Good morning,

Ouf, long time no see. I do admit the heat has really gotten to me- so to not let this happen to you, let this be your daily hydration reminder.

If you don’t like plain water (can’t really blame you, there’s a lot of flavor fatigue), then one of the most refreshing drinks I’ve had this summer to cool down is a watermelon agua fresca. ‘Agua fresca’ = ‘fresh water’, and you literally just blend (preferably fridged) watermelon and cold water together, then mix with sugar and water. Sound tempting enough? Check out the video if you prefer the soothing cadences of one Chef John, who I’d like to be the narrative voice you hear in your brain when you read today’s Tide.

-Charlotte

On Today’s Tide

1. Politics | Being ‘hip with the kids’: How to “grow a National Identity”

2. COVID

   • Possible software update to color-coded COVID

3. Weather | Watch out for the heat…

4. Housing |

   • Survey finds rent control law doesn’t help subdivided flat tenants

   • Kowloon City redevelopment?

Behind the paywall:

1. MTR Crime | Specific subgenre today…

   • MTR corp apologizes to family of senior man found dead in toilet cubicle

   • Your local ‘‘mixed martial arts fighters” at the train station

2. Economy | Ya boi Paul Chan’s opinions on…the economy

Become a premium subscriber for just $8US a month – extra daily news and weekend roundups!

Advice for the kids: cultivate national identity so there’s no need to protest!

^As suggested by the government, lightly paraphrased.

According to Secretary for Security Chris Tang, many young HKers had the wrong ideas about the country and civil government, leading to the abundant social unrest we saw in 2019.

He urged not only the 250 secondary school students present at his sharing session on Sunday’s Book Fair, but also the general young populace of this city, to cultivate our national identities and learn more about Chinese history. This is the key to avoiding social division, he said.

Tang also stated there are various paths to democracy, and that people shouldn’t be constrained by a single perspective or version of it. Meanwhile, as quoted from SCMP, “Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Leo Chu Tsz-lok, the Democratic Party’s spokesman on education policies, said Tang’s version of the events in 2019 was one-sided and lacked evidence.”

Right then, who’s up for cultivating a national identity?

Share

COVID in Hong Kong

Hong Kong SAR Government News @newsgovhk

The Centre for Health Protection says it is investigating 4,064 additional locally acquired #COVID19 cases, of which 1,564 were directly identified through nucleic acid tests and 2,500 via rapid antigen tests that were verified

news.gov.hkHK logs over 4k COVID-19 casesThe Centre for Health Protection says it is investigating 4,064 additional locally acquired COVID-19 cases, of which 1,564 were directly identified through nucleic acid tests and 2,500 via rapid antigen tests that were verified.

1:11 PM ∙ Jul 24, 2022

COVID-19 in Hong Kong

• New cases: 4,250

• Total cases: 1,321,993

• New deaths: 8

• Total deaths: 9,469

Is Color-Coded Covid gonna be a thing?

Perhaps in the coming weeks, HK may adopt a two-color-coded system to prevent Covid patients and those in quarantine from entering high-risk places. Definitely not like that ‘copy my homework but change it’ meme for HK and the mainland, except it’s just two of the exact same assignment handed in and the students being graded are also simultaneously the teacher. (Please excuse my 4am analogies)

Brief explainer: the color code would work with the LeaveHomeSafe app. Infected residents would have a red QR code displayed, barring them ❌ from public places. Arrivals in quarantine would get a yellow QR code, restricting access ⚠️ to some premises.

The former health minister says this new code should be later extended to close contacts of people in both yellow and red. Ko Wing-man (as John Lee’s wingman in the Executive Council) stated if the health code was implanted successfully, then we just…might…have a shorter quarantine period. Maybe.

New declaration airport rule approaching

On Sunday, the government announced that from Thursday, all new arrivals must complete their health declaration online. This is to speed up airport immigration checks/quarantine procedures.

Share

Fatal HK heat for young hiker- ⚠️drink water⚠️

Sunday was the hottest day of the year so far and the hottest reading in July EVER (36.1ºC) since readings began over a century ago.

A 33-year-old Indonesian woman collapsed on Sunday, around 4:15pm, while hiking near Kai Kung Leng. Despite her friend calling emergency services and the woman being airlifted to a nearby hospital, she was declared dead there.

Heat can be very deadly, so please take care of your body, dear reader. As Monday holds similar fine and hot periods, with temperatures also around 36 degrees Celsius.

The Home Affairs Department also opened 18 temporary night heat shelters for those in need.

Share

Rent control law has little impact on tenants of subdivided flats, according to survey

A recent survey shows that the majority of tenants of HK’s subdivided flats aren’t benefiting very much from the new law controlling rent and utility charges. 3/4 of respondents reported they feel no better protected than before the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 came into effect in January.

The Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) said as a result of this, the government needs to improve enforcement and public education of the rent control law. The law “caps rent increases for subdivided flats at no more than 10 per cent per two-year lease period”, according to SCMP.

But many “grassroots” residents remain unaware of their rights, says SoCO deputy director Sze Lai-shan. Landlords overcharging tenants who don’t have the time to file reports seems to be a common occurrence. SoCO calls especially for active enforcement to combat this.

Potential redevelopment of old Kowloon City

The Urban Renewal Association (URA) has been looking into potentially redeveloping two very old areas in To Kwa Wan, known as ‘13 Streets’ and ‘5 Streets’. Hundreds of old and dilapidated buildings are what these two titles are attached to.

In May, it was first announced that they aimed to build another 4,350 flats in Kowloon City over the next 12 years. This ‘13/5 Streets’ update comes after criticism that these areas were being ignored in favor of redeveloping the area ‘Little Thailand’.

The URA pointed out numerous challenges with this potential redevelopment, with the high density in both areas and a nearby town gas plant that may pose risks. Residents call for the URA to deal with these areas ASAP, as living and building conditions are reportedly not very good.

Events and deals

• Book fair: Meet the CGs

Ever wondered what it's like to study in Europe? Now's your chance to find out from these consulates 📚

harbourtimes

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

Games, draws, seminars and other events from a variety of international showcases at the Book Fair. Going every day till the fair ends on the 26th!

For more local events, check out yesterday’s High Tide.

Share

This is the end of your free time on Tide.

Become a Premium subscriber to see what lies behind the paywall - extra news everyday and on weekends.

But wait there’s more - Premium subscribers get additional discounts on all HT x partnerships:

High Tide

Harbour Times ❌ Program

UPDATED 9/6/2022 If you’re on this page, congrats! It means you’ve chosen to support one of the best newsletters in Hong Kong! To thank you for your support, we’ve teamed up with local businesses to give special discounts only to you guys. We’re calling it the ‘Harbour Times x’ programme because I’m a weeb…

Read more

10 months ago · Harbour Times

Can’t go Premium yet? No worries, there are other ways to support High Tide:

• Buy us a Ko-fi

• Send us a one-time donation via PayPal