The Young Reporter Vol. 53 Issue 1

Volume 53

HE YOUNG REPORTER Issue 01 - Post-pandemic Economy

Cover Story

Bumpy 2020: What’s going to happen to our economy?

Volume 53

Editor’s Letter HE YOUNG REPORTER Issue 01 - Post-pandemic Economy

After being trapped at home for months, we are finally back on campus, meeting our friends again and getting buried in our school work. Things seem to be back on track with an illusion of a pre-pandemic world.

Cover Story

Bumpy 2020: hat’s going to happen to our economy?

In fact, however, what we see today are those who have managed to survive. The world economy, although hit hard by the coronavirus, is revitalizing as businesses transform and flourish, but also at the cost of those shrinking and disappearing.

So if your company or organization still stands, just like TYR, you deserve to be grateful. If not, we hope life treats you kind otherwise, and the world shall see you rise again. Thinking about what a post-pandemic world economy might look like, one in which you are a player, is our focus for this issue.

The Young Reporter Vol. 53 No. 1 Printer Department of Journalism School of Communication Hong Kong Baptist University

Editor-in-Chief Eurus Yiu Deputy Editors Mereen Santirad Carol Yuan Jay Ganglani Moon Lam Mark Chen Art Designers Bella Huang Carine Chow Clara Ip Liony Xue Moon Lam Sunny Sun Reporters Bell Chan Bowie Tse Cara Li Cora Zhu Emily Poon Esten Amalvy

Let us show you how various industries are striving to ride out the pandemic and adapt to a new economic environment.

Sincerely, Eurus Yiu Editor-in-chief

Eunice Lam Janice Lo Jasmine Tse Justy Lai Kitty Wang Icy Chen Samuel Li Sara Cheng Shameel Ibrahim Simran Vaswani Stacy Shi Summer Li Sumnima Lama Tobey Chan Vikki Cai Yuri Kwok Yvonne Chung Yvonne Tung Editors Alec Lastimosa Bella Huang Cassie Zhang Carine Chow Cherry Lee

Clara Ip Cynthia Lin Han Xu Hong Wong Jay Ganglani Kawai Wong Liony Xue Mereen Santirad Moon Lam Nicole Ko Olivia Tam Ronald Fan Samuel Mo Suey So Sunny Sun Yanni Chow Yetta Lam Advisers Jenny Lam Robin Ewing

In This Issue

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Bumpy 2020: What's going to happen to our economy?

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One restaurant, two decades, two epidemics

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Hong Kong’s small businesses grapple with stress of pandemic

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Booming in the pandemic: One direct sales team’s business is thriving despite the restrictions

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Employees on forced unpaid leave feel unprotected under Employment Support Scheme

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Quarantine hotels regain public trust

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The challenges of virtual internships

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Hong Kong’s fitness, sports industries struggle to survive

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Bumpy 2020 What’s going to happen to our economy?

Reported by Samuel Li Edited by Samuel Mo

Hong Kong rang in 2020 with the tail end of the anti-Extradition Bill social movement and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. So what’s next? Dr Rita Li Yi Man predicts that some traditional stores will move online, while Mr Fred Liu remains confident about the future.

Fred Liu of Europa Tea Foundry, a beverage shop in Hong Kong, said the pandemic has a significant impact on his business. “My business fell by 70% during the worst period of the pandemic,” Mr Liu said.

The number of customers at Europa Tea Foundry plunged. His shop in Causeway Bay only has 30 to 40 percent of the normal flow of customers. At 7 pm, the shop looks as quiet as it would at 2 am before the pandemic.

Mr Liu also started a drinks delivery service to locations around the shop in Cause-

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The ‘Made in Hong Kong’ label is a unique and respected brand globally which consumers around the world have confidence in.

Fion Chui

Manager of Public Relations & Programs in the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce

way Bay. “For the case of our Causeway Bay shop, we deliver drinks to Wan Chai, Admiralty and Central MTR station,” he said.

The pandemic has also taken a toll on shipments. For Mr Liu’s beverage shop, raw materials which used to be delivered within a week now take longer to reach their warehouse.

“Once it took two weeks to complete the whole procedure because there was no one working at the container terminal,” said Mr Liu. Dr Rita Li Yi-man, Program Director of FinTech and Associate Professor at Hong Kong Shue Yan University, suggested that businesses should now focus on local sales instead of overseas, because most people are now staying in Hong Kong. Dr Li also added that online businesses allow companies to sell their goods overseas.

Under the pandemic, home office is becoming the new normal. Traditional physical stores will have to keep up to the online trend. “They must move on by using online and offline mode. Physical stores will mainly be the place for restaurants and advertisements only,” said Dr Li. Mr Liu said, drinks delivery only makes up 20 percent of sales.

The aviation industry is bearing the brunt of the storm.

According to Hong Kong’s Airport Authority, from January to August of 2020, the airport only handled 8.5 million passengers in total, a drop of 83.2 percent from 2019.

The aviation industry is finding ways to survive in the new normal. “They may need to spread their arms to other businesses such as restaurants

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with all settings resembling a plane, selling souvenirs etc. and wait till the recovery from COVID-19,” said Dr Li. Dr Li also warned that survivors of the aviation industry from the global epidemic have to make a good profit from their businesses because many weak competitors will disappear from the market.

Under the effects of the pandemic, the government also sounded the alarm for a possible recession. According to the latest figures from the Census and Statistics Department in August 2020, private consumption expenditure recorded a year-on-year decline of 14.2% in real terms in the second quarter of 2020, with overall investment expenditure expected to fall by 21.4 % year-onyear in real terms.

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The government also revised the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for this year from a range of negative four to seven percent as estimated in April to a range of negative six to eight percent, which reflects a more intense recession. The government added that Hong Kong’s short term economic outlook continues to be “highly uncertain.”

While the government is preparing for the worst in economic performance due to the pandemic and continuous social movements in Hong Kong, Mr Liu and Dr Li do not hold pessimistic views towards the future.

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce said that although Hong Kong is on the frontline of Sino-US conflicts, there are no signs of cash outflow.

“It’s quite the opposite. Deposits have been increasing steadily this year and rose

by HK$225.84 billion by the end of June to reach a record HK$14.45 trillion,” said Fion Chui, manager of Public Relations & Programs in the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.

Locally made brands are also the unfortunate victims of the Sino-US trade war. “The new requirement will nevertheless hurt the local brand selling to the US market and they’re likely to scale down their sales there.

The “Made in Hong Kong” label is a unique and respected brand globally which consumers around the world have confidence in,” said Ms Chui.

“The company is still confident toward the future, but we do think that it may not return to

Fred Liu, CEO of Europa Tea Foundry, said that the pandemic hurt sales.

the situation before the pandemic,” said Mr Liu. He believes the city may not be as full of vitality as before.

Mr Liu holds a wait-and-see attitude, and believes that there are opportunities in times of trouble.

Dr Li too believes Hongkongers are “full of creativity” and can adapt to change easily. “Those who are full of creativity and able to adapt to changes will lead Hong Kong out of the blue post-pandemic,” she said.

Mr Liu also emphasised the importance of support from the younger generation to bring hope back to the city.

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The concentration of devices on the cashier table illustrates how businesses are struggling to boost sales under the pandemic.

Restaurants can now only open half of their seats, and had been banned from providing live performances for months.

08 SPORTS

One restaurant, two decades, and two epidemics Reported by Lama Sumnima Rani Edited by Clara Ip

It’s lunch time and instead of the usual chatter of customers and clinking of glasses, the restaurant is filled with the soft sound of shuffling. The waiters have been rearranging the empty seats over and over again as they longed for customers to come into Kangan, a Nepalease-Indian restaurant that has been operating in Jordan for 17 years.

The owner, Kamal Poudel stared at the empty seats and shook his head in despair.

“2020 has been the worst year in my career,” said Mr Poudel, who has more than 20 years of experience in the catering industry.

Kangan used to be a popular venue for the Nepalease community, especially for large gatherings. But, it has lost 90% of its business in the last two months because of COVID restrictions on businesses, including restaurants.

Since January, Hong Kong has seen more than 5,000 coronavirus cases. The government has imposed tighter social distancing restrictions, such as allowing a maximum of four people per table, limiting dine-in hours, closing pubs, and restricting restaurant capacity to 50%.

Food delivery services, such as FoodPanda and Deliveroo, have seen an increase in demand

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as more restaurants started to focus on take-away services to boost sales. During the Lunar New Year holidays, when most local families would normally visit restaurants, Foodpanda reported an 80% increase in demand, according to Pulse news on May 15 this year.

Mr Poudel started using phone delivery services half a year ago. He estimated that 10% of his business came from orders on delivery apps in the past six months. The restaurant has also been offering various

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The pandemic has influenced changes on how restaurants operate and how customers consume, Mr Steve Co

Chairman of the Hong Kong Food, Drink and Grocery Association

promotions and discounts to attract customers. “The pandemic has influenced changes on how restaurants operate and how customers consume,� said Steven Co, the chairman of the Hong Kong Food, Drink and Grocery Association. He added that there is a surge in the usage of delivery mobile apps, but it is unclear if these changes are permanent.

The value of total receipts of the restaurants sector dropped by 31.2%, in the first quarter of 2020 compared to last year, according to a Report on Quarterly Survey of Restaurant Receipts and Purchases by the Census and Statistics Department.

Mr Co expects that restaurants will have fewer sales in the third quarter due to an increase of COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong and government restrictions.

But, he predicts that the restaurant sales will improve in the fourth quarter when restrictions begin to relax.

Kamal Poudel, owner of Kangan, has two decades of experience in restaurant ownership but is still struggling to maintain the restaurant’s business amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The government has been providing relief packages for businesses during the COVID19 pandemic. The antiepidemic fund, including the Employment Support Scheme (ESS subsidy), will last six months from June onwards.

Employers can get up to HK$9000 for each employee, if they promise to retain workers who may otherwise be made redundant.

“The subsidy was helpful, but this is not a long-term solution to improve businesses in this situation,” said Mr Poudel, who received the subsidy. He compared the ESS subsidy with a painkiller. “It is good for some time to control the pain, but it is not the cure.”

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For employers, if the situation does not revive, it is better for them to shut down then to get the relief fund, Dr Vera Yuen Wing-han Economics lecturer at the University of Hong Kong

He explained that since employers still have to top up the remaining part of their payroll, some businesses would rather terminate their employees than apply for the subsidy.

“For employers, if the situation does not revive, it is better for them to shut down then to get the relief fund,” said Dr Vera Yuen Wing-han, an economics lecturer at the University of Hong Kong. She added that the relief funds should only be given to sectors adversely affected, which includes the Food and Beverage sector.

This is the second time Mr Poudel’s business has struggled against the rapid spread of a virus. In 2003, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

Rise in COVID-19 cases causes restaurants to lose their customers.

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Restaurants are offering discounts during the pandemic in hopes of attracting customers.

was also a blow to his business.

A total of 1,755 people in Hong Kong caught the virus and 299 lives were lost, as a result.

Government restrictions on restaurants during SARS though were less than those during COVID. There were no dining-in restrictions and restaurants could operate as usual, as long as they maintained proper sanitation and followed the Food, Safety and Health requirements at the time.

During SARS, Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) dropped by HK$38.07 billion in 2003, that’s a decline of 0.5% during the second quarter of the year. The catering sector reported a 20% drop in sales compared to the same quarter a year before. But Hong Kong’s GDP bounced back by 4%

and 5% in the third and fourth quarters respectively.

“SARS was not spread all over the world and it only lasted a couple months in Hong Kong. So it’s damage to my business was not significant,” Mr Poudel sighed, “but COVID19 has caused a 90% decrease in my business.”

Two new customers walked in as he talked. “Business has started to get a little bit better in the past month.”

Dr Yuen said Hong Kong’s economy took a harder hit during the COVID-19 pandemic because it relies on international trade. But SARS was largely a local problem. She added that if the economies of other countries don’t fare well, Hong Kong will struggle to recover.

In late September, Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam announced a plan to relaunch cross-border travel in a “gradual and orderly manner.”

Dr Yuen believes the increase in business travellers will help the economy in the short run.

“But if this increases the risk of infection in the community, then in the long run Hong Kong has to go into lockdown again, which is not good for the economy.”

12 BUSINESS

Green Council at their annual Green Run event to raise environmental awareness.

Photo Credit Green Council

Hong Kong’s small businesses grapple with stress of pandemic

Reported by Simran Vaswani Edited by Alec Lastimosa

As Hong Kong continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic coupled with months of protests, some businesses — specifically small companies have been struggling to stay afloat and cope with the circumstances.

Small and medium enterprises, or SMEs, typically operate with fewer than 50 employees. Some only have a handful of people to run an entire business. In February, the government announced a relief package capped at $2 million for each business and subsidies covering utility bills in an attempt to help its three million workers.

However, many small businesses continued to struggle despite the aid. According to a survey done in August by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, 42% of SMEs fear that without further support from the government, they may only stay afloat for another six months.

“The SME sector is the heart and soul of Hong Kong’s busi-

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ness community,” said George Lung, CEO of the HKGCC. “It is deeply concerning that so many of our smaller businesses are in distress, and vital that both the public and private sector come together to ensure that they come through this crisis,” he added.

Anita Patel is co-founder of Zero Yet 100, a small business that specializes in all-natural and toxic-free skincare products.

Ms Patel explains that SMEs depend on networking, which is hard during the pandemic.

“Small businesses like us really do depend on pop-up shops, we get to connect with and meet people and get seen.

So, during times like this when pop-ups aren’t possible, we can be forgotten, because we’re not blasted on buses, neither do we have billboards.”

Forced to miss out on not only local, but international opportunities, Ms Patel mentioned how the supply chain has inevitably been affected by the pandemic and caused her to lose potential business. She said that businesses usually offer free shipping when orders reach a specific amount, but with postal services put to a halt worldwide and shipping prices skyrocketing, customers did not want to pay the high prices.

As a small business owner, Ms Patel relies on freelancers for website design and social media content, but due to wavering financial trends and the loss of budding sales, pay

Photo Credit Anita Parel Anita Patel, co-founder of Zero Yet 100. Source: Instagram

cuts are necessary. As a boss, she felt under pressure delivering the “bad news” to her staff over fear that they would not want to continue working for her anymore.

According to the Hong Kong Trade and Industry Department, SMEs provide job opportunities to approximately 1.3 million people, which makes up 45% of the private employment sector. Small businesses are im-

portant to the city’s economy, to say the least.

Apart from facing the daily stresses of a small business, seeing deserted streets, once vibrant and filled with people has also affected Ms Patel’s mentality. “The energy around you is definitely different.

Places like restaurants are empty and losing business and unemployment is high, so it’s upsetting to see.”

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Ms Patel added that during these trying times, it is important to support small, local businesses. Government restrictions and social distancing measures, she said, make it tough to do business, so spreading the word is a great way to ensure these small businesses can continue to operate.

Joey Wu Kwong-chung, Company Secretary and Accountant at a small business called Green Council felt the stress of the pandemic on his business.

“We’re largely supported by sponsors, and many of their events this year have been cancelled due to COVID-19 and some companies have stopped sponsoring us due to a fall in profits,” he explained.

Many businesses have adopted work-from-home measures. In Hong Kong employees started working remotely since January.

Mr Wu said that being away from his usual office workspace is difficult for him. “Being discouraged from going outside and having to share small spaces is stressful. For example, two people working on the dining table and one on the couch is crowded and uncomfortable,” he said.

With the closure of sports facilities, Mr Wu who finds physical exercise therapeutic, felt it especially challenging to unwind after a long, tough week at work. “Being trapped at home with no exercise such as sports and outdoor activities can be

stressful since those usually help relieve stress.”

Hong Kongers are no strangers to a fast-paced, all work and no play mentality, but with the pressure mounting, mental health is on the decline.

A recent study conducted by Mind HK shows a deteriorating state of Hong Kong people’s mental health. Surveying over 1000 citizens, almost half (43%) of Hong Kongers noticed a decline in their mental health during the pandemic.

International Wellness Speaker and Mental Health Educator, Teressa Siu says that as a small business owner and sole proprietor, she too has struggled during the pandemic. “The

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Being trapped at home with no exercise such as sports and outdoor activities can be stressful since those usually help relieve stress.

Joey Wu Kwong-chung Company Secretary and Accountant at Green Council

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“Lots and lots of self-care to minimize stress and boost immunity. Do positive things like spend time with family, nature walks, yoga, exercise, move, sing, dance, eat well, sleep well. Get creative and create a lifestyle that’s feasible around your family and work surroundings.”

Teressa Siu International Wellness Speaker and Mental Health Educator

pressure comes whenever I need to consider the finances and when will there be another client who doesn’t mind paying.

With COVID, clients have been unable to say yes to workshops that are better done in person,” she said.

What keeps Ms Siu driven and positive includes optimizing her time after work to look after her health and well-being by eating clean, getting enough sleep, meditating and maintaining a daily positivity-filled mindset.

As a health and wellness expert, when asked how SME owners must be mentally affected during this period, Ms Siu described it as “probably the biggest obstacle that they may face in their lifetime.”

As a mental health educator, Ms Siu had valuable advice to share with not only business owners, but the general public on how to take care of our mental health. “Lots and lots of self-care to minimize stress and boost immunity. Do positive things like spend time with family, nature walks, yoga, exercise, move, sing, dance, eat well, sleep well. Get creative and create a lifestyle that’s feasible around your family and work surroundings.”

“It’s a double whammy for those of us in Hong Kong from protests and pandemic and the ups and downs have been persistent. Obligations, responsibilities and liabilities cause stress and anxiety. Small businesses mostly depend on themselves for financial support,” she added.

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Booming in the pandemic: One direct sales team’s business is thriving despite the restrictions Reported byTobey Chan Edited by Moon Lam

A direct sales team, Dreamwork, has seen its sales volume go up by 58 percent from September 2019 to August 2020.

It’s stellar performance despite all the closures and restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic has doubled the annual bonus for its sales team.

Ms Wu, one of the distributors at the company, uses online marketing to find business opportunities.

Amway subcontracts their manufacturing to China, India and the United States to cut cost, as a slotting fee normally charged by supermarkets. But customers visit their experience centre in Mong Kok. Distributors not only gain profit from the products, and performance bonuses based on the sales volume of their teams.

“People started to pay attention to their respiratory health by buying air purifiers when coronavirus infections began to spread in January,” Ms Wu explains.

There was a shortage of Amway’s air purifiers in

Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year holidays.

“Only a few were available in March, and we had to ration the sales. More people were buying vitamins and air purifiers around the world, ” she says.

Ms Wu and her team rent a 2600 square feet office as Dreamwork’s operation centre in Mong Kok, downstairs from Amway’s experience centre.

They have changed their business models to adapt to the pandemic. For example, they now telephone customers to guide them through their online shopping experience.

“Hong Kong is a small city where online shopping is less profitable than running physical stores. We now focus on online marketing in order to engage and reach potential customers,” she says.

According to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong’s unemployment rate reached 6.1% between June and August. Amway though, is providing jobs.

Ms Wu explained that direct sales creates business opportunities for people who lost their jobs because of the pandemic. “Adults who have full time jobs can join our team by paying a HK$380 application and joining fee.”

“We offer online support to our team members. We’ve been using Zoom, a video conferencing application to hold weekly meetings since last year because of the anti-extradition protests,” Ms Wu says.

She also started to livestream her cooking to promote their products on Facebook. “We hadn’t thought about expanding our business through Facebook previously,” she added.

“We’re modifying our practices to match our business model. As a result, our business is getting bigger and bigger,” she said.

Ms Wu has noticed that some of their products, such as makeup and health supplements, are popular with people who are stuck at home. “Live streaming is an effective way to introduce products and attract custom-

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Amway Anita Wu (left) and Ryan Kwok Hin-ting (right) at Dreamwork office. They hold meetings and live streams for their business

Customers shop at Amway Experience Centre browse through skincare and makeup products.

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Mr Kwok says he sets up speakers when they are on live streaming.

The studio that sells skincare and make up products is closed due to anti-epidemic measures.

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ers who enjoy our services and are interested in online direct sales,” she says.

Amway sets monthly, annual and special bonus to reward distributors or groups who achieve a certain amount of sales over a specific period of time. The company gives out 21 percent of the profit from its sales to qualified distributors as monthly performance bonus.

Each distributor can receive between 9-21 percent of the product value that they sold a performance bonus.

“Even when the social distancing rules are eased, we will continue both online and offline sales, as well as using video conferences to expand our business.”

Kwok Hin-ting, Ms Wu’s son, is following his mother’s footsteps in the direct sales business.

“We see ourselves as entrepreneurs and we recruit partners to sell products with us.”

recruit their downline. Yet, the distribution system can be sustained if upline distributors deliver a clear idea of the product’s functions, features and characteristics to downline.

He spends two to three days a week doing training on learning product information, nutrition facts and business skills.

Word-of-mouth marketing strategies, such as sharing a person’s experience on a brand or product to another person, have also contributed to the growth of direct sales.

“It plays the role of influencing more people to join direct selling when they hear about it is easy to make profits in the business,” Dr Chan says.

“E-commerce has enhanced the sales because people are more likely to shop online rather than going to physical stores.” says Dr Chan Fongyee, an assistant professor in marketing at the Heng Seng University of Hong Kong.

Dr Chan says some controversies about direct sales are the way how upline distributors

Ryan Kwok Hin-ting (left) and Max Ho Wai-lok (right), members of Dreamwork, follow their parents’ footsteps to develop a direct sales business.

20 SPORTS

The government launched the two-tranche ESS of HK$81 billion in April amid a soaring unemployment rate to prevent massive layoffs

Employees on forced unpaid leave feel unprotected under Employment Support Scheme Reported by Yuri Kwok Edited by Olivia Tam

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Employees forced to take unpaid leave say there is little protection for them under the government’s wage subsidy scheme, while a local labour union calls on the government to plug subsidy loopholes by giving money directly to employees as Hong Kong’s economy remains in the doldrums with unemployment at 6.1%.

The Employment Support Scheme, launched under the second round of the government’s coronavirus relief measure, helps battered businesses retain employees. Employers can get a maximum HK$9,000 per employee per month.

Fung Ka-wai, 22, a designer, says the scheme hasn’t benefited her as she has been forced to take unpaid leave and has seen her salary cut by 20%.

An extension of the HK$81 billion Anti-Epidemic Fund announced in May and on top of the HK$80 billion relief package unveiled in the 2020/21 Budget, the government hopes the scheme will facilitate the city’s economic recovery and help employers and employees stay afloat.

The government said it received 184,723 ESS applications from employers and the self-employed in the second round ending on September 13.

The second round of the ESS also seeks to plug a loophole that excluded senior employees whose MPF accounts did not show records of wages or voluntary contributions.

However, many workers faced salary cuts or were forced to take unpaid leave, despite their employers receiving wage subsidies.

Mr Chan, 38, truck driver, who is forced to take a one-month unpaid leave, says the scheme allows employers to exploit loopholes and make workers vulnerable

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The median monthly wage is more than HK$18,000.

Fung Ka-wai, 22, a designer, said she has been asked to take unpaid leave by her company twice a week since March, though she says she handles the same workload.

Her salary has also been cut by around 20%.

“The government only plugged the loophole for the grassroots but not office workers like me,” said Ms Fung, who is not qualified to apply for any other anti-epidemic fund or subsidy from the government. “The government only takes care of the grassroots by providing them with much subsidy, but we have nothing.”

Since the launch of the ESS, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions has received 146 complaints with 60% of employees saying they were forced to take unpaid leave and 30% saying they faced salary cuts.

The new ESS says that employers cannot force their employees to take unpaid leave for more than a month; otherwise, the government will revoke their subsidy.

“The ESS program allows employers to take the subsidy, while cutting employees’ salary at the same time,” said Mung Siu-tat, Chief Executive of the HKCTU. “The government should give wage subsidies to employees directly to plug a loophole in the scheme,” he added.

Speaking on a radio programme, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chikwong said it’s much more complicated for the government to give money directly to employees.

lier that the government has no plan for a third round of ESS yet, because the two rounds of wage subsidies have already stretched government spending.

“It takes longer to examine and approve,” Dr. Law said, admitting that there are loopholes under the latest ESS. “A one-month no-pay leave is equal to unemployment, I cannot make a living under this situation,” said Chan Yu-Ho, 38, a truck driver who said he was asked to take a month of unpaid leave.

“The employers abuse their power of forcing employees to take no-pay leave. I think this is not the purpose of the ESS program. The government should enhance its enforcement strategy against this situation,” said Mr Chan.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said ear-

The current scheme will help employers in paying employees’ salary until November.

With a current jobless rate of 6.1% from June to August, following a 15-year high of 6.2% from April to June, the labour sector is worried that the unemployment rate will increase dramatically at the end of 2020.

Poon Siu-Ping, a member of the Legislative Council for labour constituency, is hoping the government will come up with a more immediate plan to help employees. “The unemployment rate will get worse at the end of this year. It could be better if the government can set up unemployment security assistance,” he said.

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The employers abuse their power of forcing employees to take no-pay leave. I think this is not the purpose of the ESS program. The government should enhance its enforcement strategy against this situation Chan Yu-ho truck driver

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The unemployment situation in the city is expected to worsen after the second tranche of ESS ends without further employment assistance

Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific said they will not apply for the second round of Employment Support Scheme.

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Quarantine hotels regain public trust Reported by Bell Chan Edited by Mereen Santirad and Eurus Yiu

An increasing number of sanitisers are placed at every corner of the hotel.

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A deploy of AI vacuum cleaner to sanitize the carpet, a regular disinfection of each guest room, a frequent disinfection of fresh air filter, a use of independent pipe for air conduction to prevent cross-contamination, and 24 hours available of masks and hand sanitizer, this is the epidemic control measure at Dorsett Mongkok hotel.

All that COVID precaution has made Pang Yui-man feel safe.

She is spending a night at Dorsett Mongkok to celebrate her birthday. Her room was spotless. There was a precaution guideline pamphlet on the table. There are also bottles of hand sanitizer, and a Covid-19 test kit. The results would be available within 24 to 48 hours at the reception.

Dorsett Mongkok partnered with Ecolab, a global leader in infection prevention, to use Ecolab’s Disinfectant Cleaner 2.0 to clean and disinfect high touch areas, guest rooms and air-conditioning systems.

Before visiting Dorsett Mongkok Hotel, Ms Pang was skeptical about the hygiene because the hotel used to provide a quarantine package and there were confirmed cases. Ms Pang carried her own protective gear, including her own towel, pajamas and hand sanitizer when she visited the hotel.

“I now feel that the hotel follows hospital hygiene standards to protect their customers and staff,” said Ms Pang.

"I now feel that the hotel follows hospital hygiene standards to protect their customers and staff Pang Yui-man

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Customer of Dorsett Mongkok hotel

Hong Kong’s hotel industry has been severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Government figures show an 88.2% drop in visitors in the first five months of 2020. Hotel room occupancy rate fell from 59% in January to 29% in February according to the Global Database website.

Many hotels started to switch their focus to local customers.

During the third wave of the pandemic in Hong Kong, a total of 25 hotels offered quarantine packages. According to the list of hotels provided by the Secretary for Food and Health, most quarantine hotels are in Hong Kong Island. In Kowloon, the quarantine hotels are mostly in Yau Tsim Mong, with only three hotels in the New Territories.

These establishments are now offering special packages to try to bring back customers.

Hotels are providing special priced packages and high precautionary measures to attract more clients.

Dorsett Mongkok is one of the 25 hotels that has offered a “14 nights self-quarantine package” and a “Clap for HK medical team package” at HK$450 and HK$380 respectively, which is HK$100 cheaper than the regular price, starting from May 3 to October 31.

The self-quarantine package includes free daily breakfast, 24-hours free delivery services from the lobby to the guest room by hotel staff, free premium WiFi, and weekly laundry service.

Lee Po-ying, a nurse who worked for the mobile cabin hospital at AsiaWorld-Expo, signed up for the “Clap for Hong Kong medical team package.” She said the package offered 26 hours full stay entitlement which means a guest can check in at 4pm and check out at 6pm the next day with no extra charge, and free premium WiFi, up to 1000 Mbps for ten devices at a time.

Daily necessities included shower gel, toothpaste, and towel were also provided.

“There are hand sanitizers all around the hotel, not just the lobby, but also the lift waiting area, inside the lifts, at all tables in restaurants. The bellboy even provides antiseptic tissues everyday when we leave the lobby,” said Ms Lee.

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There are hand sanitizers all around the hotel, not only the lobby, but also the lift waiting area, inside the lifts,

all tables at the restaurants. The bellboy even provides antiseptic tissues everyday when we leave the lobby,

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Lee Po-ying Nurse who worked for the mobile cabin hospital at AsiaWorld-Expo

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View Hotel. He explained that most hotels do not accept quarantine booking as there is no training staff or equipment to offer rooms for quarantine guests.

Four employees at the Royal Garden Hotel in Tsim Sha Shui were infected on October 9. It is believed that the transmission might have taken place in a changing room, and around 57 members of staff were sent to quarantine.

“It is such a dangerous policy,” said Mr Chan.

All visitors are required to perform body temperature checks before they are allowed to enter different parts of the hotel.

Dorsett Mongkok is also offering a “Let Our Love Fly” package at HK$500, which is HK$72 cheaper than the regular offer.

Visitors can enjoy free in-room dining, late check-out, and free minibar consumption.

Another hotel, Harbour Grand Hong Kong, provides a staycation package with a list of special offers, including a free upgrade to the Grand Deluxe

harbour view room, HK$800 dining credit for each room per night stay for food & beverage consumption, priority early check-in and late check-out lasting until 6pm.

But, some are not impressed.

“Major practice of the hotel industry is to reject quarantine guests,” said Chan Chunhei, a security officer at Royal

He also does not suggest guests to self-quarantine at hotels, since hotel staff have not received professional medical training.

According to the CEIC statistics website, hotel room occupancy rates increased slightly from 44% to 50% from June to August after the third wave of the pandemic. Hotels are expected to continue to perform well, unless a fourth wave of COVID-19 hits Hong Kong.

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12-year-old Maksat is attending an every day class

The challenges of virtual internships Reported by Yvonne Tung Edited by Suey So

29

"

But it really depends on the nature

of the job, If it was an event management internship, a virtual internship could be difficult.

Ashley Ip Marketing intern in Cyberport

Queuing up on a packed MTR platform and squeezing into the train: that’s how Ashley Ip imagined what the start of a working day would be like.

But during her internship this summer, she would roll out of bed at 9:30 am and just walk over to her desk. Getting ready for work would take only five minutes, and she is all set with a cup of coffee in her hand.

That’s the daily routine for students like Ashley who have been taking virtual internships this year because of the pandemic.

"

of working-fromhome is you save on travel time and cost.

Ashley Ip

Ashley worked in Cyberport as a marketing intern. She creates, writes, publishes and disturbs the attention grabbing marketing texts to the targeted customers online.

She thought it was a positive experience.

“But it really depends on the nature of the job, ” Ms Ip added. “If it was an event management internship, a virtual internship could be difficult.”

One huge bonus

Marketing intern in Cyberport

“One huge bonus of working-from-home is you save on travel time and cost,” she said.

"

Although there are students like Ms Ip concerned that virtual internships only allow for limited interaction between supervisors and the interns, working online has been favored by employers who look for recruiting global talent and growing their business.

As the third wave of COVID-19 hit Hong Kong in mid-July, many companies arranged for their employees

to work from home or do shift work in the office on alternate days or weeks.

Karbi Chan, the founder of Archiparti International Limited, hired seven local interns this summer while she herself was quarantined in Croatia, which is six hours behind Hong Kong.

The key to efficient home-office is tracking and monitoring employees so that work-fromhome would not be slacker-friendly, said Ms Chan.

To ensure her employees were performing, she connected with them via Whatsapp and Google Meet. The interns had to report on the progress of their work at a certain time on every workday and there were regular weekly meetings for evaluation.

She believes that Hong Kong companies should adapt to working online as soon as possible, with both local and foreign partners. She thinks more and more businesses around the world are going digital, and this will be the new business model.

"

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" Virtual operation enables companies to have access to more talent around the world at a lower cost.

Karbi Chan

"

Founder of Archiparti International Limited

Through an online platform Trello, Ms Lee used to manage tasks allocated from the company

“Virtual operation enables companies to have access to more talent around the world at a lower cost,” Ms Chan said.

Dr Carmen Tong Ka-man, an academic tutor from the University of Hong Kong, who was in charge of an internship program, thinks otherwise.

She is steadfast about having face-to-face internships whenever possible.

“I agree that both face-toface internships and virtual internships can help students practice their skills. However, I believe that soft skills, for example, handling interpersonal relationships and building up teamwork, can barely be prac-

ticed in a virtual environment,” Dr Tong said .

She understands there’s a myriad of advantages in online internships, but she prefers face to face interactions because these give students an allround experience.

To many students’ surprise, some of these pandemic internships turned out better than they expected.

Ho Hui-tung was a summer intern at the Hong Kong Housing Society. She thought that online communication is comparable to in-person meetings, but for complicated tasks, face-to-face interactions are necessary. With

the help of various online tools and platforms, however, her supervisor was able to explain the tasks to her without a hitch.

Ms. Ho realised that a virtual internship is not a substitute for in-person experience, but it is certainly better than no experience at all.

Working in an office may have the advantage of getting problems solved quickly by asking one’s colleagues. Solving problems from home may be time consuming, but it avoids having to disturb others.

“Online tools are particularly helpful for slow learners, like me,” Ms Lee said.

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Lee Oi-yin, took on an internship in the fashion retail industry with Lane Crawford Joyce Group. She found it helpful to record her meetings online.

Thanks to the tiny red button, Ms Lee could review the meetings, demonstrations and conversations whenever she needed. That helped her to complete her tasks efficiently with fewer questions asked.

Despite years of experience in employing online locally and working with outsourced

teams globally, Karbi Chan didn’t use to think about virtual internships.

“It is irrefutable that virtual internships rely enormously on technology, and no one can guarantee that the connection stays stable every single second,” Ms Chan said.

This Summer’s virtual internships convinced Ms Chan that managing her interns online avoids some of the problems she would see in an office.

"It is irrefutable that virtual internships rely enormously on technology, and no one can guarantee that the connection stays stable every single second.

Karbi Chan Founder of Archiparti International Limited

"

" Online tools are particularly helpful for slow

"

learners, like me.

Lee Oi-yin Intern at Lane Crawford Joyce

3220

Hong Kong’s fitness, sports industries struggle to survive; athletes cope with restrictions amid loss of billions in global sports SPORTS

Reported by Esten Amalvy Edited by Ronald Fan

Duncan Reid sits courtside on the newly instituted socially distanced tribunes

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The year 2020 was supposed to be a great one for sports. Hong Kong was getting ready for the much anticipated annual World Rugby Sevens Series. Tokyo was set to host the prestigious Olympic Games. European cities were gearing up to welcome the Euro2020 International Football Championship, in addition to their respective league competitions.

But now once-crowded stadiums are deserted or filled with only a small percentage of fans allowed in. The summer Olympics are postponed, and in the US, the NBA bubble isolates athletes from the world.

The global sports market brings in roughly US$756 billion (HK$5.9 trillion) every year, with the US topping the board with an estimated US$420 billion (HK$ 3.3 trillion) every year, followed by Europe at US$250 billion (HK$1.9 trillion), according to Sports Value, a sports marketing company.

With matches across the globe canceled and thousands laid off, billions have been lost, including more than US$8 billion (HK$ 62 billion) in TV revenue, fan spending, tourism and wages for stadium workers, according to Statista.

The NBA, one of the most watched and most profitable sports competitions in the world, is estimated to lose between US$350 (HK$2.7 billion) to US$450 million (HK$3.5 billion) in game day gate revenue from canceled matches in the 2019/2020 NBA season, according to Statista.

Derek Poon is showing a classical Krav Maga fighting stance underneath the official IKMF logo.

“We’ve lost a lot of money, like a lot.

Over HK$1 million,” Derek Poon

Personal trainer and Asia and Hong Kong Director of the International Krav Maga Federation

In Hong Kong, this is also playing out on a smaller scale in the sports and fitness world, with coaches saying they are struggling, the personal fitness industry taking a financial hit and athletes struggling to get their practice in.

Most club coaches can’t make ends meet because of salary cuts, the Hong Kong Sports Alliance said in an interview with the South China Morning Post.

Many are having to look for jobs outside the sports industry or don‘t have any work at all, a survey by the Sports Election committee indicated.

In Hong Kong, a group of gym owners have banded together trying to save their businesses from falling victim to COVID-19, in a movement they call “Save HK Fitness.”

More than 80% of fitness center owners said they “would not” or “might not” survive the next few months without immediate financial relief, according to a recent survey conducted by the Hong Kong Alliance of Boutique Fitness & Wellness Studios “We’ve lost a lot of money, like a lot. Over HK$1 million,” said

Nathan Yu, currently playing for the South China Athletic Association, just finished his basketball practice with his mask on.

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“Mental motivation has been the hardest thing. You get down and you get these ruts off, like there’s no end in sight and that your job isn’t coming back and you don’t get to play the sport you love,” Nathan Yu

A professional basketball player in the Hong Kong Basketball Association League

Derek Poon, a personal trainer and Asia and Hong Kong Director of the International Krav Maga Federation.

Mr Poon said COVID-19 has affected his business much more than in comparison to the SARS outbreak of 2003, when he was just starting out as a personal trainer.

“If the lockdown continues for two or three more months, I

don’t think I will have anything else anymore,” he said.

After being closed for nearly two months, gyms were allowed to re-open in September with strict social distancing rules, a problem for professional athletes.

“It has affected my physical fitness quite dramatically; it’s been difficult for me to get in the gym and practice,” said

Nathan Yu, a professional basketball player and trainer who has played in the Hong Kong Basketball Association league for 10 years.

“Mental motivation has been the hardest thing. You get down and you get these ruts off, like there’s no end in sight and that your job isn’t coming back and you don’t get to play the sport you love,” he said.

Duncan Reid, who has played for the China Basketball Association league last year, said the lockdown period kept him away from basketball for a long time, though he said he plans to return to Hong Kong and place for the HKBA again when his season in China ends “When the infections were at the highest it definitely affected me personally in what I was doing and how careful I was,” Mr Reid said. “For example, I’m dealing with a couple of injuries and it was good for me to have that time to really focus on getting healthy, finding balance, doing things that I didn’t have time for before.”

Derek Poon instructing proper stretching techniques to a group of up incoming personal trainers.