The Young Reporter Vol. 53 Issue 5

THE YOUNG REPORTER

Cover Story

District Councillors worry about National Security law

Volume 53 Issue 05 April 2021

Hong Kong in Flux Hong Kong in Flux Hong Kong in Flux Hong Kong in Flux

Editor’s Letter This magazine issue has been inspired by our ever-changing and beloved city. “Hong Kong in Flux” will take you through the various ways the city has transformed over the past year, but more importantly how the people behind those stories are coping with the environment.

From politics, to education, arts, immigration and more, we aimed to cover a variety of aspects that have been impacted through changes in Hong Kong. Whether it be about those that are struggling with the aftermath from the 2019 protests coupled with the ongoing pandemic, the national security law or new legislative changes that have paved a path of uncertainty in Hong Kong’s political landscape and future.

The Young Reporter Vol. 53 No. 5 Publisher Department of Journalism School of Communication Hong Kong Baptist University

Editor-in-Chief Simran Vaswani Deputy Editors Cora Zhu Janice Lo Jasmine Tse Sara Cheng Art Designers Cora Zhu Reporters Bowie Tse Cora Zhu Janice Lo

We hope you resonate with these stories, or that they bring you a sense of calmness and clarity amid these unusual and trying times.

Sincerely, Simran Vaswani Editor-in-chief

Jasmine Tse Sara Cheng Yvonne Tung Editors Eunice Lam Icy Chen Kylan Goh Simran Vaswani Sumnima Lama Advisors Jenny Lam Robin Ewing

hkbutyr hkbutyr hkbutyr The Young Reporter tyrmagazine@gmail.com

tyr.jour.hkbu.edu.hk

In This Issue

04

District Councillors worry about National Security Law

08

Migration and misinformation amid uncertainty in Hong Kong

12

Camping staycation: a new trend in taking a vacation in Hong Kong

16

Copyright infringement prevalent in Chinese social media

20

Art exhibition transports to 1980s New York subway

NEWS MAGAZINE

3

District Councillors worry about National Security Law Reported by Sara Cheng Edited by Kylan Goh Cheng Chung-man barely skipped a meeting since he became a Sai Kung district councillor over a year ago.

But three of his colleagues are among 47 opposition politicians facing charges in connection with breaking the National Security Law. As their trial continued, Mr. Cheng proposed to adjourn the Council meeting on March 2.

He felt that delaying the meeting in order to support his colleagues in court was the most he could to show his disagreement with the arrests.

The motion was voted down in the Council. So Mr Cheng took the day off and walked out. Other pro-democracy councillors also left. The meeting could not go ahead because they did not have a quorum.

Of the 47 people charged with breaking the national security law, 22 were elected district councillors. They were involved in a primary election in the prodemocracy camp prior to last year’s Legislative Council election.

The polls were postponed in the end because of the pandemic. Mr Cheng is among a hundred or so pro-democracy councillors who are supporting those in custody by taking over their work in the District Councils.

“We shouldn’t have focused on the meeting at that time,” Mr. Cheng said.

“Missing one colleague is missing one colleague. When we put up our hand to vote, it’s missing

one,” said Fleco Mo Kai-hong, 30, a Yuen Long district councillor.

His colleagues Wong Pak-yu and Ng Kin-wai, both district councillors based in Tin Shui Wai, have been in custody since February 28.

Mr Wong and Mr Ng represent Tin Heng and Kingswood North constituencies respectively. Their staff can continue to run their offices, but they cannot represent them during meetings.

“That means we might lose a person to channel the views of the constituents, Mr Mo said.

“For example, last time we had a Traffic and Transport Committee meeting and they talked about bus routes, which is relevant to his [Mr Wong’s] constituency. His voice is gone, and many of his demands

Fleco Mo Kai-hong, Yuen Long councillor represents Wang Yat constituency

NEWS MAGAZINE

4

0,

d rs n 8. nt h ir ir nt

Hermine Chan Sze-nga, Yuen Long district councillor representing Chung Wah constituency

a e

are gone all of a sudden,” he said.

a e us Mr is ds

But Mr Mo, who works with Mr Wong because their constituencies are next to each other, at least has a sense of what issues may concern Mr Wong and can briefly update him during visits.

“Uncle Wong and the North Tin Shui Wai district councillors will try our best to fight for better bus services for the residents!”

Mr Wong wrote in a public letter from Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre, which was posted by Mr Mo and other councillors on Facebook.

Hermine Chan Sze-nga, 29, another Yuen Long councillor, said she had only seen Mr Wong once under “social visit”, which is mainly for family and relatives or friends, claiming her two attempts to apply for “official visits” failed.

The government’s Correctional Service Department allows one 15-minute visit per day for each detainee. Ms Chan and other councillors said they prefer to give the time to Mr Wong’s family members.

But during one visit, she asked about Mr Wong’s health and mental condition. Work was less of a priority, she said.

Mr Mo claimed that the CSD rejected his requests for “official visits.”

In reply to The Young Reporter via email, the CSD said there is “no provision in the existing legislation governing the official visits to persons in custody by District Council members”.

When applying for official visits, the CSD said, District Council members are required to “provide information and justification to prove that it is NEWS MAGAZINE

5

essential for them to carry out their official duties relevant to the function of a District Council.”

Otherwise, the application will not be approved.

The CSD said they have not been keeping track of the number of applications and denials of official visits since February 28.

In the worst scenario, Ms Chan said, if Mr Wong could not be released on bail anytime soon, she and Mr Mo might as well divide up the work and help serve Mr Wong’s Tin Heng constituency.

“At the moment, we are unable to represent Tin Heng nor give any opinion on the agenda [on behalf of Mr Wong]. We can only speak generally as we represent North Tin Shui Wai,” she said.

Back in 2019, Mr Mo won by a wide margin in an election held amid waves of anti-government

Fleco Mo Kai-hong separates the items that do not comply with the CSD standard.

protests and turfed out a prominent pro-establishment politician.

To get rid of the stereotype that councillors only monitor neighbourhood matters and “take pictures at nice spots” or “sweep the streets,” they need to “respond to the need of the time,” Mr Mo said.

Since Mr Wong is being detained, Mr Mo has taken on additional work such as arranging visits and consulting with lawyers on evidence and arguments.

He and other councillors have been collecting snacks and toiletries for those in prison, among them protesters from the 2019 movement. But the CSD has strict rules on supplies for prisoners, such as the volume, size and weight of any product. Mr Mo finds that frustrating.

“These don’t comply,” Mr Mo said, picking out the pink-wrapped soap

and a couple of tubes of Darlie toothpaste from the giant pile of supplies on the floor. There are tissues, hand cream, candies and dried shredded squid.

the dock - among a bunch of defendants in a packed courtroom.

He said he came anyway because he was worried and wanted to get first-hand updates.

He admits he dedicates more time to supporting those behind bars than on community matters.

He hopes his constituents can understand.

On March 17, Mr Fan announced his resignation from Sai Kung district council, citing “he cannot perform his duties while in custody”. His seat in the Council is now vacant.

Ricky Or was released on bail on March 13.

Since the marathon hearing stated on March 1, Mr Cheng and his staff have been taking shifts to queue up outside West Kowloon Magistrates Court in order to attend the trials of Gary Fan Kwok-wai, Ricky Or Yiu-lam and Chung Kam-lun. He has known all three of them for ten years.

During each hearing, they watch the live stream of the proceedings on a television screen on the wall of a room next to the courtroom.

Mr Cheng can vaguely spot his colleagues - sometimes behind NEWS MAGAZINE

6

Democratic Party member Lam Cheuk-ting also resigned from the North district council on March 31 because he “cannot carry out his duties as a councillor in person.”

In February, the government announced district councillors will be required to take an oath to pledge allegiance to the SAR government and upholding the Basic Law. Those who violate it will be barred from running elections for five years.

f .

t

s t

s . n

m e 1

s h R e l s

Three district councillors have resigned so far for refusing the loyalty vow.

Mr Cheng said he might swear the oath but is still observing the situation. Ms Chan said she has not made up her mind.

Almost three weeks after the mass arrests, Ms Chan and other Yuen Long district councillors finally took their first group photo during a recess in a meeting. They then photoshopped the faces of the missing councillors.

“Though it’s a bit late, it’s better than nothing because we don’t know if we will still have everybody together the next time,” Ms Chan said on Facebook.

Mr Mo said the prosecution of current elected political figures adds uncertainty to his post to the extent that he dares not make plans beyond a week. “We all joke and say if we can finish the 4-year term, we are winners,” he said.

Bags and boxes of snacks and personal care items that Fleco Mo Kai-hong collects from residents.

“We [might] all go to jail, and reunite inside like a family because many of our companions back in the day are inside,” he said, when asked if he imagines that he too might be arrested in future.

“What we can do is to stay hydrated, carry on and do our best to take a deep breath ,” he said. “Overcome it.”

Hermine Chan Sze-nga shows a group picture of the Yuen Long district councillors, taken after two of their colleagues were arrested.

NEWS MAGAZINE

7

Google searches on immigration to other countries in Hong Kong over the past year.

Migration and misinformation amid uncertainty in HK Reported by Jasmine Tse Edited

by Simran VaswaniTse Reported

by Jasmine

Edited by Simran Vaswani Jean Francois Harvey from Harvey Law Group, along with over 60 immigration companies, were at the International Immigration and Property Expo on March 27. However, what Mr Harvey witnessed there left him dumbfounded.

“I saw consultants openly telling people to buy start-up visas. I also saw others squarely selling jobs — it may not be a real job, but it’ll get them the visa,” Mr Harvey recounted.

Paying money for a job offer is illegal in Canada, but such blatant advertising at the expo shows how many people are not aware of Canadian immigration

policies, making them susceptible to misinformation and fraud.

And with misinformation comes fraud.

Immigration fraud has long been an issue in Hong Kong, as Mr Harvey observed throughout his 29 years as an immigration lawyer.

Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marco Mendicino released a statement on March 5 to commemorate the government’s Fraud Prevention campaign, saying, “Immigration fraud targets people who want to come to Canada in good faith. Sadly, the pandemic has exacerbated these troubling activities, with new ways for dishonest individuals to defraud clients.”

“But now, there’s a big increase in interest in immigration, so there’s more misinformation than ever,” said Mr Harvey.

The number of Hong Kong passport holders applying for temporary or permanent residency in Canada reached 8,121 in 2020, hitting its highest point in at least five years despite border closures because of Covid-19, according to Reuters.

NEWS MAGAZINE

8

A 2019 investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation exposed how an immigration consultancy targeted

s

,

t

n

r

d

Chinese nationals and charged them up to $170,000 Canadian dollars (HK$1,052,754) for a fake job.

CBC also found that Hong Kong had reported “high rates of fraud or suspected fraud, and only 1522% of arranged employment offers were found to be genuine.”

Nancy Caron, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — the gover nmental department responsible for immigration matters — wrote in an email interview, “IRCC advises clients to not trust or believe anyone who asks for payment to bring them to, or allow them to remain in, Canada.”

According to Mr Harvey, some “unscrupulous consultants” will do anything to close a sale. They will reassure their clients that the whole process is easy, there’s nothing to worry about, and that they will fix everything for them — so long as they are paid to do so.

Mr Harvey said the most unfortunate thing is that people do fall victim to these scams.

“The problem is that too often, the client will believe these consultants and end up being forbidden to go to Canada for five years,” Mr Harvey said.

According to IRCC, those who have committed fraud can have their immigration status taken away, be removed from Canada, be charged with a crime, have a permanent record of fraud with IRCC and be forbidden to enter Canada for at least five years.

There have also been many misleading advertisements, most of which quote unrealistic timelines.

For instance, one immigration law firm based in Quebec claims they can obtain permanent residency for their clients within 12 to 16 months for CA$300,000 (HK$1,856,584).

Besides the egregious price, immigration consultant Mary Chan said the investor program, from application to visa issuance, typically takes 5 years. “These advertisements say you can get it within a year, but they’re only referring to the certificate of selection. After that, there’s another four years that they have to wait to get the actual visa,” said Ms Chan.

“They target clients who just want to leave as soon as possible, and those clients aren’t doing their own research from the official government websites,” Mr Harvey said.

YouTube has also been a breeding ground for immigration misinformation.

Between January 2020 and March 2021, there has been a steady increase in YouTube searches on Canadian immigration.

The graph above shows three peaks, all of which correspond to three significant events related to Canadian immigration.

The first peak, between June 28 and July 4, coincided with the implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong on June 30 last year. Since then, more Hong Kongers have been seeking to immigrate to Canada, according

NEWS MAGAZINE

9

to Ms Chan and immigration consultants Andrew Lo of Anlex and John Hu of John Hu Migration Consulting.

The second peak, between Nov. 15 and 21, came after Mr Mendicino announced a new immigration initiative on Nov. 12, which allows Hong Kongers to apply for an open work permit as a pathway to permanent residence status. In that month, immigration consultancies reported receiving floods of phone calls and email enquiries.

The third peak, between Feb. 7 and 13, was when open work permit applications were made available on Feb. 8. But unlike in November, not many sought immigration consultants for help.

“The open work permit application is very easy,” said Ms Chan. “You don’t need professional help.”

Prospective immigrants turned to platforms such as YouTube as sources of information.

One popular channel is CanMen, hosted by Sam Lung and Wingo Chan, two Hong Kongers who immigrated to Canada. With 57,000 subscribers, their videos include vlogs of their life in Canada and tours of real estate property.

Some of their most recent videos are related to the new Canadian immigration policy for Hong Kongers.

In one video with more than 120,000 views, Mr Lung went on the Canadian government website to explain Mr Mendicino’s November announcement, and he did a general walk-through of

In a CanMen video, Mr Lung invites three immigration consultants to answer his audience’s questions regarding the open work permit scheme.

the open work permit application process.

may end up harming you,” Mr Lung said.

ultimately they still need to rely on their own research.”

“I want my videos to be a source of reference for those who are interested in immigration but don’t know where to go for information,” Mr Lung said.

While he acknowledged that immigration is complex and differs for each person, Mr Lung was not concerned about his videos oversimplifying the process.

Unfortunately, Ms Chan has observed otherwise.

But at the end of the video, Mr Lung pointed out how immigration is contingent on many factors.

“I think my videos are just a reference for my viewers. In every video, I encourage them to look at the government documents themselves to find out how they might apply to them,” Mr Lung said. “I can be a gateway for them and show them the way, but

“The immigration process is like conducting a personal background check. If you don’t ask with specificity, we’re afraid our answer

NEWS MAGAZINE

10

“It’s okay to watch these videos for reference, but everyone’s situation is different, and now people are one hundred percent relying on those videos to apply to their own situation,” Ms Chan said.

Many of her consultations begin with her clients showing her a YouTube video they had watched — in some cases CanMen’s — and

asking if what the Youtuber said applies to them.

“Instead of looking at the law, I’m looking at these videos,” Ms Chan recalled while laughing.

“I have to say to my client, ‘Okay I understand why the Youtuber said this, but they did not mention that, so as a result it would not apply to you,’” Ms Chan said.

on how to emigrate to Canada would have to go to the Canadian Consulate to get a physical application form.

“You would then have to go home and study the applications. Then you would ask your friends and professionals, such as lawyers and consultants, if you got the information right,” said Ms Chan.

Mr Harvey pointed out that there are many YouTubers out there.

“We’re always setting their stories straight to prevent our clients from being misinformed.”

Now, with most recent government statistics revealing more than 90% of the city’s population uses the Internet, finding immigration information online has become very accessible.

When Ms Chan first started working at Rothe International in 1988, she said Hong Kongers seeking advice

However, to avoid becoming a victim of misinformation and fraud, Ms Chan urged potential migrants

to go to the official government website for accurate information.

The Canadian government website also provides information on the types of frauds to look out for and how to report them.

“Fighting fraud requires all of us to be vigilant, informed and prepared,” Mr Mendicino said.

“We will continue our work to protect Canadians and those wishing to come here, and will always uphold the security and integrity of Canada’s immigration system.”

“The remedy to fraud is to inform people as much as we can, and that’s what we do,” Mr Harvey added.

s

r

n

a d The Canadian government raises awareness on immigration fraud through its annual Fraud Prevention Month. Source: Canada.ca NEWS MAGAZINE

11

Camping staycation: a new trend in taking a vacation in Hong Kong Reported by Janice Lo Edited by Eunice Lam Mawin Cheung Man-wai was heading to his office to take a break, but another group of campers showed up. So he welcomed them to his campsite instead.

a campsite located in Yuen Long.

Although Covid-19 restrictions mean they can only serve half the usual number of customers, the campsite is fully booked every day.

are hotels used for staycations, camping is a popular alternative.

According to the Annual Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research survey in January this year, Since the start of the epidemic in Hong Kongers ranked fourth among Mr Cheung is the chief executive January 2020, staycations have 32 countries as most wanting to officer of Easy Organic Farming, been a worldwide trend. Not only travel. Of those asked, 46% said NEWS MAGAZINE

12

Ea

th 7 d w

H fo 2 q c p C

“I c to a

,

,

such as looking for logs, building a campfire. All we could bring were a few cans of food,” he chuckled, “but these experiences allowed me to learn from nature.

Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, Mr Chan is camping more often these days — from twice a month to almost once a week. On the 60,000 feet campsite, his children can run freely, ziplining and play on the swings...

Mr Chan hopes they can also learn from nature, just like he did when he was young. He thinks that way, the children can be less materialistic and learn to be thankful.

Jynx Poon Cheuk-yin, has been going on camping staycation since March last year. She prefers beaches to government or private campsites. “I love the tranquility that nature brings, but campsites are often filled with people,” said the 20-year-old.

The government campsites have been closed since July 15 last year.

Easy Organic Farming is filled with campers amid the pandemic.

they wanted to travel in 2021, while 74% said they would probably or definitely get vaccinated if that is what it takes to travel.

Hong Kong and Singapore tried to form a “travel bubble” in November 2020, where citizens might enjoy quarantine-free travel between the countries. However, the plan was put on hold when a fourth wave of Covid-19 hit Hong Kong.

during their stay at my place,” Mr Cheung said. “That is also the main reason why my campsite can attract that many people for staycation even during Covid-19.”

Ricky Chan Wai-kit, 44, a loyal customer of Easy Organic Farming, regularly goes camping there with his children. It is not only an opportunity for him to bond with nature, but also allows him to reminisce about the past.

“I felt sorry to reject some of the customers’ bookings, but I want “When I was young, camping was no to ensure that campers can enjoy different from military training. We a safe and spacious environment had to do everything from scratch, NEWS MAGAZINE

13

Ms Poon used to spend most of her days off going on a hike, but camping under the pandemic is a whole new experience for her. At first, she did not remember to bring any mosquito repellent, so her legs and arms were swollen the next day from mosquito bites.

But now Ms Poon prefers camping staycation to hotels. She thinks the central air conditioning systems in hotels are a health risk during the pandemic.

So far, there have been no Covid-19 cases linked to campsites in Hong Kong. But there have been clusters related to hotel staycation.

According to the Centre for Health

Protection, at least seven cases were linked to the Mui Wo Seaview Holiday Resort staycation cluster in November 2020.

James Hamblin, a lecturer of Yale School of Public Health, points out that air conditioning in hotels can spread viruses. Dr Hamblin says that although there is currently no evidence to show that Covid-19 can spread from room to room through the air conditioning system, viruses are trapped in the closed room because airflow is only in a limited space.

Gigi Chan Chun-yu also shares the same health concern as Ms Poon. But she is tired of hiking and cycling, so she tried camping instead.

She went on a hotel staycation once, but was very disappointed.

“Due to the pandemic, the things that I can do in a hotel room are very limited. Apart from taking ‘Instagram-worthy photos’, I

could only watch TV with my friends. Basically no different from spending time at home, except I have to pay for the services,” the 21-year-old added.

But camping provides a greater variety of activities for her. She could, for example, barbecue with her friends and explore different campsites.

Nonetheless, she admitted that staying in a hotel is more comfortable than camping. She once had a hard time falling asleep because the wind kept shredding the tent.

“I am never the type of person who likes to build everything from scratch,” said Ms Chan embarrassingly. “That’s why I also went glamping after experiencing camping.”

Glamping is basically camping in luxury. Campers don’t bring their own tents, sleeping bags, etc. because the campsite provides

those. There is also a variety of accommodation, including camping cars and pre-set tents with air conditioning.

Given the trend of camping brought about by the pandemic, Cheng Tsz-hay, founded Chill Out Camping in November last year.

They provide retail and rental services of camping tools.

The 28-year-old director is also a camping maniac herself.

“As a camper, I found out that a full set of camping gear is quite unaffordable for newbies, and storage space is also another concern,” said Ms Cheng.

With rental services, her customers need not to worry about the cost and the gear will not go to waste even if some campers lose their passion for camping.

Currently, camping is a trend in Hong Kong mainly because of travel restrictions. Although there

Campers can choose the rental packages at the Chill Out Camping website according to the number of participants.

NEWS MAGAZINE

14

,

“I am never the type of person who likes to build everything from scratch.

That’s why I also went glamping after experiencing camping.”

.

r

r

Gigi Chan Chun-yu is no end in sight to the pandemic, Ms Cheng is optimistic towards the future of camping. She added that even if camping is no longer a trend after the pandemic, it will still be a leisure activity of choice.

She added that once worldwide travel can resume, hotel staycation will no longer be available because the hotels will be back to normal, serving foreign visitors.

Looking into the future, Mr Cheung thinks that the businesses of campsites will depend on the quality of services.

Ms Chan also believes that as more and more Hongkongers value a work-life balance, camping will still be an option for people to recharge themselves from their “Our campsite is more than just a hectic lifestyle. commodity,” he added.

“By bonding with nature, people can learn to slow down and appreciate the beauty of nature.”

the customers while providing them with value-added services.

As an “edutainment” campsite that offers team building and leadership training services, Mr Cheung is confident that his campsite will continue to attract new customers.

He works with the United Nations to achive sustainable development goals and contribute in educating

Ms Poon brings her cooking utensils when camping on a beach. Photo credit: Jynx Poon Cheuk-yin NEWS MAGAZINE

15

Copyright infringement prevalent in Chinese social media Reported by Cora Zhu Edited by Icy Chen

Courts in China have seen an increasing number of intellectual property cases in recent years.

Source: Chinese Courts filing

NEWS MAGAZINE

16

Melody Yin is typing the title of her work in the search box, but the first post that popped up was not hers.

“I’m actually not upset at all,” said Ms Yin in one of the videos she posted talking about copyright.

“Copying is so prevalent in wemedia. I’ve found my post being copied twice.”

mainland and Hong Kong. The platform mainly features beauty and lifestyle content, as well as e-commerce. Today there are more than 12 million monthly active users, according to data platform iiMedia.

copied versions even across different social media platforms,” Mr Wang said.

“There are so many posts with similar content. You can find

According to the report, one of the most common and hard to define

Copyright refers to the owner’s “exclusive right to use the work”, including written, audio, video and software work, according to It is not uncommon to see content Google’s legal help. Copyright makers like Ms Yin facing copyright infringement behavior includes infringement issues in China. copying, renting, showing to the “In fact, that’s much less than But many are unhappy with the public or making adaptations of other bloggers who have more limited measures to punish and the copyrighted work, the Hong followers,” she said. prevent future copyright tort. With Kong-based law firm ONC Lawyers COVID-19 lingering and people said.

The 27-year-old part-time spending more time online, the blogger has been publishing competition among text or short The Chinese copyright watchdog articles online since 2020, mainly video content makers to stand 12426 Copyright Monitoring focusing on self-development and out is intensifying and copyright Center said in a report last year daily life sharing. She has 14,000 infringement. that 92.9% of the more than 10 followers on RED, or Xiaohongshu, million posts detected copyright meaning “Little Red Book”. She “When I’m watching Douyin, I often breaches of short video content filed a complaint to the platform feel like I might have watched that between January 2019 and and the copycat post was removed. piece before, or at least watched October 2020.One piece of short a similar one,” said university video may contain more than one “That’s it. The platform did nothing student, Henry Wang Yun. Douyin category of copyright tort such as else to protect the content makers’ is a popular short video platform, misuse of background music, raw copyright,” she said. the Chinese version of TikTok. materials and captions.

Founded in 2013, Xiaohongshu has since gained popularity in the

“That’s it. The platform did nothing else to protect the content makers’ copyright.”

Melody Yin

a T i

“ l

e

w f

R r o

“ t

Ms Yin’s post about her personal experience of content breaches in social media. situations is making adaption of the original content but the underlying idea is essentially the same, which is also literally known as “Xi Gao” in Chinese.

Aparts from copying and publishing copyrighted works,infringers often choose different platforms other than the one originally used , which make further detecting the copycats difficult.

Ms Yin once saw her article, which she originally published on the platform Jianshu, being duplicated to an Wechat official account without her permission.

writer, by a Wechat official account I actually followed.”

On RED, users, both original content makers and viewers, can make complaints if they find the content has been stolen by others.

“Some people are better. They would give my credit when republishing my article,” Ms Yin said. The platform, after confirming, will then remove the post. The official “What’s funny is once I saw my announcement says individual article re-posted, without citing the breaching copyright may face

NEWS MAGAZINE

18

account block and legal liabilities. the infringer,” said Wang Jing, an The measures are similar to attorney specialising in copyright international social media platforms lawsuits at the law firm, Co-effort. such as Instagram.

“The copyright holders, or affected “The cost of copying is very content makers can give the low,” said Ms Yin. Several content attorney full instructions and makers, who once shared their then there’s basically nothing left experiences of having their content needed for them to do,” Mr Wong stolen or duplicated, also said the said. platform only removed the post, which is not enough to prevent According to China’s copyright law, future tort. any offender may face a maximum fine of 500 million yuan (HK$5.95 RED did not reply to the message million). request for the platform’s policies on copyright infringement.

“Since I’m only a part-time blogger, I don’t want to put much time and “The most effective measure is money into a lawsuit,” said Ms to directly file a lawsuit against Yin. The fee is about 30% of the

final penalty based on the industry standard.

“Besides, again, it’s so common among content makers,” she said.

Ms Yin still posts online, but she wants to know, “What exactly is the fine line between inspiration and imitation?”

.

RED has an official account to remind users not to infringe others’ copyright.

NEWS MAGAZINE

19

Art exhibition transports to 1 Reported by Bowie Tse & Yvonne Tung Edited by Sumnima Lama

In the basement of the Landmark shopping mall in Central is an art installation that looks a lot like a subway platform from 1980s New York.

The project pays tribute to the city’s graffiti culture and is a collaboration between two local emerging artists and a New York graffiti artist.

The recreated subway car is meant to evoke the feeling of 1980s New York. “Time Travel” is curated by JPS Art Gallery in the Landmark and is a collaboration between two emerging local artists Afa Annfa (Afa Lee) and Chino Lam and New York graffiti artist Cope 2.

NEWS MAGAZINE

20

o 1980s New York subway

Local artist Chino Lam started his career producing artwork that combines both fine art and pop culture.

Also a toy maker, his signature character Jiro, his name written on the train wall here, is a sea animal with human features.

Afa Lee, who goes by Afa Annfa, kicked off her art career as an illustrator and later became a visual artist.

Growing up watching Japanese animation, Ms Lee said her work is greatly influenced by popular cultures including subcultures and Japanese culture.

NEWS MAGAZINE

21

Ms Lee said it was her first time collaborating with a street artist, and that the “hit and run” style of graffiti production is opposite from her illustrative work, which she described as “leisurely and meticulous.”

“I am not the kind of artist who expresses himself through street art like graffiti. I am rather introverted so I prefer drawing alone.”

Afa Lee

NEWS MAGAZINE

22

The inspiration for “Time Travel” came from the 1980 US movie “Somewhere in Time,” in which the protagonist time travels back to 1912 thorugh self hypnosis to meet the woman whose photo he fell in love with.

NEWS MAGAZINE

23

Objects in the exhibition are intended to create a sense of nostalgia for the 1980s.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority logo is displayed on the recreated subway car. The MTA has been managing the New York City subway system since 1968.

NEWS MAGAZINE

24

Street art in New York City blossomed in the 1980s.

r

There are seven murals and oil paintings in the exhibition. Ms Lee and Mr Lam created advertisement-like paintings, to represent the advertising light boards in New York City subway stations, and Cope 2 sprayed graffiti art on them.

Not only does the art convey a sense of time travel, but also represents three artists from different generations which makes it a cross generational collaboration, Ms Lee said.

The seven art pieces include the distinctive aesthetics of the three participating artists.

NEWS MAGAZINE

25

“The idea of Coca-Cola was kindled by my childhood memories in the 80s where women still dressed in pink delivered fast food and Coke to customers. The era brought light to the whimsical emergence of alien movies, for example E.T.,” Mr Lam said, adding that he took inspiration from prominent products that beat deep in the heart of Hong Kongers and opted to emanate a vintage touch to the artworks.

NEWS MAGAZINE

26

B h J

Basketball star Michael Jordan, who is depicted in the painting on the right, is drawn as he looked in the 1980s. The pair of basketball shoes hanging on his shoulder are the Air Jordan 1, which came out in 1985.

“The collaboration of artwork and graffiti element was a triumph in replicating the 80s street culture,” said Mr Lam. “Though Cope 2 has been a controversial artist, it was a very valuable opportunity to work with him,” said Ms Lee.

NEWS MAGAZINE

27

NEWS MAGAZINE

28