Congratulation to local sailor Stephanie Norton who in finishing third at Mussanah Open Championships in Oman made HK Sailing history by qualifying in the Laser Radial class for the Tokyo Olympics!
Norton is the first female dinghy sailor from Hong Kong to reach the Olympics via a competitive route since stricter qualification rules were implemented after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Photo RHKYC/Guy Nowell
Twitter has introduced a new emoji for the #MilkTeaAlliance hashtag to mark the first anniversary of a movement that has united people in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Myanmar and beyond in their quest to be heard.
To celebrate the first anniversary of the #MilkTeaAlliance, we designed an emoji featuring 3 different types of milk tea colours from regions where the Alliance first formed online. It automatically appears when you Tweet any of the hashtags below👇 pic.twitter.com/QiIBBbKfQc
— Twitter Public Policy (@Policy) April 8, 2021
Announcing the new emoji, an illustration featuring 3 different types of milk tea colours from the regions where the Alliance first formed online. Twitter said it will automatically appear when the #MilkTeaAlliance hashtag is tweeted in English, Chinese, Thai and Burmese.
BioNTech (Comirnaty) vaccination resumed today 5 April, longer lines – which at the time bc’s reporter was there were sadly disproportionately (about 80%) non-ethnic Chinese – meant the queue and injection took around 80 minutes.
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/20210405-11pro-Second-Covid-Vaccination-BionTech-Sai-Yin-Pun/i-XS6wd54
Unfortunately at Sai Yin Pun Vaccination Centre the nurse absolutely refused to allow our reporter to take a photo of themselves getting vaccinated.
We’re not big ‘selfie’ takers, but this seemed a missed opportunity to raise communal awareness of vaccination and maybe counter some of the negative rubbish being spread by the ignorant both in Hong Kong and abroad.
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/20210405-11pro-Second-Covid-Vaccination-BionTech-Sai-Yin-Pun/i-w86Rq7j
While the vaccine is not yet a cure, it can and will save lives! Not only of those who get infected but also of those whose jobs, livelihoods and mental health have been destroyed over the last year!
PLEASE GET VACCINATED!!! Make a booking here www.coronavirus.gov.hk
Live music returned as RubberBand rocked the HK Coliseum for four nights treating a packed crowd to 27 song set!
Supporting RubberBand in a night of greatest hits and fan favourites were the Patrick Lui Jazz Orchestra and acapella group AMuiXis.
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/RubberBand-Ciao-2021-HK-Coliseum-3-6-April-2021/i-t8V4X73
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/RubberBand-Ciao-2021-HK-Coliseum-3-6-April-2021/i-np9Xh6B
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/RubberBand-Ciao-2021-HK-Coliseum-3-6-April-2021/i-5tqpS8d
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/RubberBand-Ciao-2021-HK-Coliseum-3-6-April-2021/i-S8SZpLd
1. Dedicated To…
2. 醒未？
3. 每道微小
4. 一早地下鐵
5. 小涼伴
6. 阿波羅
7. 你和我
8. 天台飛人
9. 百毒不侵
10. 漫長
11. 田鼠論壇
12. 健兒
13. 堅彌地城
14. 睜開眼
15. 挾持
16. 山河故人
17. 倒行詩
18. 練習說再見
19. 心照一生
20. Hello?
21. G.I.（阿偉Solo）
22. 夥伴
23. Ciao（新歌）
24. 逆流之歌
25. 發現號
26. 未來見
27. 夏令時間 (Encore)
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/RubberBand-Ciao-2021-HK-Coliseum-3-6-April-2021/i-pFNfnk2
RubberBand Ciao 2021
Date: 3-6 April, 2021
Venue: HK Coliseum
Tickets: $780, $580, $380 from Urbtix
The limitations on competitive sport are impacting on domestic and international competition… So Hong Kong’s men’s and women’s sevens squads will travel to the United Kingdom and Portugal for an extended training camp in May and June.
Training and warm-up matches against international opposition are needed ahead of multiple upcoming tournaments including:
In August the World Rugby Challenger competition for spots on the World Sevens Series.
The 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou in September, where Hong Kong’s men’s sevens squad will be the defending champions, after taking Gold in Jakarta in 2018.
Hong Kong’s women finished in fifth place in Jakarta, and hope to improve on that in Hangzhou
The Rugby World Cup Sevens in South Africa in mid-September. Hong Kong have qualified for every Rugby World Cup Sevens since the inception of the world championship in 1993.
And lastly but by no means least the 45th Hong Kong Sevens in early November, the first international sevens competition to be held in the city in over 3½ years.
Hong Kong Rugby Union General Manager of Performance Rugby James Farndon said, “As restrictions tighten in Hong Kong, many of the HKSI’s High Performance Sport Programmes are taking their athletes and coaches overseas to ensure that they can maintain competitive advantage for their respective international competitions.
“Given the importance of our upcoming international tournaments we believe that it is essential for the teams to have optimal preparation including matches against premier international competition. The HKSI’s approach to financially support overseas training camps like this is highly appreciated by the HKRU,” added Farndon.
Training in the United Kingdom also offers the opportunity to enter both teams into two events on the upcoming UK Super Sevens Series, which takes place in May and June across the United Kingdom, and into long-running international sevens warm-up tournaments in Lisbon and the Algarve in Portugal. These will mark the first international competitions for the teams since November 2021.
The squads will depart on 6 May and will base at Loughborough University, an institution highly regarded for its sports programmes and with excellent training and rehabilitation facilities for the duration of the trip.
Additional reporting, images: HK Rugby
Hong Kong has 11 entries in ‘Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021‘ with local Cantonese restaurant The Chairman replacing last year’s numero uno Singapore’s Odette in top spot.
The very subjective list is compiled and voted on by over 300 ‘leaders’ in Asia’s culinary field including journalists, food critics, chefs, restaurateurs and culinary experts.
Quite how it can pretend to be remotely objective this year when travel and dining out have been extensively curtailed… But congratulations to the local restaurants listed.
The local restaurants in this year’s ‘Top 50’ are Vea (16), Neighbourhood (17), Belon (25), Caprice (28), Otto e Mezzo Bombana (33), Amber (37), Ta Vie (38), Mono (44), Lung King Heen (47) and Seventh Son (48).
The only Macau entry is Wing Lei Palace in 50th spot.
With “Technology For Our Future” as the theme the HK SciFest 2021 aims to encourage the public to learn more about the latest achievements in science and technology as well as the development trends of the future in order to take advantage of technology wisely for dealing with future changes and challenges.
During the festival, 26 March – 11 April, at the HK Science Museum new exhibitions will explore different aspects of ‘science’ including the world of flowers, encounters between amateur naturalists and nature, the application of science and technology in agriculture, the future of seed technology, as well as global climate change.
Highlighted events this year include Fun Science Carnival, Croucher Science Week, and a series of STEM x SCM online activities which looks to expand and engage public interest in and understanding of science, technology, engineering. There are also guided tours, science lectures and workshops aiming to provide diverse science experiences for people of all ages.
The 11 April, closing event Technologies of Gyroscope and Robotics (broadcast live on www.youtube.com/user/hksciencemuseum) will have robots performing Tai Chi and tightrope walking to demonstrate how they maintain balance using gyroscopic technology.
Full schedule of HK SciFest 2021 events www.hk.science.museum/scifest2021
HK SciFest 2021
Date: 26 March – 11 April, 2021
Venue: Hong Kong Science Museum
Tickets: various
At today’s daily press conference the Secretary for Civil Service Patrick Nip said the Hong Kong Government had received notice from Fosun Pharma/BionTech that there may be a problem with the packaging with Comirnaty batch number 210102.
BioNTech requested that vaccinations stop during the investigation period, while stressing that this is just a precaution. The Department of Health (DoH) and the CHP have decided that all local vaccinations in Hong Kong using Fosun BioNTech vaccine known as Comirnaty will stop until further notice.
Director of Health Dr. Constance Chan said the DoH has stringent protocols to monitor the distribution of medications locally.
Hong Kong has imported two batches of BioNTech vaccine:
585,000 doses on 28 February 2021 – Batch Number 210102.
758,000 doses on 7 March 2021 – Batch Number 210104.
150,000 doses from batch number 210102 have been used as of 23 March.
Dr. Chan said since these vaccinations have begun health staff have filed the following reports:
8 incidents when staff found cracks in the container.
22 incidents of leakage due to overpressure in the vile.
16 incidents of loose caps or caps that were not straight were found.
8 incidents where marks or dirt were found on the bottle
To be extra cautious whenever staff found abnormalities, they did not use these viles and threw them away.
Dr. Chan commented that those who have been vaccinated should not worry as there are very strict protocols for the staff to follow. This was echoed by Secretary for Food and Health Professor Sophia Chan who wanted to remind people that there is no evidence of any problems with the doses already administered to people in Hong Kong.
Thru their distributor Fosun Hong Kong, the Government submitted feedback to the manufacturer BioNTech. The manufacturer recommended Hong Kong suspend use of Batch Number 210102 temporarily. Batch Number 210104 is still in the warehouse and Fosun recommended that this batch not be used for the moment too. Dr. Constance Chan said that they will await the report from BioNTech as to whether batch 210104 can be used. If not, this batch will be returned, and HKGOV will request a new batch from BioNTech.
This morning an investigation was launched by the DoH. Fosun will request BioNTech to review the procedures inside their manufacturing plant. While locally Fosun will review the arrival procedures to see if their handling in Hong Kong had anything to do with these events.
Beyond those waiting for their first dose are those waiting for the second dose. The first group of which are scheduled for this Saturday, 27 March. The DoH is pressuring BioNTech for a prompt response and report. Currently, the DoH procedure is to administer the 2nd doses on day 21. Although there are studies and recommendations that suggest the second dose be effective up to Day 42. Dr. Chan said the DoH preference is to continue with day 21 but this all depends on what the manufacturer says.
Fosun received written notice from BioNTech on the evening of 23 March 2021 informing them that there may be a “small number of defects related to the cap of the vial” in batch number 210102.
Fosun added that “As, at the date of this announcement, there is no evidence to suggest that the safety of the relevant batches of product may be at risk.”
