Tag: HKsport

Taiwan Won’t Attend Hong Kong’s Gay Games in 2022 Fearing Security Law

Taiwan will not send a team to next year’s Gay Games in Hong Kong because of fears their athletes and staff could be arrested if they wave the island’s flag or use its name.

The revelation means the only place in Asia to have legalised same-sex marriage will not be at the continent’s first-ever Gay Games.

“We have decided not to send a national delegation as we don’t expect to be able join as Taiwan and to ensure personal safety of the athletes,” Yang Chih-chun, president of the Taiwan Gay Sports and Movement Association (TGSMA), told AFP.

Yang said his organisation, a formal member of the Federation of Gay Games, would assist any Taiwanese player who wanted to attend in a personal capacity.

“But we won’t actively encourage individual participation since there’s no guarantee of a player’s personal safety because under Hong Kong’s national security law, arrests can be made under any excuse,” he said. Yang added that he feared athletes could easily “cross the red line” if they spoke their minds.

In a statement, the Gay Games said it would follow the convention of Taiwan being called either “Chinese Taipei” or “Taiwan region”.

Athletes from Taiwan and the TGSMA were welcome to attend, organisers said, adding: “We are strictly non-partisan and non-political, and we ask all participants and visitors to respect and observe local laws and customs during their stay in Hong Kong.”

additional reporting: AFP

Free Tram Rides for a Week to Celebrate Olympic Success

As Hong Kong Tramways celebrated it’s new Guinness World Record – Hong Kong now has the world’s largest double-decker tram fleet, with 165 trams serving over 200,000 passengers every day. Managing Director Cyril Aubin said the tram operator wanted to celebrate the SAR’s Olympic success with the whole city, and announced a free week’s travel.

Aubin said the company had seen the MTR and KMB offer free rides to medallists. “But we thought $2.6 might be a bit offensive to the medallists.”

Nixon Cheung, Head of Commercial & Brand for HK Tramways, said the operator would need government approval for the free week, which he said would “hopefully” come in the last quarter of 2021.

Siobhan Haughey Wins Silver in 200m Freestyle!

Siobhan Bernadette Haughey won Hong Kong’s first Olympic swimming medal by taking silver in the 200m freestyle at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – Chapeau!

After making history by becoming the first Hong Kong swimmer to make an Olympic final, Haughey looked set for gold before Australia’s Ariarne Titmus chased her down in the final metres.

Siobhan Bernadette Haughey silver 200m freestyle

“My achievement, coupled with Cheung Ka-long in fencing, can inspire other Hong Kong athletes who are here in Tokyo, and ‘add oil’ to them,” Haughey said after the race.

“I would like to thank my coaches in Hong Kong and the United States, and also my dad and mum, without them I would not be having such an achievement,” added the silver medal winner “Those swimmers back home – continue to train hard and you will be the next.”

This is the first time Hong Kong has won multiple medals at an Olympic games.

updated quotes

Beyond Sad

What does it say about Hong Kong to the rest of the world when Lam’s administration cannot even provide team shirts to all our Olympic athletes?

Not that you’d know it, but on one of the greatest days of his life, this is Angus Ng in a plain black emblem free shirt competing at the Tokyo Olympics for Hong Kong.

Ng was massively abused online by many pro-Beijing politicians including Nicholas Muk for not being ‘patriotic’. Only for Muk and others to find that they the politicians had made it illegal under the Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance (A602) for Ng as an unsponsored athlete to display or wear the Hong Kong emblem unless authorised by Carrie Lam… Who hasn’t (apparently) given permission for all our amazing athletes to wear the Bauhinia.

Beyond sad!

Update: Nicholas Muk’s Facebook page has been apparently been deleted, without an apology made to Ng

RIP Sean Browne

Sadly Sean Browne passed away today aged just 32.
Chapeau my friend, a life well lived!

There hasn’t been a rugby tournament or trophy presentation over the past decade without Sean being a supporting part and enjoying the rugby.

The HKRU announced his passing in this way.

“Sean loved Hong Kong rugby, and we loved him – there are so many special memories of him leading out our national teams and joining them for the anthem line-ups, although he wasn’t adverse on the odd occasion to pin his colours to another international team if he thought they had a better chance of winning!

….He made our lives better, as I hope we did for him”

Tammy Chu Accepted onto ICC Cricket Future Leaders Programme

Congratulations to Hong Kong’s Tammy Chu one of the 40 women, from 29 ICC Member countries, selected to be mentored as part of the ICC Cricket Future Leaders Programme.

The program is designed to support emerging female talent in cricket, accelerate the growth of women’s cricket and women in cricket and address the low percentage of women in leadership positions across global cricket. The initial intake will be split into two batches with the hope to build a pipeline of new female leaders in cricket.

image: takumi photography

Cricket Hong Kong Launches Weeknight Indoor League

It’s hot, humid and stormy outside at the moment, not the best of conditions to play cricket. However, if you still want to put bat on ball this summer then sign-up for the new Cricket Hong Kong Indoor Cricket League!

The new indoor tournament will be played on weekday evenings during July at the Hong Kong Cricket Club and Craigengower Cricket Club.

If you would like to enter a team or join a team contact [email protected] by 9 June, 2021.