🌊 International Women's Day

Changing the gender gap in tech.

Good morning.

It’s International Women’s Day, which is a great time to buy a coffee for your favourite woman newsletter writer/journalist.

— Jasmine “yes, I am shameless” Lee

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On Today’s Tide

Society | The number of women who fall victim to sexual violence is far too high.

COVID-19 | Thousands queue to text photos of positive COVID-19 tests online.

Events | Gender gap in tech talk TODAY. You can still get our exclusive deal on FINE WINE (not a paid ad).

Behind the paywall:

COVID-19 cont. | McDonald’s shuts many of its locations. No extensions on rent moratorium.

Crime | Murder in Mong Kok and plotted murder court case ends. Plus, more jail sentences handed out for 2019 protest court cases.

Diplomat | How to move to the happiest country in the world.

Other | Think tank closes, death of former RTHK director, and MTR scouts interested developers.

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Sexual violence, domestic abuse a deepening concern

Society

About two in five women (37.5%) in HK reportedly experienced sexual violence while one in four have been victim of domestic abuse, according to a survey by the Hong Kong Women’s Coalition on Equal Opportunities. The online survey includes the responses of 1,044 interviewees.

COVID-19 is the suspected culprit (once again) for the recorded rise in sexual violence due to lockdown restrictions, with three in 10 women saying the most serious instances happened in their or the abusers’ homes. Most of the victims have sought help through friends or family, but barriers like shame often prevent women from getting the help they need.

I do not like hearing this on International Women’s Day! If you or anyone you know would like resources for victims of domestic violence, Harmony House provides shelter for women in immediate danger who need a safe place to stay.

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Rapid test reporting service launches

COVID-19

A service that allows COVID-19 patients to text a photo their positive rapid test along with their HKID went public yesterday. Thousands (and thousands) of people tried to use the service, causing a long queue of over 240,000 three hours after opening.

Kudos to HKFP for another helpful screenshot. Source.

Retroactive reporting is also available as well for people who tested positive between 26 February and Friday.

Hong Kong SAR Government News @newsgovhk

The Centre for Health Protection says it is investigating 25,150 additional #COVID19 cases, of which 32 are imported and the rest are locally infected

news.gov.hkHK sees 25k COVID-19 casesThe Centre for Health Protection says it is investigating 25,150 additional COVID-19 cases, of which 32 are imported and the rest are locally infected.

New cases: 25,150 (32 imported)

Over the last 14 days

• 417,373 positive cases

• 417,279 locally acquired cases

The 6.3 million people who registered for the Consumption Voucher Scheme will get the first half of the $10,000 in April.

As of tomorrow, Hong Kong will recognise COVID vaccination records from Benin and Jordan.

Community isolation facilities are currently at about 40% capacity. Security Chief Chris Tang has said that refusing to comply to the order to go to an isolation facility could be charged for obstructing public officers.

Two more centres to provide Sinovac vaccinations will open on Friday. Reservations for jab appointments open Tuesday (that’s today!) at 9 AM.

Over 4,000 riot police will help facilitate the mass COVID-19 testing throughout the city this month. They will be responsible for enforcing lockdowns and chauffering patients to hospitals or isolation facilities.

Lockdown updates:

• 1,063 preliminary positive cases were found after overnight lockdowns at eight buildings in Yuen Long, Kowloon City and Aberdeen (building names here). 264 of the cases were found in Yuen Long (building names here).

• Seven buildings were put into overnight lockdown on Monday night (building names here).

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Events and deals

Support Harbour Times, our friends and partners by attending these events! Let everyone know who sent you by tagging @harbourtimes

• 10% off the Cellar: La Cabane x Harbour Times

Our friends over at La Cabane have kindly given all High Tide subscribers 10% off everything on their online store - high quality wines, cheeses and wines-and-cheeses accessories.

lacabanehk

A post shared by La Cabane - Natural Wine HK (@lacabanehk)

Use the code HIGHONWINE10 at www.lacabane.hk to stock up your wine cellar today.

Other Events

• Bridging the Gender Gap in Tech: Int’l Women’s Day 2022

amchamhk

A post shared by AmCham HK (@amchamhk)

AmCham celebrates Int’l Womens Day with an interactive session featuring a panel of successful women in tech including

• Wei Lin: Head of Data Science and Analytics, Asia Pacific at TransUnion

• Maaike Steinebach: General Manager Hong Kong & Macau at Visa Inc.

• Alice Tin: Country Managing Director of Telstra International

• Ricky Kapur: Head of APAC at Zoom (who is not a woman but is cool)

• Moderated by: Marie Claire Lim Moore, CEO of TransUnion HK

When: 11 AM - 12 PM, 8 Mar
Where: Online (register in advance)

• Hong Kong Arts Festival

Watch live-streamed operas and concerts, and even some one-on-one interactive live theatre! Make sure to register in advance - each show has its own attendance policy.

harbourtimes

A post shared by Harbour Times | Hong Kong News (@harbourtimes)

Thanks for being a premium supporter for HT – your subscriptions are what allows Cyril to stay awake writing till 5am and feel like maybe it’s not an entire waste of time.