🌊 Free Tide: Ocean Park Water World is here!
🌊 Free Tide: Ocean Park Water World is here!
Ocean Park Water World set to open, Education Bureau mandates new "citizenship and social development" class, HK property shares tumble and more...
Good morning
Today’s new cycle is fairly bleak… but at least we have an Ocean Park-related headline to cheer you up!
~ Sze Yu
Ocean Park’s Water World set to open this Tuesday
Ocean Park’s new Water World water park will be officially opening to the public this Tuesday (Sept 21)(paywalled). The park is split into five zones—Splendid Reef, Torrential River, Thrill Valley, Adventure Coast, and Hidden Village—and offers a total of 27 indoor and outdoor attractions.
The park will be Asia’s first all-season water park, and will feature Hong Kong’s first ever all-weather indoor wave pool.
COVID news
Coronavirus in Hong Kong
New cases: 5 (imported)
Total cases: 12,166 cases so far (79 active cases, 213 total deaths, 11,874 total recovered)
Same-day vaccines now available to all Hong Kongers
Hong Kong will begin offering same-day Covid-19 vaccination appointments with no advance booking from Wednesday (Sept 22) onwards. The same-day tickets will be handed out everyday, starting at 7:45 a.m, on a first-come, first-served basis until the end of October. Hong Kong’s current vaccination rate (both doses) is 59.3%.
Liberal studies replaced by “citizenship and social development“ curriculum
Hong Kong secondary schools have begun teaching “citizenship and social development” as a replacement for the controversial liberal studies subject. According to SCMP, teachers say they will use examples from 2019 unrest, national security trial to show students why violence is wrong. However, they also expressed worries that the pass/fail nature of the course might mean that student’s pay less attention.
The liberal studies curriculum was introduced in 2009 and removed earlier this year after pro-Beijing politicians blamed the subject for radicalising young people during the 2019 protests.
Events & Exhibitions
Our events are handpicked from public exhibitions, partnerships/collaborations and also just stuff we find cool. We want to make sure that what we advertise is interesting for our readers, so if you go to an event that you saw here, let us know by taking a selfie and tagging us on Twitter or Instagram ( both @harbourtimes ).
We’ll throw in a free month of Paid High Tide for yourself or a friend!
K11 Art Mall Tattoo Show
Meet local tattoo artists and check out diverse tattoo art styles at the Hong Kong Tattoo Show 2021. There will be onsite inking service at the show and on a tattoo competition will be held on the last day (Sept 26).
The show will be held from Sept 24-26 at the K11 Art Mall. For more information, visit the hktattooshow website.
Hong Kong property shares tumble
Hong Kong property stocks nosedived on Monday over fears on China’s property clampdown and the potential collapse of Chinese real estate giant Evergrande. Evergrande has accumulated debts of more than $300 billion and is expected to default on upcoming interest payments this week. Investors are increasingly concerned about potential spillover into domestic and global markets.
President Xi Jinping’s continued introduction of new financial restrictions, designed to achieve “Common Prosperity”, have also added additional uncertainty to the market.
Other updates
National security police have arrested leaders of pro-democracy student group Student Politicism. Three members, including the group’s convenor Wong Yat-chin and secretary general Chan Chi-sum, were detained by officers on Monday morning. The three were accused of conspiring to incite subversion, partly because they allegedly attempted to recruit followers in prison using chocolates and hair clips.
Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy union—Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions—is disbanding. The group cited messages they had received in recent days that they felt seriously threatened their members’ physical safety.
Hong Kong men's foil team, represented by Ryan Choi Chun-yin, Cheung Siu-lun and Yeung Chi-ka, won bronze at the National Games, beating the Jiangsu team at 45-36. In total, Hong Kong has won 1 gold and 4 bronze medals in this year's China National Games.
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