

Hong Kong Today
Description:
RTHK's morning news programme. Weekdays 6:30 - 8:00
Presenter:
Ben Tse and Vicky Wong2023-03-01
Wednesday
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Selected audio segments:
Smiles all round as mask mandate dropped
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From Wednesday, people in Hong Kong can decide whether or not they want to wear a face mask. Chief Executive John Lee announced the end of the mask mandate on Tuesday, as he headed in to meet the Executive Council, officially ending the city's anti-pandemic measures. Frank Yung reports:
Masks still required at public health facilities
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The Hospital Authority says it will not drop mask-wearing rules at public hospitals and its healthcare facilities. It said patients, visitors and staff must still wear masks "to minimise the risk of spreading viruses and to protect patients from infection". Violet Wong reports:
Reminder to have jabs as Covid rules scrapped
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University of Hong Kong researchers say now that pandemic restrictions have been dropped, it is more crucial than ever for people to get their Covid vaccinations as these prevent hospitalisation and death. Big-data analysis done by the university's Faculty of Medicine showed three jabs, of either Sinovac or BioNTech, reduced the Covid death rate of elderly patients by over 95 percent. Professor Ian Wong, head of the Pharmacology and Pharmacy department, spoke to Ben Tse:
Psychiatrist cautions against hasty mask removal
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A leading psychiatrist says the sudden end of the mask mandate, after two and a half years of conditioning to wearing them, is going to pose problems for some people, especially Hong Kong's children. Dr May Lam, the president of the Hong Kong Mental Wellness Association, says although young children will learn to speak and identify emotions more quickly without masks, she cautioned parents not to push them if they felt insecure about removing them. She spoke to Ada Au:
EOC examines workplace mental illness discrimination
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The Equal Opportunities Commission says 70 percent of workers with mental illness have fewer chances to get promoted and may even have difficulties getting a job. The commission interviewed about 900 employers, workers and people with mental illness between 2020 and 2021. It said in the past five years, it received over 230 complaints on mental illness discrimination related to employment. Doris Tsui, acting head of the commission, told Vicky Wong that employers had a critical role to play in controlling workplace discrimination:
Police search landfill for missing remains
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Police have been combing through a landfill near the border in Ta Kwu Ling as they continue to search for the missing remains of murdered fashion influencer Abby Choi. The search came as one of the suspects charged with her murder - her former husband - appeared in court again for allegedly jumping bail over a separate case years ago. Natale Ching reports:
Killer set for early release
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A man who was jailed eight years ago for killing a woman whose body was never found is set to walk free from prison in a month's time. That was after his life sentence for murder was reduced to nine-and-a-half years for manslaughter, prompting his release for time already served. Violet Wong reports:
Ombudsman to probe pool safety
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The Office of the Ombudsman has announced it will investigate how safety is regulated at licenced swimming pools. The office says it is not satisfied that the government does not have a mechanism to track accidents and drownings at the more than 1,000 pools for which it is responsible. Vicky Kung reports:
Revision of harbour protection laws 'unnecessary'
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The government's plan to amend the Harbour protection ordinance has been criticised as unnecessary. An advisor to the Society for Protection of the Harbour says it may cause more damage to Victoria Harbour. Paul Zimmerman's comments came after the Development Bureau wrote in a blog on Sunday that it wished to change the ordinance to facilitate its waterfront improvement projects. Zimmerman spoke to Leung Pak-hei: