Issuu

Volume 52

HE YOUNG R E PORTER Issue 04 - Health

Cover Story

Lessons from SARS: what Hong Kong learned in fighting the coronavirus

Editorâ€™s Letter It has been a hard time for Hong Kong and even the whole world in recent months. The COVID-19 epidemic came so suddenly, significantly affecting our lives. There are citizens suffering from pneumonia. We have seen medics working day and night, people lining up on the streets for days just to buy a box of masks. Food and toilet paper are being snapped up at supermarkets. Our city is sick. Some of our reporters have been under self-quarantine since suspected cases were located near their residences. Despite the hardship of reporting, we never stopped from interviewing, writing, and delivering news to you. We are dedicated to keeping you updated about what is going on recently in and out of Hong Kong.

The Young Reporter Vol. 52 No. 4 Printer Department of Journalism School of Communication Hong Kong Baptist University

In this issue, we focus on health, including useful information related to different kinds of diseases and illnesses. I hope we all make it through this difficult time and reunite in a city well functioning. Stay healthy! Stay strong! 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 Leone 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

Lessons from SARS: what Hong Kong learned in fighting the coronavirus

Chinese hospitals in short supply resort to extreme measures during coronavirus outbreak

04 12

COVID-19 on the mainland and Europe

Hong Kongâ€™s underprivileged face unequal access to healthcare

Caught in the middle: how Hong Kong protests affect the mental state of mainland students in the city

An invisible wound: mental illness is troubling Hong Kong after anti-extradition bill protest

Free period products in the UK, how about Hong Kong?

Society

Lessons from SARS: what Hong Kong learned in fighting the coronavirus

Reported by Kylan Goh Edited by Carol Yuan

Long queues at supermarkets and pharmacies are common in Hong Kong these days. Face masks, toilet paper and rice are sought after in the cityâ€™s fight against the novel coronavirus. The panic in Hong Kong started on January 23 soon after the first case of novel coronavirus infection was confirmed in Hubei province in mainland China. As a city with close ties with mainland China, the situation in Hong Kong is not optimistic. By February 20, Hong Kong health authorities have confirmed 68 cases. So far, two people have died. As the number of cases on the mainland continues to climb, there are protests at railway

stations in Hong Kong by those who want the government to close the border with the mainland. Thousands of medical workers went on a one-week strike because they could not cope with the influx of new cases from the mainland. Doctors and nurses accused the authorities of failing to protect their safety. Itâ€™s not the first time Hong Kong faces a city-wide health crisis. This new disease known as COVID-19, is caused by a new type of coronavirus that has certain similarities with the coronavirus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2003, and Hong Kong learned some important lessons 17 years ago that are relevant to the current

There are 19 blocks at Amoy Gardens. Block E was entirely evacuated because of the large number of people infected.

epidemic. Back then, SARS killed 299 of the 1,755 people infected. A housing complex, Amoy Gardens in Kowloon Bay, was the hardest hit area. There were 321 cases. “Amoy Gardens was like a dead city at the time. No one came here. All the shops were shut,” a resident at Amoy Gardens who didn’t want to disclose his name recalls. Investigators later found that the virus had spread through the sewage pipes. Instead of washing their floors and flushing water down the pipes, people simply mopped. U-traps in the pipes were then left dry, allowing the virus in the sewage to flow back into people’s bathrooms and spread through the building. In the current COVID-19 outbreak, two cases at a housing block in Tsing Yi brought fear of a repeat of Amoy Gardens. On January 30, a woman who lived 10 floors below a man who had

the virus became infected. She had not traveled recently. Both patients lived on the same side of an apartment block. As a precaution, health authorities quarantined everyone living on that side of the building. But this time, the problem was not with the U-traps in the sewage pipes. Instead, investigators found that the virus came through badly fitted sewage pipes in the woman’s bathroom. Her family had changed the toilet and the pipes had not been sealed properly. “It’s not just Amoy Gardens, but the drainage systems of all houses in Hong Kong are the same. It just happened that someone infected came to Amoy Gardens and caused an outbreak,” said Yip Hingkwok, a district councilor who has been in Amoy Gardens for more than 25 years. Mr Yip thinks the current government has taken adequate measures to prevent an epidemic, but there is room for

Circle Ho tries to use stairs everyday in order to exercise his lung function.

improvement. “The new coronavirus is not comparable to SARS. The number of cases is much less than SARS. The measures taken by the government are acceptable, but the government is hesitant about some decision-making.” Many SARS patients moved out of Amoy Gardens after rehabilitation. Mr Yip thinks it was mainly for psychological reasons rather than physical ones. “I don’t think the (health factors) were that different.” Although more than 80% of patients survived SARS, some had long term side-effects, such as fibrosis of the lungs, according to the Society for Community Organization. Circle Ho spent more than 20 days in hospital back in 2003. Mr Ho was found to have a fever during a trip to Beijing at the time. He was later

diagnosed with SARS at Tuen Mun hospital back in Hong Kong. “I felt like it was only a normal flu. I knew that only some medicine could relieve the symptoms of flu, but when I saw on television that the number of infections was rising, the death toll worried me,” Mr Ho said. Like many SARS patients, Mr Ho’s lungs became fibrotic

because of SARS. Even now, he has to stop to catch his breath after just a few steps and cannot exercise vigorously. He describes himself as a recovered patient who is still looking for rehabilitation. He still feels the side effects of SARS physically and mentally. Following his discharge from hospital in 2003, Mr Ho suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic

I feel insecure every time I think about SARS. In the current outbreak, Hong Kong will not be spared when there are tens of thousands of infected people in mainland China. I am worried about my family and friends. Mr. Ho

a SARS patient in 2003

Posters outside Watsons saying masks, and disinfection products are sold out.

stress disorder). He later sought medical help. “I was still worried (after being discharged) that the virus has not completely cleared from my body so that my family might be infected. I repeatedly disinfected everything with alcohol. I stayed alone in the room. I was not able to sleep for three nights,” Mr Ho explained. Mr Ho finally found some relief from acupuncture. “I felt very peaceful and comfortable at the time. I thought it would be okay to die like that. When I woke up, I immediately pushed away my wife and shouted, ‘go away, I will infect you’ and started crying,” Mr Ho recalled.

so they can only rely on themselves to prevent this outbreak,” he said. Almost everyone in Hong Kong wears a mask nowadays. Mr Ho says this was not the case in 2003, even though the number of infected persons was more than that for COVID-19. Mr Ho believes that has to do with Hong Kong’s people lack of confidence in the current government. “In Macau, the government there can guarantee enough

masks for the people. What has the Hong Kong government done?” Mr Ho questioned. Alex Lam Chi-yau, the chair of the Hong Kong SARS Mutual Help Association, thinks the government’s current prevention concerns mainly within the city, such as class suspension. However, external control, especially the flow of people from mainland China, has not been implemented in a timely manner.

Mr Ho hopes the government can entirely close the border checkpoints between Hong Kong and the mainland to further prevent a cross-border spread of the coronavirus. He doesn’t want people to live through his ordeal. “The current government is not willing to listen to people,

There are some things that the government could have done better. But they cannot even guarantee urgently needed masks for the people. That does not make people feel that the government is helping them. Alex Lam Chi-yau

the chair of the Hong Kong SARS Mutual Help Association

In a Wuhan gymnasium that has been transformed into a makeshift cabin hospital, nurse Ms. Shen, who does not want to give her full name, said her team of 10 nurses treats more than 100 coronavirus patients every day. Patients scramble for free

supplies, sometimes tearing off health workers masks, she said. “It’s impossible to manage the distribution by myself,” said Ms. Shen. “The only thing I can do is stand by.” She said she often cries, and at the end of the day, her protective suit is soaked with sweat.

For the last day of the Chinese New Year, she did not return to her dormitory until 11pm. “It was almost 12 after I disinfected my clothes and I hadn’t 06 said Ms. Shen. had my dinner,” “It feels bad being away from my family and seeing others celebrating the Lantern Festival on social media.”

Chinese hospitals in short supply resort to extreme measures during coronavirus outbreak

Coronavirus Outbreak Map, Update on 12/02/2020

Source from: National health Commission, Health Commissions of each provinces and cities

Ms. Shen is one of thousands of overworked health workers in the heart of China’s coronavirus outbreak that has seen more than 68,000 infected and 1,665 dead as of mid-February. Medical workers from 16 provinces, including Ms Shen’s group from Kunming, have travelled

Zed Guo, whose father is a doctor in Zhongshan, where 65 cases have been diagnosed, is not allowed to leave the city. His father told him that hospitals are in short supply, especially masks and antiviral drugs.

Reported by Sunny Sun Edited by Leone Xue

Help!! The express delivery is out of service. Anyone near the Optical Valley can deliver goggles or protective masks to my home? Ms.Whitney Zhu

Residence in Wuhan

This message was posted by Whitney Zhu on her social media account on January 23. Her mother is a doctor at Wuhan No.3 Hospital, which houses coronavirus patients. to Hubei to help sick patients. But as a shortage of supplies as well as staff continues, hospitals are forced to appeal to the public for help. In Xiaogan, 60 kilometers away from Wuhan, Cinderella Yang said her aunt, who works as a nurse at Yingcheng People’s Hospital, had no break during the Chinese New Year. “We didn’t learn the lessons from SARS 17 years ago,” said Ms. Yang. “Emergency measures aren’t efficient at all.”

At the 17th coronavirus control conference of Hubei, Hu Yabo, the executive vice mayor of Wuhan, said on Feb. 6 that Wuhan is short of medical supplies, including 41,4000 pieces of protective suits, 56,800 masks and 19,200 goggles. As hospitals run out of protective gear, many health workers and more than 20 hospitals in Wuhan have appealed directly to the public for donations, as reported by Shanghai’s The Paper.

“Doctors working in the field have only masks but not no protective suits or goggles,” said Ms. Zhu. “I have to ask for donations through social media platforms.” She got positive responses in two hours with 100 goggles sent to her house. Some health workers wear diapers to save protective suits, according to a report in the People’s Daily, as they work 6 to 8 hours stretches.

“This situation makes us very worried,” said Cao Guangjing, the vice governor of Hubei Province, at a press conference on Feb. 8. He also said that medical supplies remain strained.

operation.

Some patients have been stranded in hospitals after the closure of Wuhan’s transportation system.

His parents visiting hours are limited and though he doesn’t have the coronavirus, he can’t leave the hospital. He said that he cannot enjoy the food delivery service in the hospital as usual since many restaurants and convenience stores closed due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

Pisces Jiang has been in Hubei Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in Wuhan since Jan. 2 with an infection after an

“The closure of Wuhan really has a great impact on our life,” Mr. Jiang said. “Not only transportation but also the delivery of life necessities.”

Wuhanâ€™s overcrowded hospitals have had to turn patients away. A forum setup on Weibo to help patients has gathered 1,462 posts from people rejected by hospitals. Some are said to be coughing or having a fever but can only be hospitalized after the diagnosis is confirmed, which they canâ€™t get. China is addressing the problems by building new hospitals. The country made international headlines when it constructed the Huoshenshan Hospital in just days, and 20 national emergency medical teams, arrived in

Wuhan on Feb. 5 as reported by CCTV. More than 1,0000 health workers have arrived until Feb 7, including Ms Shen, Guo Yanhong, the supervisor of the National Health Commission, said in a press conference.

There is a big problem in the logistic support of the cabin hospital. Ms.Shen Nurse working in Hubei

On January 24, the first day of closure of Wuhan, the price of vegetables has soared because of the disruption to external transport

Society

COVID-19: the mainland and Europe

As the novel coronavirus escalates, most people have been restricted to their residences under quarantine. We are seeing the most deserted streets after a Chinese Lunar New Year that should’ve been a lot more cheerful, and people a lot busier with family reunions and job resolutions, had all of this not happened. So, what’s the story now, when students are having classes online, when people are “all

armed” adventuring to supermarkets for sustenance, and when organizations are making every effort to pay salaries with little income, while thousands of doctors are risking their health and lives fighting against the coronavirus in frontline hospitals? Our reporters are writing stories from across China and overseas, hoping to depict a tip of the iceberg of what society is experiencing at the tough time.

Beijing

No-contact deliveries: Local residents minimise contact with online purchases Reported by Mark Chen Edited by Nicole Ko

Boxes, handbags and food deliveries stapled with order forms are placed haphazardly at the entrance to Haojing Jiayuan, a residential community in Beijing, since the novel coronavirus caused management to restrict building access to non-residents. The Beijing government is encouraging these non-contact deliveries. “We advise couriers to deliver packages to a designated area where few people normally pass. We may set different schedules and sections of depositories so that people don’t meet each other too often,” said Wang Ge, a government spokesperson at a

press conference on February 10, according to a video from Beijing News. Many residential communities in Beijing have since set up designated delivery areas in order to get their daily supplies and other purchases during the coronavirus epidemic. “They (security staff) looked at me as if I’m highly contagious,” Song Jiazhu, a ZTO Express courier, said after he was denied access to the building. He added that he wasn’t allowed to “simply put the package here and leave.” Eventually, Mr. Song left after his client agreed to arrange another time for delivery.

A delivery depository is fenced off from the streets. Some packages are not picked up overnight.

However, not all communities strictly follow the no-contact delivery rule. Xu Xiangnan, who lives in Jinyu Huafu in the Changping District on the outskirts of Beijing, said there are no such depositories near his home. “Our community has been closed, but the courier called me from outside the gate and I took the package from him,” he said. “Although it’s rather convenient to take deliveries directly from couriers, it would be safer to have no-contact delivery before the coronavirus is wiped out,” he added.

Zhangjiakou, Hebei

Communities team up in Hebei to fight epidemic Reported by Sunny Sun Edited by Jenny Lam

Since February 1, the government in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province,has required each residential community to form a coronavirus prevention team made up of at least 10 members to control access to the area and to register residents’ state of health. Medical resources here are in short supply and community workers are working overtime to provide just basic protection.

Zhang, who is assigned to the community to help with epidemic control. “It’s tough,” she added.

At the gate of some communities, temporary huts or tents are put up as checkpoints for identity cards and temperature testing stations. Some of the workers are on four-hour shifts only with a table when the temperature falls below freezing.

“I paste the form on the door of each household and remind them to fill it in by phone,” said Ms Zhang, “ Sometimes I have to remind people three to five times before I get a response ,” she explained.

“I put on three of the warmest jackets from my home to resist the cold weather,” said Angela

Apart from guarding at the gate of the community, Ms Zhang needs to distribute and collect health registration forms. The forms include the names, telephone numbers, and the travel history of the residents over the past two weeks.

shortage in community workers. “The secretary of our community joint committee has not been home for several days because of the work to prevent the epidemic,” said Ms Zhang. Medical supplies in short cannot guarantee the basic needs of community workers. Ms Wang, a community worker, who is not willing to tell her name, has worn her medical masks for 30 days. She wears the ordinary masks outside the medical masks to prevent the transmission of coronavirus. “We almost ran ‘naked’ on the front line,” said Ms Zhang.

Primary and secondary school teachers are also required to be on duty at the gates of every community to make up for the

Community workers are on duty every four hours until midnight for the communities without gatekeepers.

Xi’an, Shaanxi

WeChat “group buying” helps mainland community survive Covid-19 quarantine Reported by Lisa Liu Edited by Kylan Goh

Photo Credit: Wang Hui

Photo Credit: Wang Hui Purchases left along the fence with order numbers o the bags. People queue in line to pick them up.

Stores are closed along the street with packages piled in front of the doors. Residents wait in line to fetch their deliveries at the entrance of Fenglin Oasis Compound in the southwest of Xi’an, Shaanxi province, mainland China. Fenglin residents normally shop at a supermarket a block away from their homes. But since the coronavirus outbreak, they cannot leave the compound without a gate pass. The government requires residential communities to limit citizens’ daily movements to control the spread of the disease. So WeChat groups have become the go-to grocery store. “I buy things from the WeChat groups every day,” said Wang Hui, 49, a resident from the community. She didn’t use the service very often before the

Deliverymen are not allowed to enter the compound. Residents collect the packages at the collecting point at the entrance of the compound.

outbreak because the choices are limited. However, food prices in the grocery stores inside the community have gone up since the epidemic. According to one organizer of a WeChat group that sells fruit, suppliers deliver fresh produce from wholesale markets or farms to the compound every day. Customers pay by scanning the QR codes on the packages with their order numbers when the goods are delivered. Some people transfer their payments to the retailers using “WeChat red packets” ahead of the delivery. Zhang Wenai, 21, is a volunteer at the Fenglin Oasis Community. She helps to record personnel information at the entry. “There is an open package collecting point at the entrance of the compound,”

she said. “Every day retailers send the goods according to the time agreed with the consumers. They drop the goods and leave.” The person-to-person contact is restrained in this way. One shopping group generates more than one hundred messages one day. However, not all are about reservations. Some customers complain about the quality of the products. “I cannot deliver anymore,” said one strawberry retailer. “You all complain about the sizes of the strawberries. I would rather sell them to my contract vendors for a higher price instead.” “I am not sure whether I will use the ‘group buying’ after this period of time,” said Ms Wang. “We can go to the supermarkets after the traffic restriction ends.”

Kunming, Yunnan

“We are nurses and we are mothers.”: The first medical team from Yunnan in support of Wuhan departed on Jan 27 Reported by Leone Xue Edited by Hong Wong

Wang Qiuwen, a nurse in Yunnan, arrived at the hospital, joked around with her husband and friends, took a photo with 24 other health workers on her team and then boarded a bus headed towards the airport. She was on her way to Wuhan.

“Once we decided to be here, we have prepared ourselves for the potential infection. The only thing I can do for my family is take good care of myself,” said Ms Wang. “This feels more like my mission as a nurse.”

To fight the expanding coronavirus outbreak, Chinese authorities have sent medical teams from less-infected parts of the country to support hospitals in Hubei Province. Yunnan sent its first medical team with 25 health workers from the Third People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province to Hubei on January 27.

Her husband Wan Hong, a doctor, is straining to handle the enormous workload of coronavirus control in Yunnan.

Ms Wang left her 6-year-old son, who has intellectual disability and asthma, with her husband.

“I supported her because I understand how hard the choice is for a health worker when facing such an epidemic,” said Dr. Wan. “I have to stay optimistic being the one staying at home. The family is on me now.” Fang Yuanjiao, the leader of an orthopedic nursing team, cut

Photo Credit: Wang Qiuwen Wang Qiuwen and her son.

her hair to improve the efficiency of her job in Hubei. “It takes more time to disinfect longer hair,” said Ms Fang. “It’s impossible to keep all your hair in the protective suit as well if you have too much of it.” Ms Fang said, like many on her team, she sent her daughter to live with her parents. “She is waiting for me.” Yang Hongshuang, attending physician of paediatric intensive care, missed her daughter’s birthday for the first time in 15 years. She wrote a message to her daughter on her birthday: “I am sorry for being absent on this important day. I just want you to know, sometimes you need to take some responsibility as a human being.”

Netherlands

Quest for masks in Europe not a common practice Reported by Yanni Chow Edited by Carol Yuan

Wearing masks is essential in some parts of the world these days because of the COVID-19 epidemic. While many people in Hong Kong queue up for masks, the behavior may be considered bazarre in Europe. According to World Health Organization as of February 13, the number of confirmed cases of the disease outside of China was 447, with 46 recorded cases in the European Region. As the price of masks in Hong Kong went up due to high demands and insufficient supply, some people continued the quest for masks abroad. The Netherlands, which has not recorded any confirmed cases, is among the destinations. Jason Yu, a Hong Kong man who is travelling in Europe, said he did not expect masks and disinfection supplies are that expensive and hard to find. “I found masks in Germany that cost 50 euros per box (50 pieces of masks). I have bought some alcohol hand sanitizers in Switzerland. But I am surprised that no masks are sold in the Netherlands,” said the 24-year-old traveller. Chu Ho-yan, a student who is currently on exchange at Tilburg, Netherlands, also failed to

Tilburg, Netherlands, also failed to find masks in the city. “My family in Hong Kong is running out of masks for daily use and supply is scarce. They thought I could buy some here and have them delivered to Hong Kong,” said the 20-yearold girl. She finally found two boxes of masks in Brussels, Belgium, which is an hour away from the Netherlands. Even though she found masks, she said she would not wear them on the streets, so to avoid misunderstandings. “While it is common to wear masks to prevent getting infected in Hong Kong, I find that Europeans do not do that. I understand that it is a cultural difference,” she said with fear that the Westerners may recognise her as a carrier of the disease as they cannot differentiate between Chinese and Hong Kong people.

them. “We do have alcohol hand sanitizers even though we do not really use them, but no masks. We do not sell them,” said a salesperson at a local drug store. Renate, a local Dutch person, said Europeans do not wear masks even when they are sick. “We sneeze into the corners of our elbows and I wash my hands with soap after riding on public transport.” She is not that afraid of the coronavirus disease because it is not in the Netherlands yet. Currently, countries next to the Netherlands such as Germany, have 16 cases of the disease and one case has been confirmed in Belgium. France has the first confirmed death from the virus.

Mr. Yu also shared the same concern. “I was afraid of being hit by Europeans if I wore masks on the streets here.” When people in Hong Kong swarmed to supermarkets and pharmacies for masks and disinfection supplies, the stores Jason Yu, a Hong Kong traveller, searches for in the Netherlands do not sell masks and disinfection products in Europe.

Racism against overseas Chinese over coronavirus Reported by Bella Huang Edited by Yanni Chow

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rises to nine in the UK, the Chinese community in the country find themselves victims of racism with some fearing abuse when they wear a surgical mask.

“I have definitely seen more racism after coronavirus,” said Ms. Ho, who is a student at Central Saint Martins. “It also shows how ignorant some British are.”

Gao Zhongshi, a consultant who has worked in London for five years, said when he and his friend were on the subway, a man asked him where he is from and whether his city is close to Wuhan.

The UK has the third biggest overseas Chinese community in Europe, after France and Russia, according to the Office of National Statistics, with more than 400,000 ethnic Chinese, around 0.7% of the country’s population.

“This is extremely offensive and racist,” said Mr. Gao, “so before we left the tube, we pretended to cough in front of the man.” He said they did so “as revenge to scare him”.

“Sure, some people are racist, but not all of them,” said Karen Fu, a master’s student at the University of Westminster. “We should not overgeneralise all British.”

Some British-born Chinese have reported similar experiences, even though they haven’t been to China for months or even years.

Ryan Thorson, a British student in London, agrees, saying, “Racism against Chinese has always been there. The virus is just an excuse for some people to let it out. If the virus happened in a European country or in the United States, people’s attitudes would be very different. Still, it’s unfair to call all British racists.”

Jemimah Ho, whose parents are from Hong Kong but who grew up in London, said when she was walking along the South Bank, a white man quickly covered his mouth before shouting “Chinese virus” and swear words at her.

As of February 20, Europe has confirmed 47 cases with one death in France.

A poster made by Southampton University’s Chinese Students and Scholars Association, calling for respect towards Chinese.

Chinatown in London, normally packed with tourists and overseas Chinese, has seen a significant decrease in visitors after the outbreak.

Chinese communities in other European countries also fear a wave of racism following the outbreak. In the Netherlands, Dutch DJ Lex Gaarthuis apologised for playing a song that blamed Chinese for the coronavirus, calling them “stinky Chinese”. More than 50,000 people signed an online petition in 48 hours against discrimination in the country. In France, the hashtag #JeNeSuisPasUnVirus (I’m not virus) has been encouraging people to share their stories of

facing racism after a local newspaper used the inflammatory headlines “Alerte jaune” (Yellow alert) and “Le péril jaune?” (Yellow peril?). “Linking someone with the virus simply because the person is a Chinese descendant is illogical,” said Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at an event during the Chinese New Year, emphasising that COVID-19 is an issue about public health instead of an ethnically based one.

Linking someone with the virus simply because the person is of Chinese descendant is illogical. Lee Hsien Loong Prime Minister of Singapore

Society

Hong Kongâ€™s underprivileged face unequal access to healthcare Reported by Mereen Santirad Edited by Jay Ganglani

Fung Ho-chu, 71, prefers to stay at home when she is sick to avoid overcrowded hospitals.

Getting a spot for patient consultation at a general outpatient clinic takes around half a day or a day if you are lucky. Mr. Tim Pang

A community organizer at local NGO Society for Community Organization

I once went to Queen Elizabeth Hospital with severe abdominal pain and waited for over five hours, but never got treated. I went home and took care of myself,

Fong Cheng-mui A patient treating herself at home instead of going to the clinic

Fong Cheng-mui, 75, relies on the government’s old age subsidy of approximately $3,000 per month. She prefers to treat herself at home rather than go to a public clinic when she falls ill. “I once went to Queen Elizabeth Hospital with severe abdominal pain and waited for over five hours, but never got treated. I went home and took care of myself,” said Ms Fong. Ms Cheng is one of thousands of people in Hong Kong, who have not been getting adequate healthcare. A study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong in late 2018 found that 8.4% of respondents did not seek medical care due to financial problems. Others avoid public clinics because of overcrowding, according to a local non-governmental human-rights advocacy group.

While many in Hong Kong can afford private healthcare with minimal fuss, the city’s lower and middle income residents face long queues and hours of waiting at public hospitals. Consultation for primary outpatient care costs $50 per visit with speciality services at $135 for the first visit and $80 for a follow-up, according to the Hospital Authority’s website. “When I found out that I had a lump in my stomach, I rushed to a private hospital because I could not wait at a public hospital because I was afraid that it might be cancer. But the charge was so high that I had no choice but to come back to a public hospital,” said Fung Ho-chu, 71. Last year, for non-urgent cases, waiting times to see a doctor at a public hospital ranged from a minimum of six months to nearly three years, according to the Hospital Authority’s

website. For semi-urgent cases, it could take up four to seven weeks. Last year, Ms Fung had to wait five months to see a specialist in a public hospital and an additional year to get a CT scan for her hernia. “Getting a spot for patient consultation at a general outpatient clinic takes around half a day or a day if you are lucky,” says Tim Pang, a community organizer at the Society for Community Organization. General outpatient clinics are open during business hours with only a few staying open at night. “Low-income families that work long hours are unable to seek medical treatment,” Mr Pang said. Long waiting times at public hospitals are the result of a lack of human resources.

Li Po Chun General Out-Patient Clinic in Sham Shui Po.

The doctor to patient ratio in Hong Kong stood at 1:511 in 2018, according to data from the Department of Health,. In Singapore, a city with a similar population size, had a ratio of 1:410, as stated by Singapore’s Ministry of Health. In Hong Kong, half of the city’s doctors are employed to treat 90% of patients in the public sector while the remaining 10% are treated by the private sector. This imbalance in

resource distribution creates extended working hours at public hospitals and increases the burden on both doctors and nurses. The government said this year that it would allocate an extra $5.3 billion, an increase of 8% to the recurrent Hospital Authority provision, to reach $68.8 billion in order to address the high turnover in hospitals and clinics, according to the Hospital Authority.

But extra money won’t stop doctors in public hospitals from moving to private clinics because of job dissatisfaction and an excessive workload, said Mr Pang. Subsequently, the government launched two programmes, the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme in 2009 and the Public-Private Partnership in 2014, to divert the flow of patients from the public to the private sector.

Patients would receive a subsidy of up to 10 consultations for chronic and episodic illness in the private sector by practitioners who have enrolled in the Public-Private Partnership. Under the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme, all eligible old persons are given a voucher that is equivalent to about $2,000 annually to choose from private healthcare services. Another initiative, called The Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme, was launched last year with the aim of encouraging more people to use the private sector.

healthcare system may result in unequal access to healthcare for socially disadvantaged groups,” said Roger Chung, a professor from the JC School of Public Health and Primary Care at CUHK. Individuals, who are eligible can receive financial assistance through the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, including free medical treatment at public hospitals and clinics. “If you are very poor, it is likely that you are not employed at a company that provides insurance. You don’t have a company to pay for that cost, then you have to pay out of

your pocket if you want to visit a private clinic. So, you would choose to go to a public clinic, but the waiting time is quite long, so it’s not convenient for a large number of people; therefore they forego going to the hospital altogether,” says Prof Chung.

I rushed to a private hospital because I could not wait at a public hospital. Fung Ho-chu a 71-year-old patient

“This kind of mix of the Monthly household income of people with financial difficulties

Equivalised household income (quartiles)

The above graph illustrates that those belonging to households with a higher monthly income, enjoy easier access to healthcare compared with those that belong to less wealthy households within the city’s population.

Health & Environment

Caught in the middle:

how Hong Kong protests affect the mental state of mainland students in the city Amy, not her real name, lives in fear of retribution by the Chinese government months after the anti-extradition bill protest in Hong Kong. She has been depressed since witnessing the siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University back in November.

Reported by Han Xu & Lisa Liu Edited by Mark Chan

“That day, I had a mental breakdown. I couldn’t stop crying,” Amy recalls from behind her mask, worn by most of those who took part in the protest. “Everything felt meaningless,” she added. Last November, on-campus classes at universities around Hong Kong were suspended due to safety concerns about the continuous protests. Non-local students, including those from mainland China and abroad were advised by the universities to leave Hong Kong. The sudden change left many mainland students unprepared. During political tension between Hong Kong and mainland China, some mainland students were caught up in a quandary about their identities, according to a survey conducted by The Young Reporter.

The La Salle Road in front of the Communication and Visual Arts Building, Hong Kong Baptist University is filled with umbrellas and bricks during the unrest in Hong Kong in 2019.

277 responses to this question.

Amy, the girl dressed in black, said that during the “most scary time,” she was drowned in anger and sorrow, but she hardly trusted anyone when she wanted to share her experience. “Weibo (Chinese social media) is also one of my wayout. If you can talk about it, you might feel better,” she said. However, she told The Young Reporter that her Weibo account has already been blocked since she talked too much about politics. Those who didn’t engage in the social movement as much as Amy also experienced mental instability. Sophia Sheng20, a mainland student studying at Hong Kong Baptist University, said that she has been affected by the “negative emotions” from the protests.

Some of the mainland students felt lost about their identity because they felt trapped ideologically. Having studied at Hong Kong Baptist University for two and a half years, Ms. Sheng said neither her friends in mainland China nor people in Hong Kong understood her neutral stance towards the protests.

“We cannot talk too much on sensitive topics with friends in the mainland, while classmates from Hong Kong might think we cannot understand them,” said Ms. Sheng. Siri Sun, a 20-year-old film studies student from mainland China, claimed that she is pro-democracy. However, when it comes to political discussions with family and friends in mainland China, Ms. Sun found it hard.

“No one knew when it would end. The fear of the unknown caused anxiety,” Ms Sheng a student from Hong Kong Baptist University

She said that mainland Chinese media were provoking hatred against Hong Kong people, and so some of her acquaintances who could only access biased information didn’t understand her stance. “My sister once asked me, why don’t you be the spokesperson of the rioters?” said Ms. Sun.“I am speechless.” Ms. Sun also said there was no way that she could directly participate in the movement because of her mainland Chinese identity.

288 responses to this question and each respondent could choose more than one answer.

More than 90% of the respondents to the TYR survey claimed that their behaviour has been affected after the social unrest, and 23.9% of them said the changes were significant. About 28% respondents said they “don’t dare to speak mandarin.” More than 40% of them even hesitated about whether they will stay in Hong Kong after graduation.

239 responses to this question

219 responses to this question

244 (“before the protests”) and 243 (“after the protests”) responses to this question respectively.

But for a doctoral student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the social unrest does not affect his choice to stay in Hong Kong. He too prefers to stay anonymous due to political concerns. “Actually, people can adapt to a new situation better than they think,” he said.

He felt that witnessing the social movement was a great learning experience, be it on the streets or in the classroom. Before the new semester started, he worried about the atmosphere in the classroom. But, students turned out to discuss social issues rationally and peacefully.

“We were labeled as political refugees unwillingly,” a doctor student at Chinese University of Hong Kong

He added that the situation in Hong Kong was exaggerated in the mainland.

228 (“before the protests”) and 227 (“after the protests”) responses to this question respectively.

28 SPORTS Health & Environment

An invisible wound:

Mental illness in Hong Kong after the anti-extradition bill protests Reported by Cynthia Lin Edited by Eurus Yiu

A graffiti at Victoria Park during the anti-extradition bill protest, meaning â€œsummer-winter.â€?

“I’ve been feeling anxious and distressed for a few weeks. I couldn’t sleep well. I kept waking up at night because I couldn’t stop thinking about the protest.” Ms. Felicity

University Student

Photo Credit: Felicity

A recent study found that onefifth of Hong Kong adults have suffered from probable mental illness after experiencing the half-year long anti-extradition bill protest, but few are seeking psychological counselling. The study published by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong in The Lancet on 9 January looked at mental health in Hong Kong between 2009 and 2019. Researchers randomly sampled Hong Kong people aged 18 and above. They found that roughly one in five Hong Kong adults have reported the symptoms of probable depression or suspected post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the anti-extradition bill protest started in June 2019. Among 18,000 respondents, those who suffered from probable depression went up five times from approximately 2% to 11.2% by the end of 2019. Only 5% of the respondents said they suffered from PTSD prevalence in March 2015, but it rose to more than 30% by the end of November 2019. “The increase corresponds to an additional 1.9 million adults with PTSD symptoms,” the research indicated.

“This is definitely abnormal,” said Gabriel Leung, Dean of the Medicine School of the University of Hong Kong who took part in the research. Hong Kong was embroiled in the protest movement for seven months, triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill. The protest has since turned into a mass anti-government movement, with protesters insisting on the four remaining demands – independent commission of inquiry into the police force, retraction of the classification of “rioters”, amnesty for arrested protesters and dual universal suffrage. “Seeing people suppressed by the government while there’s nothing much I can do, I feel angry and upset,” said Felicity, a university student who did not want to reveal her full name for fear of cyberbullying. She reported feeling mentally distressed during the protest.

Jamie Cheng, Chairman of Hong Kong Psychological Society Division of Clinical Psychology, suggested that the chronic unrest social environment was disturbing. “People’s lives are being disrupted. Seeing so much violence between the police and protesters while the demands are still not being met can definitely cause distress,” she said. To reduce mental depression, Jamie suggested setting a time limit on the use of social media. “We found that most people are strongly affected by online news, especially seeing too many violent scenes on social media,” she said, “and it’s advised to stop reading or watching these half an hour before going to bed because the brain needs time to process the information.”

As a student from mainland China, Felicity found her political stance is different from most people around. Publicly expressing her support to the protesters had brought her cyber hatred.

“I feel like I’m being marginalized and it makes me anxious,” Ms. Felicity

University Student

A graffiti at Central during the anti-extradition b and motivating themselves to fight against the b

The study also found that adults aged 60 or above, particularly those who are less educated or with lower income, reported a higher prevalence of probable depression. “But when we asked them whether they are going to seek professional counselling, less than half of them told us they would,” Leung said. The study done by HKU concluded some reasons for this phenomenon, including self-adjustment, seeking help from family or friends, and the perception that healthcare professionals would not be able to help. Felicity believes that talking with people who shared the same political stance with her is helpful for her.

“People with the same political views can bring me a sense of belonging. They made me feel that I’m not alone and it successfully reduced my frustration,” Ms. Felicity

University Student

Jamie pointed out that some people don’t want to seek help from therapists with different political stances as they don’t believe the therapists can understand them. But she believed that having a different political stance should not be a reason not to seek treatment. “As professional helpers, we are there to support others emotions and psychological well being, but not to educate them. We are expected to be open enough to opposite and controversial stances,” said Jamie.

Photo Credit: Felicity

bill protest. People are expressing their anger bill through this way.

She also found that although most of the protesters tend to be young, few of those who have sought help are under 30 years old.

“Some social workers have told me that, for some university students, they don’t want to be too emotional right now because they regard the protest as a war and the emotional talk will weaken their motivations,” Jamie explained. A 22-year-old man named Michael who was involved in the protest has proved this point. Michael was very active on various social media platforms. He took part in many protest-related discussion groups online. Due to the fear of cyber hatred and privacy concerns, he wasn’t willing to disclose too much about himself and the activities he was doing. “I’ve been feeling anxious and distressed for a few weeks. I couldn’t sleep well because I couldn’t stop thinking about the protest. I’m angry with the police, the government and people who don’t care. Although I’m aware that I might have some mental problems, I prefer not to care about it now. I want to keep my anger to motivate myself to fight,” Michael said. According to Jamie, the reluctance of seeking psychological help has existed for a long time in Hong Kong but the situation is getting better gradually. “What we are really concerned about is, if the social unrest keeps going on, there is going to be a shortage in health care services as more and more people develop mental illness,” Jamie said.

Health & Environment

Free period products in the UK. How about Hong Kong? Reported by Bella Huang Edited by Carine Chow

LONDON - A woman’s period happens every 28 days, each time lasting about five days. According to the National Health Service in the UK, most girls would have their first period at around age 12 and most women reach menopause at 51. Throughout her life, a woman has her period for around 2,535 days, that is, roughly seven years. Starting from 20 January, free sanitary products will be made available to all schools and colleges in England to combat period poverty. The Department of Education in England launched an £11.4 million ($114 million) scheme to support campaigns to break the stigma around periods and raise awareness of menstruation. It enables more than 20,000 schools and colleges to order a range of period products for their pupils. Period poverty, the social issue concerning limited access to safe sanitary products and comprehensive menstrual hygiene education, affects more than 800 million girls and women around the world, according to a United Nations study. “It is a step in the right direction,” said Priscilla Oshuremi, founder of ConveHERsation, a women empowerment platform, “if that means one girl can come to school (to) participate instead of having to make an excuse, that’s great.”

Priscilla Oshuremi is the founder of ConveHERsation, a London-based women empowerment platform, encouraging women to share their stories and life experience.

In Europe, 70% of women use tampons, while in China, the figure is only 2%, according to Cotton Incorporated, a not-for-profit research and promotion company for cotton products.

Plan International, a development and humanitarian organisation, released its recent research in 2017, saying that one in ten girls across the UK has been unable to afford sanitary wear in their life and that 49% of girls have missed an entire day of school because of their period. Unlike the UK, where the tax on tampons was once as high as 17%, Hong Kong as a free port has no customs tariffs on imported menstruation products. Therefore, sanitary towels and tampons tend to be affordable and accessible to most. A box of 12 sanitary pads costs around $23 (£2.3) in London, while in Hong Kong it is around $20.

Lee Yan-yee, a Hong Kong student currently on exchange in London, said she doesn’t understand the free menstruation product policy. “Of course you need to pay, but it’s not that expensive.” Spending around $50 on sanitary products monthly, Ms. Lee considered offering free period products “a waste of government resources”. Despite the zero-tax policy, some of the low-income population in Hong Kong might not be able to afford sanitary products due to financial difficulties, according to Eliz Wong, a doctorate student from Hong Kong at the Department of Social Policy at London School of Economics.

“Those living in subdivided flats and the asylum seekers might find it hard to pay for sanitary products,” said Ms. Wong. The median monthly household income of subdivided flats is $13,500, lower than the $25,000 for average households. Currently, there is no research in Hong Kong on access to sanitary wear and the link to financial difficulties. There is limited discussion on period poverty in Hong Kong, and little academic research. A survey published by Happeriod, a nongovernmental organisation in Hong Kong aiming to destigmatize menstruation,

The biggest problem in Hong Kong is that a significant number of girls don't have sufficient knowledge to take care of themselves during periods. Zoe Chan Yuk-lam Founder of Happeiod, a non-governmental organisation aiming to destigmatize menstruation

Menstrual cups are reusable, environmentally-friendly and cheaper in the long run, as compared to tampons and pads.

revealed that almost one-third of the interviewees had never received any education or information about menstruation before their first period. Around half of the respondents thought it is “not easy” to acquire information about menstruation through the media. “The biggest problem in Hong Kong is probably not the accessibility of period products, but that a significant number of girls don’t have sufficient knowledge to take care of themselves during periods,” said Zoe Chan Yuk-lam, founder of Happeriod. According to Ms. Chan, many girls don’t know that pads need to be changed at least every three to four hours and they would change every eight or even 10 hours to save money. The Hong Kong government published a guideline on sex education for schools in 1997, which hasn’t been updated since then, suggesting reproductive health be included in school curricula. However, since sex education is not an exam subject, it is often considered a subsidiary. Although young people nowadays are found to be more open to diverse gender orientations and are more exposed to pornography, the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong reveals that there is a decline in sexual knowledge amont young people.

The current tax for sanitary products in the UK is 5%, but some retailers such as Tesco would cover the tax as part of their campaigns to combat period poverty.

According to Xaviera Wai, founder of M Cup M Stuff, an platform for menstrual information and selling period products, the usage of tampons or menstrual cups is often considered unacceptable in Hong Kong since virginity is highly valued and many believe that using tampons means breaking the hymen. In fact, normally tampons can be inserted through the opening of the hymen without changing it. Even if a girl’s hymen is occasionally stretched or torn by tampons, it does not cause a girl to lose her virginity. Ms. Wai has never disclosed her full name to the media because

she is afraid that her mother would know she has been using a menstrual cup for three years, which will turn into argument. “This is also related to me launching this platform, ” said Ms. Wai, “for those over 30 or 40 years old, it’s difficult to change them. We can only wait for change to happen for our generation.” “I don’t think Hong Kong is a society that has a strong taboo,” said Katrien Jacobs, a cultural studies professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, but she agreed with the new policy in the UK, “I don’t see why Hong Kong can’t have a policy like that.”