🌊 School closures 'inevitable' in the face of falling enrolment

In other news, Hong Kong's poverty rate hits a 12-year high but the government sees differently...

Good morning,

Going to college in the US while writing for High Tide has really messed up my spelling (American vs. British).

Today, I spent way too long getting confused about ‘enrolment‘ vs. ‘enrollment‘…

~ Sze Yu

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On Today’s Tide:

1. Hong Kong schools facing falling enrolment

2. COVID testing frenzy in TST and Discovery Bay

3. Poverty rate hits 12-year high

4. Events & Exhibitions

Paid Tide readers get access to:

5. Street sleepers sue the government

6. Other news & updates!

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Hong Kong schools facing falling enrolment

Dozens of primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong are facing inevitable closures as a result of declining enrolment, says president of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers. The drop in new pupils has been attributed to the recent wave of emigration, the city’s low birth rate and the loss of cross-border students who are unable to enter Hong Kong due to travel restrictions.

Since the introduction of the National Security Law in mid-2020, data from the Census and Statistics Department in August showed nearly 90,000 residents (1.2% of the city’s population) left Hong Kong during the year. The Education Bureau projects the number of six-year-olds to drop 14.5% and the number of 12-year-olds to drop 5% from 2022 to 2029.

Wong said he expects the number of school closures to be in the “double digits”.

Kuanish Reymbaev via Unsplash

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COVID news

Hong Kong SAR Government News @newsgovhk

The Centre for Health Protection announces it is investigating five additional imported cases of #COVID19, among them, three are flight crew members who belong to groups of people who can be exempted from #CompulsoryQuarantine news.gov.hk/eng/2021/11/20…

Coronavirus in Hong Kong

• New cases: 5 (imported)

Large-scale testing in Discovery Bay and TST

A Cathay Pacific pilot living in Discovery Bay recently tested positive for COVID-19, sparking a compulsory Covid-19 screening exercise on Wednesday. Anybody who visited Cali-Mex Bar & Grill in Siena Avenue, buses serving a route between Discovery Bay Plaza and Tung Chung railway station, as well as the town’s pier and Discovery Bay International School were required to get tested.

A residential building in TST was also put under lockdown after a resident tested positive. No COVID-19 infections were found. In related news, travel from New Zealand has been upgraded to medium-risk, meaning incoming travelers are subject to a 14-day quarantine.

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Poverty rate hits 12-year high

The annual Poverty Situation Report, released on Wednesday, revealed that Hong Kong’s poverty rate (now one in five) has hit its highest point since record-keeping began 12 years ago. The government attempted to direct focus towards its ‘post-intervention poverty rate‘ of 7.9%, calculated using data after taking into effect the government’s policies of recurrent cash handouts and other fiscal stimulus.

“Poor people have been hit the hardest during the year of the pandemic, from job losses to underemployment and homelessness. The government must not turn a blind eye to the serious findings in its own report,” said Sze Lai-shan, representative of the Society for Community Organisation. Sze also claimed that last year’s mass unemployment was a direct result of the government’s tough social distancing policies.

Mihály Köles via Unsplash

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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!

Jewish Film Festival

Canada in Hong Kong @CanCGHongKong

🎬#TheHongKongJewishFilmFestival is back to the theatre with a great line-up of films this November! 🇨🇦#Canadian title “#OutremontandtheHasidim”, directed by Eric R. Scott will be screened on Nov 20 at Asia Society in HK. Details and Tickets: bit.ly/3btbLdv

One of the films featured at this upcoming festival is “Outremont and the Hasidim”, a Canadian film centred around a community of Orthodox Jews living in Montreal.

Day of the Dead – Art Alive

Consulmex Hong Kong @ConsulMexHko

In partnership with DOT Initiative, the Consulate General of Mexico is proud to present the exhibition 𝘿𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙙 – 𝘼𝙧𝙩 𝘼𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚: 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀.

From the Twitter account of the Consulate of Mexico to HK: “Building on the concept of the traditional “Altar de Muertos”, three Mexican artists have created original installations that incorporate digital art, video and sound, bringing a contemporary perspective on this important festivity.”

When: 2-12 November, 2021 between 9AM-1PM and 3PM-5PM

Where: 2507-2509, 25/F Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Chillin Jazz Fest

Musician’s Foundation’s jazz fest is back! Founded in May, the charity’s activities all support live musicians in Hong Kong. The first (much smaller) edition of the jazz fest took place in July, despite massive COVID fears and stringent regulation. Now that everything’s loosened up a bit, what better way to support your favourite jazz bands than to show up and chill?

Where: Tuen Mun, Gold Coast Piazza
When: Nov 13-14; 12:30-6pm
Entry: Free!

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