.

Two flights were suspended for one week from flying to Hong Kong after they brought in passengers who were either infected or did not comply with boarding requirements.

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These include flight CX100 operated by Cathay Pacific which flew in on Apr 20 from Sydney, Australia, with four passengers who tested positive on arrival.

The other is Korean Air flight KE607 which arrived from Seoul, Korea on Apr 19 with one passenger who tested positive on arrival and five who did not comply with pre-boarding requirements.

Dr Albert Au of the Centre for Health Protection said the new cases included 317 confirmed through PCR tests while 311 were reported by patients who did self-tests.

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Au also said 250 schools have resumed face-to-face classes and that the CHP was informed of seven reports of infection from six different schools. They involve five teachers and two students who tested positive in rapid tests before going to school.

Two of the infected teachers work in the same school but Au said their cases are not linked.

The two students are from different schools.

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Five of the seven patients had gone to school on Tuesday and Wednesday as they tested negative on both days.

Au said there are still risks of infection in the community so it was not unexpected that positive cases would be detected among students and school staff.

What’s more important, he said, was that “we have prevented infected pupils and teachers from returning to school to minimize the risk of transmissions on campus."

CE Lam leads inspection of Clementi school, one of the venues for the HKDSE

Separately, Chief Executive Carrie Lam inspected one of the examination centres of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination which starts Friday to check on their preparations for guarding students and teachers against Covid infections.

About 50,000 students are set to sit the HKDSE which will be held over three weeks this year. They include six who will take it from Penny’s Bay isolation facility. Four of them tested positive for Covid-19 while two are in quarantine.

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All candidates are required to present health declaration forms on which the result of their rapid test conducted in the morning is set out, and to have their body temperature checked on arrival.

Seats inside the venues will be set up with an appropriate distance between them while good ventilation shall be ensured throughout the examination.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary for Food and Health Chui Tak-yi said authorities will continue to be on the alert for any outbreaks now that social distancing measures have been eased.

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"Premises have reopened and people may lower their guard thinking outbreaks have stabilized," Chui said. "But law enforcement teams will step up inspections and prosecutions in the meantime because we don't want a rebound in cases."

Health officials also reported 26 new deaths, including 18 involving people who died on Wednesday. They took the death toll from the fifth wave to nearly 9,000.

They also said the details of almost all of Hong Kong's 1.18 million recovered Covid patients have been uploaded onto a platform. The concerned patients can download a QR code off the platform which they can use instead of a vaccine pass.

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People who are still having difficulty downloading the QR code have been asked to double check their ID card numbers or contact the authorities if they still encounter problems.

 

Ban on multiple household gatherings lifted from today

By The SUN

 

People from more than 2 households may gather again

It’s time to party again – bearing in mind, of course, that the number of Covid infections are still high, meaning a surge in cases is still likely.

A government statement issued late Wednesday said the Executive Council had approved the implementation of the first stage of the relaxation of social distancing measures starting today.

This includes scrapping the ban on multi-household gatherings in a private places and allowing up to four people to gather in public.

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Restaurants will also be allowed to open until 10pm during which they can provide dine-in services, and several venues where people gather in large numbers such as places of worship, amusement parks, cinemas and others, may reopen, although they can only take in up to 50 percent of their capacity.

The government also said mask-wearing will continue to be enforced in all public places, including mass transportation, and even when an individual is engaged in a strenuous activity.

Only in special circumstances will the restriction be lifted, such as when a person is eating, having facial treatment or taking part in a religious ritual.

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The statement said the government’s plan to allow people to take off their masks while exercising in public or are in country parks will form part of the second stage of adjustments to social distancing measures.

Meanwhile, health officials reported 668 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, and said the situation has stabilised.

CHP's Au says no upsurge in cases has been detected after the holidays - yet (File)

Dr Albert Au of the Centre for Health Protection said they have not seen an upsurge in cases but they will continue to monitor the figures because the Easter holidays have just ended.

He also said they received reports that three students and a school staff had tested positive on rapid antigen tests so they did not return to school despite the resumption of face-to-face classes on Tuesday.

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But 12 positive results from an international school that were reported earlier turned out to be false, and were said to have resulted from parents misreporting the test results in the school platform.

Subsequent tests on the students turned out negative results.

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Among the confirmed cases, 13 were imported. Ten patients tested positive on arrival at the airport and three were detected during hotel quarantine.

Two flights were suspended for a week each after arriving on Apr 19 with three or more passengers who tested positive on arrival.

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These are flight TG600 operated by Thai Airways which arrived from Bangkok with three infected passengers and flight (EK384) operated by Emirates which came from Dubai and Bangkok with four passengers who tested positive on arrival.

An additional 10 patients infected with Covid had passed away in the past day, pushing Hong Kong's death toll in the fifth wave of the pandemic to 8,973.

TV drama scenes bordering on discrimination, says EOC chair

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Wong says sorry for playing the role of a Filipina helper who used sorcery to seduce her employer

Equal Opportunities Commission chairperson Ricky Chu said there were scenes in the controversial TV drama, Barrack O’Karma 1968 that he found disturbing and could be construed as “bordering on racial discrimination.”

Chu made his remarks when asked for his opinion on whether the TV episode might have violated racial discrimination laws during The SUN Interviews, which aired live on Facebook Wednesday night.

He said what disturbed him most were the dialogues in two scenes in episode 7 of the show where a male character used a collective noun in addressing the local Chinese actress who played the role of a Filipina domestic worker.

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By making the man say things like “You Filipina domestic helpers are such and such…” Chu said there was a narrative that was totally discriminatory and bordering on racial discrimination and possibly vilification.”

He was joined in the program by Shiela Tebia Bonifacio, a spokesperson of Asian Migrants Coordinating Body which announced during a press conference held earlier in the day that it was mulling filing a complaint with the EOC against those behind the program.

AMCB’s statement which Bonifacio read during the press briefing said members were “very offended” by the drama series aired recently by TVB, which it said unkindly portrayed migrant domestic workers as “dark-skinned liars, seducers and witches.”

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Bonifacio said she had watched the TV drama with some Chinese friends and it made her feel insulted, particularly  because the Filipina domestic worker was portrayed as having used  witchcraft to seduce her male employer.

She said the AMCB wished to complain, not so much about the brown-faced portrayal of Filipino migrant workers by a light-skinned actress, but because of the overall negative depiction of their character.

Chu agreed that the brownface aspect may not be discriminatory in itself, but it could be used with other elements to draw up sufficient evidence of discrimination or vilification.

EOC chair Ricky Chu says a complaint has to be made before an inquiry can be launched

Chu also welcomed Bonifacio’s desire to pursue a case, saying the EOC needed a complaint before it could initiate an inquiry.  

“I want to make it clear that I don’t want to pre-empt a complaint,” said Chu.

He said the migrant workers’ group need not worry about approaching the EOC because there will be a team that will assess their complaint and advise them on their next move.

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Meanwhile, Franchesca Wong, the actress who darkened her skin to play the role of the Filipina helper, has broken her silence following the uproar over the  drama series.

“I genuinely have no intention to disrespect or racially discriminate any ethnic group, please forgive me for getting it wrong. It has been a challenging experience to be at the centre of the lesson that art reflects deeply entrenched social attitudes,” said Wong.

“I am truly sorry that my insensitivities have offended and hurt. I am committed more than ever to using my acting for the good of the community.”

Wong was shown in a video while in the act of coloring her legs brown

TVB, which has received much of the flak in the controversy, has taken down the episode in question from its website but announced that it will be made available again after changes have been made.

Consul General Raly Tejada who has slammed the show for being “ignorant, insensitive and totally disgusting,” saw TVB’s move as an admission that they did something wrong.

“I believe TVB has stopped making the show available and they even shelved the second episode. This is a big victory and an admission on TVB’s part that there is something wrong with their show,” he said.

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But the country’s top diplomat who has fired off letters of complaint to both TVB and the Hong Kong government over the perceived slight to Filipinos said the network should do more than just pull out the show.

“I hope a proper apology could be issued by TVB,” he said.

Congen Tejada also welcomed Wong’s public apology, saying it was an admission that she did the Filipino community wrong.

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“I also see it as a sincere attempt to redeem herself,” he said.