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The Rohingya people, also referred to as boat people, are an ethnic group of Muslims that call Western Myanmar (former Burma) their home. The lion share of the Rohingya’s live in the towns of Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Akyab, Kyaunktaw and Rathidaung, located along the Naf River which marks the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The Rohingya’s originate from the Middle East and Africa and, according to the former military government of the country, migrated to Burma in the 18^th century.

Being a minority mainly living in the western part of Myanmar, the Rohingya people, a Muslim ethnic group, have suffered from violations of human rights in Burma since 1978, according to Amnesty International. As a result, over 200,000 of the boat people fled to Bangladesh.

Over a decade later, in 1991, another 250,000 Rohingya’s, again according to Amnesty International, escaped to Bangladesh. This was caused by the fact that the Burmese government didn’t recognize the boat people as its citizens. Consequently, living in Myanmar was close to impossible for the Rohingya’s because of their different language and culture. In search of a better life, many of them decided to leave Myanmar.

Recently, thousands of Rohingya people fled to Thailand where they live in camps. Most of the camps are located near the border between Thailand and Myanmar. The United Nations claim that an estimated number of 111,000 boat people live in these camps. According to, once again, the United Nations, the main reason for the Rohingya to leave Myanmar is food insecurity caused by extreme poverty. 

Most recent news on the Rohingya’s that made headlines was last month when was revealed that almost 200 of the boot people where towed out to the sea and left there to die by the Thai army.

It’s that time of the year again in which the Hong Kong Government reveals its new budget. The budget shows the way forward for Hong Kong from a government point of view. But how do the people living in our city think about it? Postgraduate students of the Department of Journalism of the Hong Kong Baptist University ventured out into the streets in order to get this question answered. “We all need to eat.”

Evan Yiu, male, 47, Hong Kong Baptist University Estate Officer

“The consumer voucher is not a good idea. I think it will only increase the inflation. I rather see that the government lowers the tax and subsidizes utilities fee.”

Mr. Lam, male, 42, Assistant Manager Century 21 Hilltop Property Agency Ltd.

“When it comes to taxes, the government should favour the lower class. For example lower the price of consumer commodities. Moreover, the tax on luxurious products such as cigarettes and wine should be raised.”

Mr. Tsang, male, 29, PCCW Contractor

“My salary has recently been cut dramatically, about 25%. The government should stop this pay cuts and secure jobs for its citizens.”

Chang Kun Huh, female, 66, Retired Secondary School Teacher

“The government should lower the salary tax. By doing so, they can stop the rising unemployment rate. To give its citizens an helping hand in these tough times, the fees of utilities should also be reduced.”

Ho Pui Lan, male, 48, Hospital Worker

“By reducing the salary tax and electricity fee last year, our government did a good job. All I do is hoping that they will continue these policies in the year to come. I believe that it is very important to give more help to the low income sector.”

Amy Ling, female, 53, Hospital Technician

“I don’t have any particular expectation concerning the coming financial budget. I only think that the tax on luxurious products should be increased because rich people can afford to pay more.

Yu Mo Lin, female, Retired TVB Artist

“Whatever the government does, it should consider all decisions carefully. To make more money, the tax on goods like cigarettes and alcohol should be raised. On the other hand, the price of food should be lowered because we all need to eat.”

Joyce Lee, female, Student at City University

“I’m worried about possible job opportunities after my graduation. Therefore, the government should care more about education, especially to give students more opportunities to increase their level of English.”

Hong Kong – February 8 – IJS-Global – A new year, new chances. In other words, will the current financial crisis keep holding China in a chokehold in the Year of the Ox or is the solution nearby?

A colourful sight at the entrance of the Tian He flower fair in Guang Zhou City, on January 23. Photo: Bridget Zhang

Speaking of a new year related to the financial crisis, how did people all over China celebrated the Spring Holidays? Did they cut on their spendings as a result of the financial tsunami? Or was it business as usual?

In order to find answers on these questions and more, graduate students from The School of Communication of Hong Kong Baptist University report on Lunar New Year festivities all over China.

Economics:

• In Wuxi, trishaw drivers were unable to go back home for the Spring Festival, reports Steven Shi.

• In Xin Hui, Guangdong, an old lady spends the Holidays lonely and bored in the nursing home she’s living in, reports Tiara Lin.

• Back in Hong Kong, people are worried about the financial crisis but they have good hopes that the Year of the Ox will be better, reports Thein Win Nyo.

• All over China, the so-called “Me Generation” are experiencing setbacks in their life for the first time, reports Jin Ran Cherry.

• In Shenzhen, restaurants aren’t hurt by the financial crisis regarding dinner reservations for the Lunar New Year’s Eve, Alice Li Yuan reports.

Traditions:

• In Hong Kong, non-local students experience the traditional Lunar New Year festivities, Yvonne Yang reports.
• In the town of Guangzhou, five flower markets opened in five different districts, Bridget Zhang reports.
• Over in Ningbo, the famous dessert Tang Yuan is a vital part of the New Year’s dinner, Sara Chen reports.

Sports:

• Meanwhile, back in Hong Kong the traditional Lunar New Year football tournament, won by local side South China Pegasus, wasn’t influenced by the financial crisis, Frederik Schipper reports.

Hong Kong – February 2 – IJS-Global -The traditional Lunar New Year Cup football tournament held in Hong Kong stadium last week hasn’t been influenced by the financial crisis, an Hong Kong Football Association official said yesterday.

According to Kwan Yiu Lo, an official of the Hong Kong Football Association, one of the main aspects to decide if the financial crisis influenced the tournament is the number of spectators. Although the number of visitors for this years event was slightly lower than for last year’s edition, Lo doesn’t think that this has anything to do with the crisis. He argues, “The number of spectators might be a little bit lower than last year but that has other reasons than the financial crisis. The main reason could be that the participating teams were less well known than last year. And the difference in spectators is only around 10%.”

Moreover, once again according to Lo, it was even easier to find main sponsors for this year’s event than it was in the past few years. “That only shows that our tournament hasn’t been influenced at all by the ongoing financial crisis,” Lo claims. In the past few years, the tournament always had one main sponsor while there were several main sponsors this year. “Having several different main sponsors gives us more opportunities in different areas such as for example merchandising,” Lo adds.

The 2009 Lunar New Year Cup was held on January 26 and 29, the first and the fourth day of the Chinese New Year of the Ox. Participating teams in the tournament were Hong Kong League Selection, South China Pegasus, Sparta Prague and Suwon Bluewings. In the first round, the two local sides, Hong Kong League Selection and South China Pegasus, faced each other in the first game while the overseas competitors met in the second game. Both matches ended in draws and penalty-shootouts were necessary to decide which teams would proceed to the final. South China Pegasus got the better of the Hong Kong League Selection (5-4) while Sparta Prague defeated Suwon Bluewings 9-8.

On the second day of the tournament, the losers of the first day played each other in the third place match. The game ended goalless and once again penalty kicks were needed to bring a decision. Suwon Bluewings took these better and won the shoot-out 5-4. The final was between South China Pegasus and Sparta Prague. For the first time this tournament a game didn’t end in a draw, South China won 2-1 and became the winners of the 2009 Lunar New Year Cup.

Hong Kong – January 21 – IJS-Global – Every author of any kind of work has to avoid plagiarism at all times. But what exactly is plagiarism? And how do we avoid it? Moreover, is it legal to post any picture that has been downloaded from the Internet on a blog as long as the source is credited? Answers on these questions are provided in this article.

To be able to understand the concept of plagiarism, one has to know the definition of it. Therefore, let’s look at some of the definitions of plagiarism.

Since I’m a student at the Hong Kong Baptist University, it is a necessity to be aware of the definition of plagiarism that the university uses. Therefore, Avoiding Plagiarism by Tony Hung has to be the first publication to be checked. According to Hung, plagiarism “means taking someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own.”

In addition to Hung’s work, it is very useful to see how the concept of plagiarism is defined in the dictionary. Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as “the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work.”

The last matter that we have to look at in this article is about the question if it’s illegal to post any picture that has been downloaded from the Internet on a blog as long as the source is credited. When looking at this matter from an ethic point of view one can say that it is not done to post pictures on a blog, even when the source is credited. The reason behind this has to do with privacy. I reckon that using a picture of any kind on a blog can be a breach of privacy of the person or organization concerned in the picture. By posting a picture on a blog, one can get the idea that the person or organization displayed in the picture supports the view outlined in the blog.

Sources:

Tony Hung “Avoiding Plagiarism”

Dictionary.com “Plagiarism”