Good morning,
My newest time wasting procrastination hole is Solid JJ - a YouTube channel where the guy talks over still superhero images. I swear itās funnier than it sounds. The writing is solid and each vid being only 2 minutes long means itās very dangerous when you splurg.
So if Tide is late uhā¦.sorry
ā Cyril
On Todayās Tide
WARNING | Hong Kongers scammed into human trafficking
COVID | āOpening to China & the world not contradictoryā: John Lee
Transport | Taxi call for full Uber ban
Events
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President Xi reappears after two week absence
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Civil servants asked to buy homes for the greatness of the nation
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Hong Kongers trafficked across SEA
There has been a recent rise of Hong Kongers (and Taiwanese) being tricked into traveling to South East Asian destinations for work and love, only to find that their goals never existed.
The immigration said they received 17 calls from family saying loved ones had gone off the radar around the region; 12 have since safely returned to Hong Kong but 5 are still missing.
Police have noted that many of the scams related to apparently high paying, low skilled jobs and asked the public to be more alert (Reports from Headline Daily specifically mentioned jobs with pay in excess of $30,000 a month in Thailand). They will be working together with local police, Chinese embassies abroad, as well as Interpol to stamp out the trafficking rings.


Traded for love
One trafficked case which police were only alerted to recently involved a 28 year old man surnamed āTsangā who traveled to Thailand to meet his online girlfriend, all expenses paid. When he arrived in Thailand, he had his phone and passport taken, then was forced onto a vehicle bound for Myanmar.
There Tsang was often physically abused and forced to carry out illegal labour. He was eventually released when his family paid an unspecified ransom.
DBS - Donāt believe Bull Shit
A recent article by The Standard highlighted a case where āa friendās sonā was going to leave for Cambodia to work at DBS. However, after multiple attempts to contact the bank, and after looking on the bankās official website, it was found that DBS does not have a Cambodian branch.
Everyone stay safe, if itās too good to be true, it probably is!
COVID in Hong Kong


COVID-19 in Hong Kong
New cases: 5757
Total cases: 1,432,837
New deaths: 4
Total deaths: 9,584
Compulsory Testing locations: 65
Fighting COVID while fighting the economy
At the annual Hong Kong Summit for the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, John Lee said that Hong Kong will continue to fight the virus while keeping the economy afloat.
Lee said that āThe Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to accord top priority to fighting the pandemicā but that they will ābalance the risks of the pandemic against the economic impetus, keeping our economy going.
Allaying fears that reducing quarantine in Hong Kong will make it difficult to line up with Mainland policies, John Lee also said:
āI must stress that, connecting with the world and connecting with the Mainland are, in no way, contradictory to each other [ā¦] My preliminary goal is to reduce the degree of inconvenience to travellers, without bringing about additional risks to the Mainland's epidemic situationā
Just say no to Ubers
The Hong Kong Taxi & PLB Association said yesterday that they want a full ban of Uberās ride hailing services which have always existed within a grey legal area. The associations said that Uber has cost them āmillionsā a year and that 20% of expected income was taken by the ride sharing app.
Although boasting over 14,000 active drivers, ride hailing without a hire-car permit is illegal in Hong Kong - however, Hong Kong also doesnāt have ride-hailing app specific legislation. The High Court previously ruled clearly that all drivers must have a hire-car permit.
Truth be told, the taxi associations have this debate every yearā¦the government is occasionally doing studies to try and figure out how the rest of the world deals with Uber.
Also, despite all the furor, Uber seems to be doing just fine. They even had this art competition recently which is clearly, uh, pandering(?) to the competition:





I personally take Uber taxi whenever possible - itās cheaper than a ānormalā Uber, supports the existing taxi industry and has the benefit of not having to wait in line for a taxi driver that refuses to take me across the harbour.
Events and deals
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Schol! Belgium Beer Week: 22 - 28 Aug
Belgium Beer Weekās first foray outside of their home country sees them expanding across the world and Hong Kong is leading by example, having a whooping 11 venues to celebrate in - one of the highest number in the world.
Each bar will host their own events during the week.
See our full coverage for details on location, timings and events!
Lifeline Mental Health Livefest at The Wanch
The uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic has made it exceedingly difficult for the music industry, particularly live music. Indefinite restrictions have taken a heavy toll on the mental health of not only the artists, but also the thousands of people who work alongside them.
On 20th August 2022, Musicians Foundation will be conducting an afternoon of TedX-style talks focusing on raising awareness on music and mental health.
When: Sat 20 Aug, 3-5pm
Where: The Wanch
Cost: Free
Sign up here (places limited for COVID regulations)
Official media partner: ReThink HK returns 5-6 Oct
HT is proud to once again be a media partner for ReThink - HKās biggest and most exciting sustainability conference. This yearās conference invites more than 300 expert speakers to share their visions and insights, covering important topics like economic progression while coexisting with nature harmoniously, efficient use of resources, transformation to a low-carbon society, and circular economy for future generations.
Sign up here using the code HTP22 for 40% off!
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