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Studio City Macau – Opens 27 October, 2015

Even as Macau gambling revenues tumble from their stratospheric levels of two years ago construction still continues on seven new integrated resorts. They’re casinos in all but name, the Macau and Chinese governments looking to put a more palatable identity for the worlds largest gambling centre. Which is good news for those of us who enjoy Macau, but – much to the annoyance of the casinos – don’t gamble.

The newest resort on the block, opening on the 27 October, is Studio City the latest venture to join the Melco Crown empire headed by Lawrence Loo and James Packer. Located close to the new Lotus Gate border crossing, Studio City is easily identified by it’s unique figure 8 gondola ride located in the middle of the building. On bc’s recent tour of the almost completed resort the ride looks spectacular and is set to become one of the must do things in Macau. Quite where the long queues will line up we’re not sure.

The integrated resort theme runs through the whole 6 million square foot building, competing with the gondola ride for most attractive non-gaming feature will be the 4D Batman Dark Flight ride (MOP$150) where ‘flying’ through Gotham City promises to be a thrilling audio, visual and sensory adventure.

Aside from gambling, shopping and dining Studio City will combine the magic of cinema with the magic of illusion to leave you smiling as your money disappears infront of your very eyes. The House of Magic by Franz Harary is a three theatre experience of illusion and and magic. Three magic shows for the price of one, we’re very interested to see how this works – tickets are MOP$600(VIP), $400.

Studio City will also be hosting concerts at it’s 5,000 seat Event Centre and the first concert announced is Madonna. Tickets for the two shows on 20, 21 February 2016 go onsale on the 16 October priced at MOP$10,588, $8,888, $7,888, $2,588 from www.studiocity-macau.com

CD1509102_MSC_EM_LV Madonna Concert Visual_horizontal_A1_v_op

Match Report: HK Scottish Kukris 12-10 HKCC Ladies

Game 2 of the new season saw HKCC Ladies visit the Rock to face a strong HK Scottish Kukris side. The preparation was solid, with both teams having good numbers and a comprehensive warm up. The weather was perfect before kick off, with whispers of ‘Winter is coming’ from John Snow on the sideline.

HKCC started in what now seems a typical slow fashion, having to defend their own line from a barrage of Scottish attack, in particular by Robyn Beese who used her power to good effect. However HKCC dug deep and showed passion and desire to keep the rampaging Scottish at bay.

After riding the wave of the first ten minutes, HKCC began to get into their flow and the backs started to make some breaks. 15 minutes passed and HKCC’s determination paid off with Sandy Bay graduate Tissia Polycarpe scoring her first Senior Rugby League try by breaking through the centres.

The first half was a tightly fought contest that seemed to consist of scrum after scrum, after scrum. But after taking part in a scrum session with Hong Kong Men’s Coach Andy Hall earlier in the week, the HKCC forwards were well equipped to fend off the domineering Scottish front row, which last season had out-scrummaged them.

At the end of an exciting first half that saw both teams desperately hungry for tries, HKCC held a 5-0 lead.

The second half saw more of the same: some excellent defending from both sides as well as great attacking patterns seemingly cancelling each other out.

With fatigue kicking in and some injuries occurring, both sides looked to make changes. HKCC looked tired and the excellent Scottish front row took advantage of this with some superb counter scrummaging as well as making great yards with ball in hand.

However in a strong counter attack, HKCC forwards drove the Scottish defence back and gained themselves a lot of ground and a crucial penalty. HKCC scrum-half Ashley Brooks pounced on the ball to take a quick tap and go but the referee shouted ‘play on’. Despite this call a confused defence and scrum-half Ashley ceased playing. After a moment of hesitation Ashley recovered and scored a well-earned try under the posts.

HKCC received the ball full of confidence from the restart and again began to use their patterns to good effect. Only to have the ball turned over in their own half, leading to the wrecking balls of the Scottish front row once again, who powered the ball up the field with great steam.

The Scottish attack was in full flow and it was only a matter of time before they were rewarded. This came moments later with a brief lapse from an otherwise impeccable defensive performance so far from HKCC, the Scottish attack capitalised and Man-Ling Hui scored to make it 10-5 with 10 minutes to go.

HKCC regrouped and believed they could hold the home team out to the final whistle, but knew it would be tough if they had to defend for the whole period. So from the kick off they pressured well to cause a turnover.

Time to see the game out!

HKCC got closer and closer to the Scottish line hoping to seal a third try and the game. Inch by inch HKCC could see the line like it was destiny in front of them. Only for destiny to throw a cruel spanner in the works. The excellent Scottish defence counter rucked on their own line allowing their fly-half to kick it clear. HKCC scrambled back in defence yet it was not enough. Out of nowhere and quick as a flash the Scottish speedster Man-Ling Hui collected the ball and effortlessly scored her second, a breakaway try from her own twenty-two, leveling the game at 10-10 with only time left for the conversion.

In what seemed like an eternity, the ball rose high from the Scottish kicker’s boot and flew between the sticks, sealing a dramatic 12-10 victory in the last second of the game.

One of the most entertaining women’s games I have seen in a long time and one that showcased the rise in standard of the second tier of Women’s rugby. Well done to Scottish on their hard fought victory, but HKCC took great pride in the display as they lost by 50 points to the same team at the end of last season. Saturday’s result showed the HKCC Ladies that if they continue to improve like they have since preseason, they will be in the mix for honours come the end of the season.

What a game!

HKCC Women of the Match – Nobuko Oda and Cheryl Gourley
HK Scottish – Has to be their Front Row.

Women NL1: HK Scottish Kukris 12-10 HKCC
@ Shek Kip Mei, Kick-off: 15:00
HKCC Ladies: Carolyn Champion, Wawa Li, Joanna Harvey, Mhari McLoughlin, Nobuko Oda, Wendy Sham, Cheryl Gourley, Lynda Nazer, Ashley Brooks, Tinley Wong, Zoe Wong, Lucy Thomson, Tissia Polycarpe, Brenda Chan, Diana Li
Substitutes: Isabella Rivers, Elane Lau, Serene Yee, Hoi Yi Li, Christy Ma, Margaret Chan
Try: Tissia Polycarpe, Ashley Brooks

HK Scottish Kukris: Rachel Wong, Tiffany Tse, Hoi-Tung Jim, Idy Chung, Robyn Beese, Taro Yau, Jenny Yung, Andie Ma, Hau-Yi Chung, Karis Cheung, Man-Ling Hui, Anna Kam, Sau-Yi Yumi Fan, Claire Hunter, Ket Robinson
Substitutes: Francis Lo, Berky Kong, Wun-Lo Chung, Wun Scarlet Ma, Yuen-Ting Fung
Try: Man-Ling Hui (2), Conversion: Karis Cheung

Megabites: Greenhouse

Greenhouse on the 10th floor of Times Square is the latest outlet from the Gaia Group. The menu shares a theme and several dishes with sister restaurants Townhouse in Lan Kwai Fong and Glasshouse in IFC, but the 7000 square foot Greenhouse’s menu is different enough for a separate visit. The bright open plan layout is big enough that, unlike many smaller places, if you want to relax and chat with friends over some bites and drinks you can – without that feeling that the waiter wants you gone…

The main menu is split into 6 sections – small bites, bigger bites, robata bites, garden bites, pizza bites, main bites with a separate sweet bites menu. Prices range from $48 for the small bites to $568 for a 24oz rib eye. The dishes that caught our eye were the bacon wrapped scallops ($52/skewer) and coco-cola prime beef ($58/skewer) robata. Not cheap per skewer, but the portions are large, the beef juicy. The scallops were big and tasty, but the bacon (sadly) was barely noticeable and (sadly again, as a bacon lover) added nothing to the flavour.

The Masaman curry lasagna with roasted mushrooms, chicken and smoked mozerella ($118) – it’s such an eclectic sounding mix that it shouldn’t work. Yet it does, the curry with the melted cheese and pasta, the vegetables and chicken providing textures. Just a delicious dish and one we’ll return for time and again.

The wagyu burger with black truffle mayonnaise ($148) is a big juicy 7oz fine ground wagyu patty served in a sesame seed bun. The patty was evenly cooked, served pink, nicely juicy with a good meaty bite. The bun is fresh and doesn’t disintegrate as the juice seeps down. It would be nice if the dish came with fries, but you can order those on the side ($68) with more black truffle mayonnaise. That makes a burger and fries almost $250 (including the obligatory 10% service charge) which, in any restaurant, is a lot for a burger.

The signature Balinese style fried chicken ($258) was perfectly cooked, the chicken meat moist, while the skin was crispy. The sambal sauce is spicey, and goes nicely with fries as well.

For dessert there are pizza crepes ($98) and the fun ‘candy crush’ ($118), a selection of ice cream, fruit, chocolate and sweets served in a stone mortar and pestle for you to crush and enjoy with friends.

The drinks menu includes all that you’d expect plus a selection of ice green tea lattes ($48). The green bamboo latte is a combination of sugar cane syrup, green tea, Gaia coffee and cream – a nice mix of flavours, the coffee adding a little sharpness to the green tea. There are ‘frozen’ drinks, the Pandan leaves and coconut is combination of fresh Pandan leaves, coconut cream, condensed milk, soft brown sugar and hazelnut topping. The signature milk tea ($48) served in a jug is a little milky for our taste but there’s a lot worse being served around town.

Service is polite and efficient, the dishes bc tried were well cooked, nicely presented and reasonably sized. It’s hard to find fault in Greenhouse – it is, what it is, an enjoyable place to eat out.

Greenhouse
Shop 1004, Shop 1004, Time Square, Causeway Bay. Tel: 2383 4022

Match Report: HKFC Ice 20-7 Kowloon

In a first for women’s rugby in Hong Kong, the Premiership kicked off at King’s Park at the same time as the men’s. Linda Olson was there as six of the seven Women’s Premiership teams played their first matches of the 2015-2016 season under the clouds and rain of Typhoon Mujigae and a T3 signal – with stalwart supporters and tenacious photographers braving the elements to support them on King’s Park pitch 2.

More was at stake than in previous seasons, with HKRU Women’s Development Manager, Samantha Scott Feausi announcing shortly before Super Saturday that, “A new Super Series will feature our top 66 players from the domestic league. These players will be split into three Barbarian sides which will play against each other, effectively adding a component of representative rugby apart from the domestic league and just below the national setup. The goal is to better prepare and help transition players to full representative rugby.”

Premiership newcomers HKFC Ice proved they are worthy of their place in the top women’s league with a convincing 20-7 win over Kowloon Ladies. As Injured Captain Royce Chan looked on from the sidelines, young Captain Aileen Ryan led her team to a convincing victory over 2014’s sixth place team.

With winds gusting at 40-70km and heavy rain, Ice’s first try was scored within seconds of kick-off by number 8 Bobby Wilson, a second from Sarah McMillan quickly followed for a commanding early lead as Ice took control. A second try in the corner for Bobby Wilson before half time saw the premiership newcomers head into the break comfortably ahead 15-0.

At start of the second half, Kowloon, demonstrating an admirable never-give-up mentality, began the half with renewed energy, gaining ground despite good tackling by HKFC. Their momentum was stopped by a penalty and a couple of minutes later, Sarah McMillan capitalized on some excellent teamwork to take the ball across the line for Ice’s fourth try.,

Kowloon continued to play with Lily Chau Hei Tung scoring the best try of the match under the posts after some excellent teamwork and some fancy footwork.Cindy Yuen Lok Yee kicked the first conversion of the match for what turned out to be Kowloon’s consolation score.

Additional match report from Stephanie Wright

HKFC Ice made an impressive premiership debut against Kowloon on Saturday, looking stronger and fitter than ever. Despite the typhoon winds and lashing rain, HKFC Ice got off to a strong start with their new number 8 (Bobby Wilson) scoring a try in the first minute. In defiance of the numerous penalties called against them, HKFC Ice dominated the first half with two additional tries from Bobby and winger Sarah McMillan.

Half time and the rain had eased off. Kowloon kicked off the second half and started to show HKFC Ice what they are made of. Whether it was the improved conditions or a stern half time talk, they were back in the game. Sarah scored her second try of the game demonstrating exactly why Ice deserve their promotion. A strong defence from Ice and some great tackles by numbers 9, (Sophie Short) and 13 (Grace Hood) weren’t enough to stop Kowloon score and kick the only successful conversion of the game. It was a tough game in tough weather but HKFC Ice are off to a great start in the Premiership.

HKFC Ice 20-7 Kowloon
@ King’s Park, kick-off 14:30

HKFC Ice: Shonagh Ryan, Amy Kong, Megan Richardson, Martina Colombo, Claire Forster, Aysha Fiaz, Zuzanna Osinska, Bobby Wilson, Sam Tarrant, Aileen Ryan, Sarah McMillan, Jane Cheung, Grace Hood, Stephanie Siu, Emma Shields.
Substitutes: Denise Chan, Carol Hung, Madeline Adcock, Apple Lau, Sophie Short, Natalia Lech, Rabbit Leung.
Tries: Bobby Wilson (2), Sarah McMillan (2)

Kowloon: Tin Lai Lai, Yip Yuk Wun, Yip Cho Kwan, Lee Hoi Shan, Kwok Hei Woon, Au Yeung Yuen Ching, Lau Yan Yi, Leung Hei Nga, Chu Wing Yee Windy, Mak Ho Yee, Chiu Tsz Ki, Tsang Wing Chi, Mui Yan Long, Leung Lok Sze, Fung Wai Man Rita.
Substitutes: Wong I Kwan Elise, Iu Tsz Yan, Lau Ki Yan, Yuen Lok Yee, Lee For Wing Florence, Cham Wai Ling, Chau Hei Tung
Try: Lily Chau Hei Tung Conversion: Cindy Yuen Lok Yee

Updated 7 October with team lists and try scorers and Jena Saffery match report
Photo: Takumi Photography

Press Statement Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong

The Faculty of Law refutes in the strongest possible terms unfair criticisms that were said to have been made against Professor Johannes Chan in the last Council meeting of Sept 29, 2015.

Prof. Chan has long been recognised as a leading scholar of public law and human rights in Hong Kong. Before he became Head of the Department of Law in 1999 and subsequently Dean of the Faculty of Law, he had already been promoted by the University to his current academic position as Professor in 1998, after rigorous external assessment and on the basis of international recognition of his contribution to legal scholarship. In 2002 he was elected Dean of the Faculty. In 2005, when the University changed its deanship system to appointment of full-time deans on the basis of international recruitment, Prof. Chan was selected by the search committee and appointed the first full-time Dean of the Faculty.

Speculations that Prof. Chan was appointed Dean only because he is a nice person are groundless. While Prof. Chan is certainly a nice person, his colleagues respect him because of his excellent leadership and management of the Faculty, his vision for the Faculty’s role in providing high-quality legal education and promoting the rule of law in Hong Kong and as a centre of excellence in research on Western, Chinese and international laws, his unique ability in promoting and motivating colleagues to achieve this vision, and above all his utmost honour and integrity. During his term of office as Dean, Prof. Chan was also tireless in his efforts to deepen the Faculty’s ties with Mainland and overseas Universities, and the Faculty achieved high rankings in the QS World University Rankings.

Prof. Johannes Chan’s appointment as Honorary Senior Counsel in 2003 testifies to his high standing in Hong Kong’s legal community. Under section 31A(4a) of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance, a member of the academic staff of a law school in Hong Kong who is qualified as a barrister and who has “provided distinguished service to the law of Hong Kong” may be appointed Honorary Senior Counsel. The appointment is made by the Chief Justice after consultation with the Chairman of the Bar Council and the President of the Law Society of Hong Kong. So far, Prof. Chan is the only law teacher in Hong Kong who has been appointed Honorary Senior Counsel.

Professor Yash Ghai, Emeritus Professor of our Faculty, formerly holder of the Sir Y.K. Pao Chair in Public Law and HKU’s Distinguished Research Achievement Award (the most prestigious research award in the University of Hong Kong), wrote to us after the recent Council decision as follows:

“I was shocked to learn that the Council of Hong Kong University has rejected Professor Johannes Chan’s nomination as the University’s Pro-Vice Chancellor…

I was Professor Chan’s colleague for several years at the Faculty of Law at HKU. We are both public law teachers and have collaborated on several research projects. Prof. Chan is also a distinguished lawyer who has participated in several leading cases on constitutional and administrative law in Hong Kong.
It is absurd to say that he is not qualified for the position because he does not have a Ph D. Some of the world’s leading law professors and scholars do not have a PhD degree. … When I was a law student, first at Oxford, and then Harvard for graduate studies, not one of my teachers had a PhD! …

I collaborated with Prof. Chan in writing in and editing two books, one on human rights in Hong Kong, following the adoption by the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, and the other on the decision of the Court of Final Appeal in the right of abode case, decided soon after the Basic Law came into force. Chan edited most of the chapters, co-authored one with me, and one on his own, in the first of these books. In the second book, he took responsibility for editing contributions in Chinese language, and wrote a chapter himself. Both these books were well received and provoked considerable debate — as a good book should. Two years ago in a book that I edited with Professor Simon Young, on the first 13 years of the Court of Final Appeal and that of Chief Justice Andrew Li, Prof. Chan contributed an excellent chapter on public law. He has published articles in well-known law journals, in Hong Kong and abroad. …

Professor Chan has also written about Hong Kong’s law in popular journals and newspapers, to educate ordinary people and to stimulate debate — which is also the responsibility of a good law teacher and professor. His involvement with cases in the Hong Kong courts is also consistent with a scholar’s contribution to the development of the law. Developing good working relations with the judiciary and the legal profession, which Prof. Chan has done with great success, is also often regarded as the responsibility of a law teacher. His contribution to the reform of law is well-known, through litigation and research. It would be a grave misrepresentation to suggest that Prof. Chan was elected Dean of the Law Faculty because he was considered ‘a nice guy’. He is undoubtedly a nice guy. But before he became the Dean, he was the Head of the Law Department. All the students and teachers had ample opportunities to see his leadership at close quarters. It is because we were convinced of his outstanding abilities, in providing leadership, fundraising, cultivating relations with the judiciary and the legal profession, and his vision of the Faculty as a leading centre of legal scholarship, that we elected him as Dean. All the expectations that we had of him have been fulfilled…”

We hope that this statement has helped to set the record straight: Prof. Johannes Chan is internationally recognized as a leading scholar in his field. He was appointed Dean of Law for his vision, his leadership, his integrity, his passion for legal education, and above all his outstanding abilities. We have been fortunate to have him at the helm of the Faculty.

Regardless of what lies ahead, the Faculty will continue in its commitment to uphold academic freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong.

Faculty of Law
University of Hong Kong
4 October 2015

Match Report: HKCC 29-0 HKFC Fire

After a long, sweaty and tiring pre-season the start of the 2015/16 season has finally arrived. Head coach Alex Tarleton reports on HKCC season debut against HK Football Club Fire.

Match day started off in typical HKCC fashion with traumatic moments even before the season’s first whistle was blown – wrong buses, bus’s breaking down, replacements bus, no pitch booked and some tears (and that was just the coaches…). Finally a full squad of 23 arrived at KGV to warm-up, with time to spare.

With a T3 hoisted as Typhoon Mujigae brought wind and rain, nervous anticipation had the ladies fidgeting and keen to get the match and the season underway!

In the opening few minutes those nerves were very apparent, with HKCC resembling a herd of sheep following the ball around the field. However, a turnover saw summer signing Ashley Brooks make a quick break against the run of play to score a great solo effort from 30 yards out.

The opening score saw the ladies relax, become more settled and started to play the patterns we had been building on in pre season. Our shape was looking very good, our defence unbreakable and our scrum a great attacking platform.

Lynda Nazer having converted from a scrum half to a bustling back rower over the summer added two excellently worked tries, showing great determination to push over for an excellent brace.

The T3 was causing carnage at KGV with plastic bags and bottles invading the pitch, the rain hammering it down, but we went in 15-0 at the break.

The second half began a lot more tighter with HKFC regrouping and playing with a lot more ‘Fire’ as they tried to get back in the game. Both teams knew the next score was vitally important and CC withstood a lot of pressure from their rejuvenated opponents.

With the HKCC defence being pummeled, the ladies showed great character to withstand the pressure and keep FC from registering their first points of the season. Another turnover in the opposition half saw Ashley Brooks score again with Emma Chung adding the conversion to push the score out to 22-0, hopefully sealing the game with the bonus point.

We coaches were frantically signaling to keep up the hard work in defence as the Fire fly-half restarted the game, only for Tinley Wong to break through their defence straight from the kick off for a fifth try with Emma adding the conversion from in-front of the posts.

An excellent afternoon of rugby in testing conditions saw HKCC emerge with a 29-0 opening day bonus point win over HKFC Fire.

Celebrations then began on the side of the pitch and into the night….

Women of the match had to be both Brace Try scorers – Lynda Nazer and Ashley Brooks.

Women’s National League 1: HKCC 29-0 HKFC Fire
@KGV Kick-off: 16:30
HKCC: Kassie Chapel, Joan Yip, Jo Harvey, Katie Rowbottom, Lauren Petersen, Wendy, Lainie Man, Lynda Nazer, Ashley Brooks, Tinley Wong, Yana Dimitrova, Lucy Thomson, Tissia Polycarpe, Diana Li, Stephaine Zhang
Substitutes: Charlotte Berry, Mhairi McCloughlin, Carolyn Champion, Zoe Wong, Emma Chung, Wawa Li, Hoi Yi Li, Nobuko Oda
Tries: Lynda Nazer (2), Ashley Brooks (2), Tinley Wong. Conversions: Emma Chung (2)

Joint Statement in relation to the rejection of the appointment of Professor Johannes Chan

Joint Statement by the 18 Professional Groups in relation to the Council of the University of Hong Kong’s rejection of the appointment of Professor Johannes Chan as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor

On 29 September 2015, the Council of the University of Hong Kong (the “Council”) rejected (by 8 votes in favour and 12 votes against) the Selection Committee’s sole recommendation to appoint Professor Johannes Chan as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor. We hereby express our anger and condemnation in respect of this baffling decision. At the same time, we regret that the Council has still not given a specific explanation in connection with its decision.

But what is concerning is that, according to Mr. Billy Fung Jing-eh, student representative of the Council, members of the Council who advocated the rejection of Professor Chan’s appointment spoke nonsensically at the Council meeting by citing baseless reasons. At one point they even cited reasons such as the lack of search results for Professor Chan on Google Scholar (but one would know that law scholars or law students use specific search databases and rarely use Google Scholar as a search engine), or that Professor Chan does not have a PhD degree. Even absurd reasons such as whether Professor Chan has sent his regards to Professor Lo Chung Mau was cited as a condition for becoming the Pro-Vice-Chancellor.

Professor Chan has served the University of Hong Kong for 30 years. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong for 12 years. Professor Chan was also appointed by Andrew Li, the former Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal in 2003, as the only Honorary Senior Counsel in Hong Kong in recognition of his achievements in education. It can be seen that the various “reasons” quoted by the members of the Council who rejected the appointment of Professor Chan are in fact unjustified. In addition, in the past few months, following the unceasing and baseless personal attacks by newspapers that are mouthpieces of those in power towards Professor Chan, the Council continued to delay its resolution to appoint the Pro-Vice-Chancellor and even used ridiculous reasons such as “waiting for the appointment of the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor”. All these incidents inevitably cause us to sense that an external force in the form of Beijing is intervening with the appointment of Professor Chan as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor. We have therefore become pessimistic as to whether academic freedom can be maintained in Hong Kong.

We must also mention that it was Mr. Fung who, despite the risk of being subject to disciplinary action by the Council, disclosed what took place in the Council meeting. It was him who uncovered the various excuses made by those Council members against the appointment. In this regard, we greatly appreciate Mr. Fung’s moral courage and sense of responsibility.

Regrettably, we observe that there were numerous public criticisms directed at Mr. Fung. Concerning this matter, we must point out that according to Paragraph 5.3 of The University of Hong Kong Guide and Code of Practice for Members of the Council, Council members shall abide by Seven Principles of Public Life, including:

(1) Council members should take decisions solely in terms of the public interest;
(2) Council members should not place themselves under any obligation to outside organisations that might influence them in the performance of their official duties;
(3) In making public appointments, Council members should make choices on merit;
(4) Council members are accountable for their actions to the public;
(5) Council members should be as open as possible about all decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands;
(6) Council members have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest; and
(7) Council members should promote and support these principles by leadership and example. We consider that Mr. Fung had acted in manifestation of the above Seven Principles of Public Life, in particular in upholding Principles No. (1), (3), (4) and (5).

Furthermore, in this context it is well-established at common law that when the Court determines whether there is a breach of confidence, public interest should be taken into account. Unless the secret documents disclosed endangers public interest, the Court will not protect to such secret documents (Commonwealth v Fairfax (1980) 147 CLR 39; R v Ponting [1985] Crim. L. R. 318).

Academic freedom is one of Hong Kong’s core values. We will continue to seek accountability from those Council members who improperly interfered with the independence of the University. We are considering further actions in following-up on this incident involving the Council, and will provide the public with more details once such proposed actions have been finalised.

Act Voice
Action Accountants
At-grade
ArchiVision
Artists Action
Financier Conscience
Frontline Tech Workers
Hong Kong Psychologists Concern
Insurance ARISE
IT Voice
Médecins Inspirés
Nurses Political Reform Concern Group
Planners’ Voice
Progressive Lawyers Group
Progressive Teachers’ Alliance
Radiation Therapist and Radiographer Conscience
Reclaiming Social Work Movement
Surveyor Conscience

精算思政 Act Voice，Action Accountants 進步會師，At-grade 園境 • 願景，思政築覺 ArchiVision，藝界起動 Artists Action，前線科技人員，良心理政 HK Psychologists Concern，保險起動 Insurance ARISE，IT Voice，杏林覺醒 Medecins Inspires，護士政改關注組，Progressive Lawyers Group 法政匯思，進步教師同盟 Progressive Teachers’ Alliance，放射良心，社工復興運動 Reclaiming Social Work Movement，量心思政 Surveyor Conscience

2 October 2015

Women’s Rugby Season 15/16 Preview

Women’s Premiership captains: Chan Long Sze Royce, Chloe Mak, Nam Ka Man, Jen Mackay, Jay Ho, Dora Kwok, Mok Ting Yan.

The women’s league structure, which was comprehensively overhauled for the 2014-15 season, sees further tweaks for the 15/16 season as the overall number of teams competing increases from 22-25 across three leagues. Despite the HKRU’s indifference to women’s rugby, it’s been the fastest growing area of the sport locally for several years and with Hong Kong’s women 7s winning in Qingdao recently there’s a lot of excitement ahead of the new season, which starts on 3 October.

The Premiership has grown from six to seven teams with HK Football Club Ice moving up to the top rung of local women’s rugby. The other participating Premiership teams are defending champions Valley Black, Gai Wu, USRC Tigers, Kowloon, SCAA Causeway Bay and Tai Po Dragons. Women’s Rugby Performance Manager Jo Hull and Women’s Rugby Development Manager Sam Feausi are looking to increase that to eight in the 2016/17 season.

One step below Premiership level, the National 15s League has grown by three teams to 11 with HK Scottish, SCAA Causeway Bay 3rds and Revolution joining the competition this season. The National 10s League will feature six teams and continues its role as a bridge for new and younger players looking to integrate into 15-aside competition.

The main change to this season’s competition is the introduction of a new internal representative competition: the Women’s Rugby Super Series – designed to bridge the gap between domestic rugby and the national XVs set-up.

“The Super Series will feature our top 66 players from the domestic league. These players will be split into three Barbarian sides which will play against each other, effectively adding a component of representative rugby apart from the domestic league and just below the national setup. The goal is to better prepare and help transition players to full representative rugby,” said Sam Feausi.

Feausi added that, “The Super Series will give coaches and selectors an opportunity to look at our best players and test combinations with an eye on the coming international season. The teams will primarily be drawn from the Premiership with selectors identifying any players from other competitions that we believe have what it takes to represent the National Team. The Super Series will give more opportunities to the best players in the Premiership to play at an even higher level.”

“We are focused on introducing more of a performance aspect into our women’s club system this season. The Premiership is the pinnacle of Women’s rugby and we want it to be geared towards high performance, as we are ultimately targeting qualification for Women’s Rugby World Cup in future.” said Jo Hull.

The three leagues promise to serve up some incredible rugby with defending champions Valley Black and perennial contenders Gai Wu shaping up as the favourites once again in the Premiership race. Gai Wu have 11 players involved with the national sevens team, Valley Black have nine. SCAA Causeway Bay is the only club to field a team in all three of the senior woman’s competitions.

“This is set to be the biggest club woman’s competition we have ever had in Hong Kong,” said Feausi. “With 25 teams across three highly competitive leagues it will be interesting to see who will be pushing hard for a place in the Premiership and spots in the Super Series teams. On the other end of the scale, we will be monitoring how successful clubs are at introducing beginners and less experienced players to rugby and transitioning them from National 10s to higher levels of competition.”

The Women’s Premiership will kick off on 3 October as part of the HKRU Super Saturday league launch at Kings Park. The National 15’s and Women’s 10s also kick-off this weekend and you can find the complete fixture list here.

Source HKRU, image courtesy of HKRU