scmp: Heung Yee Kuk leader backs idea of country park flats

劉皇發認同可縮少郊野公園範圍，騰出底保肓價值地段建屋。

=================

只要有屋，就有人類嘅生態環境出現，有基建有交通有污水有垃圾，附近範圍嘅生態價值就會下降，然後又會有更多底生態價值嘅郊野公園可以騰出。。。

有時boundary嘅野，唔係fact and figure, 而係一種原則，唔係話因為考試試題難，就可以去reivew下，然後將[零出貓]哩個boundary, 放寬到且~~睇佢一兩條都無咩所謂啦~~

地唔夠，就離不開要從新安排邊d人囉幾多地

可唔可以收回d新界圍村私地？可唔可以起少d底密度住宅？

要搞就先搞人，先搞d識講人話識同你傾野嘅人類，無必要一來就搞d唔識反抗唔識講野嘅自然生態。

==============

Lau Wong-fat urges review of protected areas, saying homes could be built on less ecologically sensitive land to ease city's housing shortage

Olga Wong and Gary Cheung
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1307960/heung-yee-kuk-leader-lau-wong-fat-backs-idea-country-park-flats

Rural strongman Lau Wong-fat has suggested flats could be built in certain areas of country parks to ease the housing shortage.

He called for a review of the size of the parks, but rejected a suggestion that land allocated to indigenous villagers be rezoned to boost the supply of homes.

There's no universal standard for setting the size of country parks. It would depend on the local context to decide its proportion
Lau, chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk, said a review would help the government strike a balance between protecting the countryside and addressing the soaring demand for flats. He also said private land inside parks should be released to build more flats.

"There's no universal standard for setting the size of country parks. It would depend on the local context to decide its proportion," Lau said yesterday.

His comments came two days after Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po floated the controversial idea of building flats in country parks, which was seen as a radical departure from the chief executive's pledge during his election campaign to protect parks from development.

Lau echoed Chan's view that flats could be considered in ecologically less sensitive areas of the parks. "For land [in parks] that is worth protecting, the government should specify them and compensate the owners if they are privately owned."

But he rejected outright the idea of allowing the rezoning of village land reserved for indigenous villagers to build homes. He said: "The government has plenty of land. How come it is eyeing privately owned land?"

And he expressed disappointment at the administration's failure to meet demand for homes from indigenous villagers, comparing it to the scramble to find land for urban dwellers.

Henderson Land chairman Lee Shau-kee agreed that country parks could be downsized. He said reducing the parks by one per cent could provide land to house more than 100,000 people.

But such ideas were criticised by ex-officials, including former planning director Peter Pun Kwok-shing and former Observatory director Lam Chiu-ying.

"The way we decided a country park's boundary is not science or derived from calculations," Pun said. "But I won't say it's arbitrary. We consulted the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department and other experts."

Factors taken into account included the need to protect water catchments, trees and animals, and preservation of the topography. "We need a study to justify why we need to redraw the boundaries," he said.

Lam, who helped Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying formulate the environmental policies in his election manifesto, likened the idea of building flats in country parks to a cancer cell. "If you give away 100 square feet now, later you will ask for 100 square feet more. Ultimately, it will destroy the original aim of having country parks, which is to enable the public to enjoy nature."

Green areas, including woodland, wetland, barren land and country parks, make up 70 per cent of the city's land. Country parks alone make up 40 per cent.

The new administration has relaxed its planning rules to allow flats encroaching upon green belts and open space.

scmp: Snowden revelations won't change scale of US spying

好可悲，無論係美國定香港，都好多人，為求捍衛丶保持丶不否定自己嘅信念及世界觀，情願去接受或者支持一個simply just wong行為，都唔肯醒一醒。

"A recent Pew Research Centre/ USA Today poll showed that 54 per cent of Americans supported a criminal case against Snowden. When asked about the US government's collection of phone and internet data as part of anti-terrorism efforts, 48 per cent approved, compared with 47 per cent who disapproved."

"For example, many Americans, after hearing that 50 terrorist plots were stymied, may conclude that collecting metadata is an acceptable price to pay"

但在網絡世界，的確好同意哩個"事實":

"Scott McNealy, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, famously said in 1999: "You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.""

===========================

Martin Murphy says the Snowden revelations will change neither the extent of American surveillance, nor the broad acceptance even among democracies of the need for espionage

Martin Murphy
http://m.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1268782/snowden-revelations-wont-change-scale-us-spying

After all the breathless commentary about the Edward Snowden cyberspying case is said and done, and the hero-villain rides off into the sunset, critics of America will be left with an unsettling reality. Little will have changed in what many now see as a massive surveillance state in the US.

Like the military-industrial complex before it, the US surveillance and intelligence community is now a multibillion-dollar industry with deeply entrenched interests, a robust government-business-private contractor revolving door, and a general acceptance by most Americans that certain activities are needed to protect the country.

The scale of the industry may astonish some, but the information has been in the public domain for some time. In just one example, a two-year Washington Post investigative report in 2010 revealed that some 1,271 government organisations and 1,931 private companies were working on programmes related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence across the US, employing millions of Americans.

More recent public information has highlighted the increasingly deep connections between Silicon Valley and the National Security Agency, given that both are now in the same business of looking for ways to collect, analyse and exploit large pools of data.

With such resources invested, reforming current practice is certain to be an uphill battle. President Barack Obama has promised new checks and more transparency on US domestic surveillance and a national debate on the issue. But it will take a seismic shift in public and congressional attitudes to fundamentally alter America's foreign surveillance programmes. And opinion polls in the US say that such a shift may be a long time coming.

A recent Pew Research Centre/ USA Today poll showed that 54 per cent of Americans supported a criminal case against Snowden. When asked about the US government's collection of phone and internet data as part of anti-terrorism efforts, 48 per cent approved, compared with 47 per cent who disapproved. Such deep splits in public opinion often lead to inertia and support of the status quo.

And the more the US government comes across as being transparent, with open hearings and briefings about its surveillance programmes, the more the average American might feel less squeamish about personal data collection. For example, many Americans, after hearing that 50 terrorist plots were stymied, may conclude that collecting metadata is an acceptable price to pay, as most already feel the programmes have helped prevent terrorist attacks.

The revelations last week of specific National Security Agency rules on how to deal with "incidental" intercepts of Americans' phone calls or e-mails show that the bureaucracy is highly sensitive to the distinction between foreigners and "US persons". The two sets of rules, each nine pages long, could do much to correct the image of a rogue intelligence agency wantonly intruding on Americans' privacy.

Interestingly, foreign governments have been silent on the whole affair. This is because espionage and surveillance have been a reality for centuries. Remote-controlled spying is just its latest, unromantic version. In most countries, diplomats are trained from early on that they will be targets of spying. Big hi-tech companies teach the same. Countermeasures are simply part of the daily routine, and if there are slip-ups, well, catch me if you can.

Another reason the Snowden leaks are likely to change little is that America is already by far the world's most transparent nation on intelligence matters, and its spy services are the most closely and thoroughly overseen. The open congressional testimonies following the recent leaks are just one example of such regular hearings on a range of intelligence matters, although critics have called for even closer scrutiny.

The "annual threat assessment" that the director of national intelligence presents publicly to Congress is a virtual blueprint of US intelligence priorities and the main lines of US analytical thinking about threats. This year's report prominently featured cyberthreats. Few, if any, other legislatures get intelligence products approaching the scope of what US congressional oversight committees see.

A democracy's intelligence needs will always clash with its underlying values - that of an open, pluralistic and free society. Democracy depends on an informed citizenry. Effective intelligence depends on getting and protecting sensitive information. For the US and other modern democracies, getting that balance right remains a work in progress.

The big question is whether, in the meantime, we can all accept what Scott McNealy, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, famously said in 1999: "You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it."

Martin Murphy is a former US diplomat. He was chief of the Economic-Political Section at the US Consulate in Hong Kong from 2009-12. He is currently studying at the University of Hong Kong's Journalism and Media Studies Centre

scmp: Snowden leaves Hong Kong 'on his own accord', seeks asylum in Ecuador

Wow電影一樣！

美國向港府要求拘捕Snowden，港府回覆指證據不足未能發出拘捕令。

一小時內Snowden離港。

美國中情局消息指，Snowden戶照已被取消，未知他如何合法離港。

WikiLeak網站表示，已派法律顧問及外交人員，護送Snowden到厄瓜多爾尋求庇護。

港府向美國查詢入侵香港電腦網絡事件，北京透過外交途徑，向美國投訴入侵大陸網絡。

http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1267261/snowden-leaves-hong-kong-commercial-flight-moscow

Lana Lam and Agencies lana.lam@scmp.com

Cyberspying whistle-blower leaves Hong Kong on flight to Russia just hours after the United States asked city authorities to detain him

Snowden leaves Hong Kong 'on his own accord', seeks asylum in Ecuador
Lana Lam and Agencies lana.lam@scmp.com

Whistle-blower Edward Snowden arrived in Moscow yesterday, to seek asylum in Ecuador, after abruptly leaving Hong Kong in a dramatic blow to US efforts to put him on trial for espionage.

Snowden left on a flight for the Russian capital just hours after the United States had asked Hong Kong authorities to detain the 30-year-old and shortly after the release of court documents in the US detailing some of the charges he would face there.

Two weeks after breaking cover in Hong Kong, the former CIA technician is believed to have boarded Aeroflot flight SU213 shortly after 11am, landing at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport 10 hours later. It was reported there that he would catch a connecting flight to a third country.

He is bound for the Republic of Ecuador via a safe route for the purposes of asylum

WikiLeaks

Russian news agency Interfax said Snowden did not leave the airport with the other passengers. It reported that he would spend the night in the airport's transit zone because he did not have a visa to enter Russia and had rented a room in a capsule hotel.

There was no immediate official confirmation of where he would head next, but Russian media reports citing sources in Aeroflot said he would fly to Cuba today and then board a flight to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy group, said on its website: "He is bound for the Republic of Ecuador via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisers from WikiLeaks."

Ecuador's foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, said from Vietnam on Twitter that his government had received a request from Snowden for asylum.

It is understood that Snowden's departure has come as a relief to the Hong Kong government, which would have faced lengthy court proceedings if Snowden had contested any extradition attempt. The departure also united the Legislative Council's pro-democracy and pro-Beijing camps, who said it was the right thing for him to do.

Government sources said media reports that Hong Kong police had provided Snowden with a "safe house" were wrong and that no help or protection had been given to him.

Nevertheless, the decision to allow Snowden to leave "on his own accord" is expected to strain diplomatic relations between the city and the US after Washington warned Hong Kong not to drag its feet in such a high-profile case.

WikiLeaks confirmed it had helped Snowden find "asylum in a democratic country". Baltasar Garzon, its legal director and lawyer for its co-founder Julian Assange, said it was "interested in preserving Snowden's rights and protecting him as a person".

The Hong Kong government's announcement that Snowden left the city "for a third country" and "through a lawful and normal channel" was its first official announcement on the case. It rejected a request from the US to issue a warrant for Snowden's arrest, because its evidence had failed to "fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law".

Justice officials had asked for more evidence from the US to trigger any police action but Snowden was free to leave after this was not received.

Hong Kong also made clear its intentions to investigate the claims made by Snowden that computers in the city were compromised by agents working for the National Security Agency.

Sources said Washington had revoked Snowden's US passport. A senior US official said: "We have little idea how he left Hong Kong."

As Snowden was travelling between Hong Kong and Moscow, speculation was rife as to which country would be his ultimate destination, with Iceland also mentioned as contenders. The arrival of cars from Ecuador's diplomatic mission at the Moscow airport heightened speculation that Snowden would go to that country, which has also granted asylum to Assange.

[Two cars from Ecuador's embassy at the Moscow airport yesterday. Photo: Reuters] Two cars from Ecuador's embassy at the Moscow airport yesterday. Photo: Reuters

Meanwhile, Beijing said it was "gravely concerned about the recent disclosure of US-related institutions hacking into China's internet". Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying , in a statement on the ministry's website, said: "We have already filed a diplomatic complaint with the US."

Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg

[Harry's view] Harry's view

scmp: Tighten law to prevent snooping, Hong Kong legislators urge Tony Cheung and Joshua But

終於明白Snowden來港可能真係關我事~ 葉劉話保護香港電腦免受海外地區攻擊，要靠北京。

唔知北京會唔會諗起內內外外全面保護港人嘅23條。

Lawmakers call for action because the city's surveillance ordinance regulates only activities conducted by law enforcement agencies

Tony Cheung and Joshua But
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1262474/tighten-law-prevent-snooping-hong-kong-legislators-urge

Hong Kong needs to tighten its laws on invasion of privacy and covert surveillance because grey areas in the legislation fail to offer people proper protection against snooping, say lawmakers.

The warning follows claims by US cyberspying whistle-blower Edward Snowden in an exclusive interview with the Post last week that the US has hacked computers in Hong Kong and the mainland for years.

Under the city's surveillance regulations, law enforcement agencies need a court warrant to carry out covert operations. In 2011, a total of 1,221 authorisations were issued - 1,196 for interception and rest for surveillance.

But the law does not cover snooping by private citizens or foreign intelligence.

Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun said there are laws covering computer hacking, including accessing a computer with criminal or dishonest intent, but grey areas remained.

"For example, when your computer data is stored remotely, say in India, it is impossible to prosecute because your stolen property is not in Hong Kong," he said. "Prosecution is impossible unless you make a specific hacking law that expressly outlaws hacking activities that attempt to obtain data owned by Hong Kong people located outside the city."

To and other lawmakers called for a review of the Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance. Enacted in 2006, it only regulates the four law enforcement agencies: the Customs and Excise Department, police, Immigration Department and Independent Commission Against Corruption.

It leaves surveillance activities by private detectives and law enforcement agencies outside Hong Kong unrestricted.

The ordinance only requires the four agencies to seek approval from a panel of judges before intercepting communications. A breach is not a crime and is dealt with through internal disciplinary procedures.

Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a barrister, said it was time for the government to consider whether to bring surveillance by entities outside law enforcement under the ordinance and to extend the city's legal powers to tackle hacking activities originating abroad.

In 2005, Legco studied overseas examples when drafting the surveillance law but the scope of the enacted legislation was limited due to opposition from the pro-establishment camp.

On surveillance from overseas, Hong Kong cannot prosecute official agencies because they enjoy diplomatic immunity. And it is hard to charge foreigners because laws against hacking and the surveillance ordinance only apply in the city.

Last year the European Union tried to guard against spying by the US by inserting a clause into its privacy legislation, but Washington lobbied the EU to drop the clause, according to a Financial Times report last Thursday.

That measure could have blocked US requests for European citizens' computer and telephone data that are made as part of the Prism programme just revealed by Snowden.

Former security chief Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee questioned whether the EU measure could help Hong Kong. "There's the issue of detection, and then the question of enforcement," Ip said, saying it may be more practical for Beijing to consider it.

Additional reporting by Joyce Ng and Stuart Lau

[Harry's view] Harry's view

REUTERS: Google to bankroll, build wireless networks across Africa: WSJ | Article | Technology

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSBRE94N0XG20130524?irpc=932

(Reuters) - Google Inc intends to finance, build and help operate wireless networks from sub-Saharan Africa to Southeast Asia, hoping to connect a billion or so people in emerging countries to the Internet, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The Internet search giant - which has for years espoused universal Web access - is employing a patchwork quilt of technologies and holding discussions with regulators from South Africa to Kenya, the WSJ cited people familiar with the strategy as saying.

Access to the vast trove of information on the Internet, and the tools to make use of it, is considered key to lifting economies up the value chain. But countries are often hampered by the vast sums needed to build infrastructure, thorny regulations or geographical terrain.

To reach its goal, Google, which benefits the more people have access to its search and other Internet services, is lobbying regulators to use airwaves reserved for television broadcasts, which at lower frequencies can pass through buildings and over longer distances, the WSJ reported.

It is also working on providing low-cost cellphones and employing balloons or blimps to transmit signals over hundreds of square miles from high altitudes.

The company has already begun several small-scale trials, including in Cape Town, South Africa, where it is using a base station in conjunction with wireless access boxes to broadcast signals over several miles, the newspaper reported.

Chief Executive Larry Page has made no secret of his plans to use his company to work toward broader, non-profit goals. Google on Friday declined to comment on its plans.

(Reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

scmp: Exco is losing its power and authority, says Legco chief

Jasper Tsang says city's troubled policy-making body has been losing power since the handover and calls for review of its make-up and function

Stuart Lau stuart.lau@scmp.com
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1246900/exco-losing-its-power-and-authority-says-legco-chief-tsang

The city's core policy-making authority, the Executive Council, has been losing power since the handover and its function and composition must reviewed, the head of the legislature has urged.

His suggestion follows last week's resignation of Exco member Barry Cheung Chun-yuen, who is being investigated by police in connection with his failed Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange. Another Exco member, Franklin Lam Fan-keung, has been on indefinite leave of absence since November after coming under investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing said Exco was not living up to its past role.

"During British rule, the Executive Council was a body with actual power. [Its members] had a strong say in front of the governor; their words carried a lot of weight," said Tsang, who sat on the executive councils of former chief executives Tung Chee-hwa and Donald Tsang Yam-kuen. "There was a rule that if the governor reached a decision contrary to the majority view in Exco, he needed to ... give specific reasons on record, which would be seen by the British government. Today, we can't see the Executive Council performing the same function," Tsang said.

Exco's website still says that if the chief executive does not accept its majority opinion, he needs to put the specific reasons on record. And the Basic Law stipulates that Exco is the body responsible for helping the chief executive make policy decisions.

Tsang noted that the number of Exco members and the ratio between officials, lawmakers and people from public life were "completely unregulated".

"The chief executive decides solely who sits on Exco and when to terminate their appointments," Tsang said.

Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, a current member, said Exco's power had "diminished in the face of a rise in de facto party politics".

"In the old days, when Exco made a decision, that was it. Because Legco was appointed, we can't expect Exco [now] to function with the same decisiveness and authority."

Professor Ma Ngok, of the Chinese University, said Exco had become a "political reward" for the chief executive's supporters, resulting in a loss of authority.

The Chief Executive's Office said Leung "is willing to listen to" views on Exco's operation.

Meanwhile, Jasper Tsang said there was no need to improve on Exco's "already stringent" rules on declaration of interests.

Barry Cheung ignored questions from reporters as he left his Repulse Bay home last night.

Exco members then and now

Some members of Chris Patten's Exco

Baroness Dunn non-executive deputy chairman, HSBC
Vincent Cheng Hoi-chuen first Chinese executive director at HSBC
Sir William Purves chairman, HSBC Holdings
Andrew Li Kwok-nang Queen's Counsel, later first post-handover chief justice

Some members of Leung Chun-ying's Exco

Barry Cheung Chun-yuen chairman, HKMEx (resigned on Friday)

明報: 曾鈺成﹕行會效遜行局應改革

曾鈺成﹕行會效遜行局應改革
李鵬飛質疑淪諮詢架構

http://news.mingpao.com/20130527/gca1.htm

【明報專訊】接連有行會成員因醜聞下台或休假，曾在董建華年代加入行會的立法會主席曾鈺成，罕有地慨嘆行會今不如昔，直言當年行政局成員在港督面前的發言權很大，惟現今行會卻發揮不到港英時代的作用，認為政府應探討如何改革。回歸前曾任行政局及立法局首席議員的李鵬飛更質疑，行會已由最高權力架構，降格成諮詢架構。特首辦回應曾鈺成稱，特首願意聆聽有關行會運作的意見。

特首辦：特首願聽意見

曾鈺成昨出席活動時，拒絕評論張震遠辭去所有公職事件，但表示行政會議已發揮不到回歸前行政局的作用。他解釋，行政局是港英年代真正有實力的機構，成員在港督面前發言權很大、說話分量亦很重，更有規矩訂明若總督不接納局內大多數成員的意見作決定時，必須解釋清楚，並將相關理由記錄在案，供英國政府過目，「今日見不到行會發揮同樣作用，雖然其架構仍然模仿過去」。

昔日發言權大 港督不接納理由須記錄

他續說，《基本法》對於行會組成較籠統，特首有權隨意委任個別人加入行會及何時終止其任命，認為政府值得總結過去10多年的經驗，檢視行會的組成以發揮更大作用。他又稱，行會的申報制度已相當嚴謹，不需改變。

李鵬飛：港督如「指揮交通」 不發言

回歸前曾任兩局議員的李鵬飛憶述，當年行政局開會，港督角色猶如「指揮交通」，不會說話；通常先由行政局首席議員發問，其次為立法局首席議員及其他非官守議員，與會的三司只協助答問題，故非官守議員的問題比官員多得多，亦能左右行政權力，「（行政局）毫無疑問是最高權力架構」。惟他認為，今日行會的角色已由「政策釐訂」轉為諮詢，相信曾鈺成是有感而發言。他認為，基本法亦有訂明如特首不接納行會多數成員的意見，必須記錄在案，與港英政府規定一樣，故認為行會角色轉變主要因為執行出問題。

田北俊：現今「廢廢懐」 得梁粉會出事

行會前成員、自由黨黨魁田北俊說，現今行會已「廢廢懐」、「無論在運作及江湖地位均與回歸前無得比」。他認為，港督由英國派駐，在港並無班底，依賴公務員推薦有功績並身家清白的行政局人選，故獲引薦的均為社會精英，「現在梁振英識咁多人，根本不需要聽公務員推薦，就委任晒鱓『梁粉』入去，班底當然不夠全面，當然會出事」。

田北俊稱，當年的港督依賴具廣泛代表性的行政局議事，故若行政局不同意相關政策，港督亦無可奈何，「當年鍾士元等行政局首席議員有很大權，現在林煥光（行會召集人）有咩權力？」

他稱，回歸前未有局長制時，行政局等同充當局長的角色，審議公務員提出的政策，但引入問責制後，各局長獲特首同意後推出政策，行會只淪為橡皮圖章。

scmp: H7N9 bird flu found to spread through the air

Virus can also infect pigs, say HKU researchers, who warn officials to maintain tight scrutiny even though threat seems under control

Jeanette Wang jeanette.wang@scmp.com
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1244536/h7n9-bird-flu-found-spread-through-air

The H7N9 bird flu virus can be transmitted not only through close contact but by airborne exposure, a team at the University of Hong Kong found after extensive laboratory experiments.

Though the virus appears to have been brought under control recently, the researchers urged the Hong Kong authorities to maintain strict surveillance, which should include not only poultry but humans and pigs.

"We also found that the virus can infect pigs, which was not previously known," said Dr Maria Zhu Huachen, a research assistant professor at HKU's School of Public Health.

There have been 131 confirmed human infections, with 36 deaths, the World Health Organisation said. All but one of the cases was on the mainland. The virus appears to have been brought under control largely due to restrictions at bird markets and there have been no new confirmed cases since May 8.

But Zhu said that although there was no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission, their study provided evidence that H7N9 was infectious and transmissible in mammals.

In the study, to be published today in the journal Science, ferrets were used to evaluate the infectivity of H7N9. It was found the virus could spread through the air, from one cage to another, albeit less efficiently.

Inoculated ferrets were infected before the appearance of most clinical symptoms. This means there may be more cases than have been detected or reported.

We also found that the virus can infect pigs, which was not previously known ... People may be transmitting the virus before they even know that they've got it

Dr Maria Zhu Huachen, HKU's School of Public Health

"People may be transmitting the virus before they even know that they've got it," Zhu said.

Additional tests using pigs, a major host of influenza viruses, showed that they could also get infected with H7N9. Zhu warned that H7N9 may combine with pig viruses to generate new variants.

On a more positive note, it was found that the virus is relatively mild.

"Most of the fatal H7N9 cases had underlying medical conditions, so there are probably some other factors that contribute to this kind of fatality," Zhu said.

To avoid H7N9 becoming endemic in poultry populations, which would create a greater opportunity for human transmission, the researchers suggested a rethink on how live poultry markets are managed.

Zhu believed the Hong Kong government had "done a very good job" in this area and should continue to do so. The government implemented a surveillance programme on local and imported poultry in 1998. It includes monitoring the live poultry supply chain, pet shops, parks and the wild bird environment.

She said the government had collaborated with HKU on intensive surveillance of both birds and pigs. Zhu added that people who regularly had close contact with live poultry or pigs should take precautions, have routine body checks and report their case immediately if they feel unwell.

View H7N9 map in a larger map

Click on each balloon for more information on individual patients infected: blue, patients infected with the H7N9 virus under treatment; red, those infected with H7N9 who have died; yellow, those who have fully recovered; and pink, those infected other types of the Influenza A virus, including H1N1.

scmp: Chinese demand Biden apologise for 'insensitive' commencement speech

US Vice-President comments on China: “Their problems are immense, and they lack much of what we have (...) You cannot think different in a nation where you cannot breathe free; you cannot think different in a nation where you aren’t able to challenge orthodoxy, because change only comes from challenging orthodoxy."

邊到有講錯呢？

=====================

'It was a humiliating experience. And how can a graduation speech be this political?' said a UPenn student, taking issue with Biden's comment that China cannot 'think different'

Amy Li chunxiao.li@scmp.com
http://m.scmp.com/news/china/article/1243330/chinese-demand-apology-biden-insensitive-commencement-speech

Chinese students and parents are demanding an apology from US Vice-President Joe Biden for "insensitive" comments, weeks after he referred to China as the nation that cannot “think different” or “breathe free” during a commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania.

“I believe Biden should apologise over his inappropriate comments made at my commencement in the face of at least hundreds of Chinese people,” Zhang Tianpu, a graduating Wharton senior and Chinese citizen, told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday.

“It was a humiliating experience,” he said. “And how can a graduation speech be this political?”

Zhang and his peers have already drafted a letter to Biden demanding an official apology. The letter has 343 signatures as of Wednesday and will be sent to the university’s president before reaching Biden's desk.

Biden’s comments, which were called "inappropriate", hugely disappointed the Chinese in his audience. They were delivered in the middle of his May 13 speech, reported by the Guardian as  “by far the funniest of the recent commencement addresses”.

But not everyone appreciated his jokes. Touching on the concern that “the Chinese are going to eat our lunch”, Biden assured his audience that they had nothing to fear.

“Their problems are immense, and they lack much of what we have,” he said, citing America’s universities, its “open and fair legal” system,  vibrant venture capital markets and innovative minds.

The key to all these, Biden argued, was the ability to “think different”, in a reference to Steve Jobs' slogan for Apple.

“You cannot think different in a nation where you cannot breathe free; you cannot think different in a nation where you aren’t able to challenge orthodoxy, because change only comes from challenging orthodoxy.”

To which Zhang argued: “Come on, my ancestors were challenging orthodoxy even before his ancestors got to America.”

Biden mentioned China a second time towards the end when he spoke of his 10-day visit to the Middle Kingdom. Of then president-to-be Xi Jinping, he said:

“He’s a strong, bright man, but he has the look of a man who is about to take on a job he’s not at all sure is going to end well. I mean that seriously."

In a post that went viral on China’s social media, Zhang interpreted Biden’s message in the following words:

“So because China is ---- up, we are well-positioned. We are well-positioned to lead the world into the 21st century, ” he wrote. ”This is what I think he was saying.”

In an e-mail sent to The Post, Zhang dismissed criticism that he was overreacting.

“After four years of sweat and toil, after four years of spending Chinese New Year without your family, and after four years of eating tasteless food, you have finally earned this day when you can proudly graduate. But you know that all is worth it because you want to learn from an advanced developed country, something you can use to contribute to your hometown. So you decide to call up all of your friends and family to fly across the Pacific Ocean to celebrate with you on this special day. Then, on your graduation day, you get up super early, happily dress up in your academic regalia, and have your friends and relatives seated in the field, cameras ready, recorders turned on, all excited.”

“And then all of sudden, the graduation speaker, who is supposed to be there to congratulate you on your achievement, says to you: you and your nation suck. Regardless of whether that statement is true, how would you feel?”

Zhang had first ranted on China’s popular social media website Renren. His post has since drawn thousands of comments, from supporters and critics.

“Biden isn’t obligated to please China,” commented a reader. “And the right reaction is to catch up with America, instead of whining about it.”

“Don’t attribute to political agenda what can easily be explained by stupidity,” another wrote.

scmp: Andrew Li Kwok-nang wants clear timeline for talks on 2047 issues

前首席法官李國能指，需要開始討論2047後香港一國兩制問題。

The former chief justice and handover pioneer says talks on the future of 'one country, two systems' must start within the next two decades

Gary Cheung gary.cheung@scmp.com
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1241508/andrew-li-kwok-nang-wants-clear-timeline-talks-2047-issues

The city's former top judge, who took part in a historic trip 30 ago years to Beijing for talks with the central government's leaders on Hong Kong's future, has called on settling the future of "one country, two systems" in 15 to 20 years' time.

Andrew Li Kwok-nang, who retired as chief justice in 2010, made the call when he reflected on the 30th anniversary of the "Young Professionals Delegation", which headed north to express their views on Hong Kong's future.

Li was a member of the 12-strong Hong Kong group that also comprised legislators Allen Lee Peng-fei, Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee and barrister Martin Lee Chu-ming.

The professionals left on a six-day trip to Beijing on May 16, 1983. They asked National People's Congress vice-chairman Xi Zhongxun, father of President Xi Jinping, and the widow of former premier Zhou Enlai, Deng Yingchao, to extend Britain's lease on Hong Kong when it expired in 1997.

It was the first group to propose "Chinese sovereignty-British administration" for Hong Kong.

"Reflecting on the last 30 years, they [the young professionals] have seen the phenomenal rise of China, our motherland, as a modern nation and the reunification of Hong Kong, our homeland, with her," Li told the South China Morning Post over the weekend.

"It has been my good fortune to have lived through these historic times and to have been given the opportunity to serve and to participate in the successful implementation of 'one country, two systems'."

Li went on to say that in about 15 to 20 years' time, the future of Hong Kong after 2047 would have to be discussed and settled.

The former top judge pointed to the fact that a 25-year mortgage taken out in 2022 will expire in 2047.

"Our next generation of leaders will have to shoulder this responsibility," Li said. "I am optimistic that as long as all concerned appreciate that one country as well as two systems are integral parts of the formula, we can continue after 2047 to maintain our own separate system based on respect for human dignity, with our own core values and our freedoms."

As the years eat into the 50-year lifespan of "one country, two systems" - already almost a third of the time has gone and the halfway mark is in a decade - there are many questions that have yet to be answered. Some academics and specialists say these questions need to be resolved now, particularly for issues stretching beyond 2047, such as property ownership.

Li told law undergraduates at the University of Hong Kong in November that the future of "one country, two systems" would have to be discussed and settled well before the end of the 50 years in 2047, probably around 2030.

But he did not elaborate on which aspects would have to be settled at the time. Late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping promised in the early 1980s that Hong Kong's economic system and civil liberties would remain unchanged for 50 years after the handover in 1997.

Allen Lee, who headed the delegation in 1983, is organising a reunion dinner in early July.

scmp: Hong Kong universities raise fees by up to 20pc for non-local students

八所資助大學非本地大學學位加價，中大，科大，城大由十萬一年加至十二萬。

Inflation, stronger yuan blamed for increases that some fear will deter mainland students

Shirley Zhao
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1228738/hong-kong-universities-raise-fees-20pc-non-local-students

Hong Kong's eight government-funded universities have raised tuition fees by as much as 20 per cent for non-local students this year, attributing it to inflation and a stronger yuan.

Chinese University, the University of Science and Technology and City University have all increased the cost of their undergraduate programmes for non-locals from HK$100,000 to HK$120,000 per year.

"Costs have gone up due to inflation and the appreciation of the yuan," said Chouk Yin, of the mainland and external affairs office at City University. "The adjustment is to ensure the quality of our education."

The University of Hong Kong will charge non-local undergraduates HK$135,000 a year - a rise of HK$16,000. Polytechnic University, Lingnan University and Baptist University have lifted their fees to HK$110,000 from HK$100,000. The Hong Kong Institute of Education now charges HK$100,000 a year, an increase of 17.6 per cent.

Fees for local students will remain the same.

There are more than 10,000 non-local students at the eight universities, including almost 6,000 undergraduates. About 77 per cent are from the mainland, according to the University Grants Committee (UGC), a panel that advises the government.

Despite the fee increase, HKU's Melanie Wan said she was confident the university would remain attractive to mainland students.

"Over the years, HKU has attracted top students from the mainland because of its high-quality education and internationalised campus," she said. "Scholarships are available for outstanding students, and there is financial aid to support those in need."

HKU took in 360 mainland undergraduates last year, up from about 300 in previous years. The university said the increase was a one-off and due to the change in the university system last year which extended undergraduate programmes from three years to four years. She said this year the number would return to around 300.

Duan Bing of Dongfang International Centre for Educational Exchange, a mainland education consultancy, believed higher tuition fees would not put off mainland students.

"Our company has formed a team for the Hong Kong market," Duan said. "This shows how strong the demand is."

But some observers took the view it would dent demand.

"The increase in tuition will definitely affect non-local students' willingness to come to Hong Kong," said Professor Chung Yue-ping of Chinese University. But "local universities can create more scholarships, provide subsidies for living and allow students to take certain paid jobs to lessen the impact", he added.

Wang Siqing, a Guangzhou resident whose 17-year-old son is in his second year of high school, said he wanted to send the boy to a university in Hong Kong so that he could develop "international horizons and critical thinking" skills.

"Of course it'll be even better if he can get a scholarship," he said. "But if he doesn't, I'm willing and able to afford his tuition."

The cost of educating an undergraduate student in a government-funded programme last year was HK$233,000, according to the UGC.

scmp: Tensions flare in remote Sichuan village waiting for quake relief

地震後第四天，四川郊區災民繼續缺乏救援物資。

救援人員透露多數帳篷由公司捐出，亦希望送到主要救援地方引公眾關注。

Keith Zhai in Lushan, Sichuan keith.zhai@scmp.com
http://m.scmp.com/news/china/article/1221711/disaster-relief-efforts-fail-reach-remote-sichuan-villages

In a remote village, people fight over scarce supplies while officials promise aid is on way

As relief materials pile up at major rescue centres in quake-hit areas of Sichuan province, villagers from rural communities are complaining they have been forgotten by the government.

"It's been four days, four days. I haven't seen any government official bother to ask us how we have been coping," said 66-year-old Chen Zhongfen, from Shengli village in Taiping township, in an outlying part of Lushan county.

Lushan county was the epicentre of Saturday's quake, which has claimed 193 lives, with 23 people missing and more than 14,000 injured.

"I haven't got anything yet, and we've heard that the aid has all gone to central areas."

Chen was among more than 2,000 villagers in Shengli struggling to cope with post-quake life as rain began to fall. They desperately need more shelters and food. But four days into the disaster, villagers like Chen in rural communities say they have been left out of disaster relief efforts.

Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping chaired a special meeting of the party's Politburo Standing Committee yesterday on relief work in the quake zone, at which he vowed to keep searching for those missing, even though the 72-hour window that represented their best chance of survival passed yesterday. The meeting promised to ensure everyone in the quake zone had "food to eat, clothes to wear, clean water to drink, temporary places to stay and medicines to use".

[Villagers from rural communities are complaining they have been forgotten by the government. Photo: Simon Song]

Villagers from rural communities are complaining they have been forgotten by the government. Photo: Simon SongHowever, in Shengli village, more than 350 villagers had to share nine tents and 100 bottles of water. They said the few tents they had were becoming useless because they had no floors and the rain had been quite heavy over the past two days. Many villagers said they were running out of food and only had corn soup every day. "I can endure all this, but what about the pregnant women and the elderly in the village?" said He Xiaobing .

He, a 42-year-old farmer, had to move his family and all the belongings he could salvage from his house into a home-made tent crammed with about 20 people.

A fight broke out among 50 villagers in Taiping township who scrambled for a few boxes of water and instant noodles from rescue workers. Police were called in to disperse them. Villagers asked the local authorities why some people in Lushan county had received more than enough relief supplies while many rural people like them remained starving and homeless.

Wang Dong , Taiping's party chief, urged villagers to stay calm, saying "a lot of supplies will be coming soon, once the clogged roads are cleared". He said most of the resources were concentrated in Lushan, about 30 kilometres from Taiping.

But rescue worker Zhang Xueming said the roads were not the major problem. "Most of the tents are provided by companies and they all want them to be sent to major areas to attract more public attention."

Official media such as Xinhua have been giving relief efforts a positive spin, mainly focusing on heroic rescue operations in Lushan county and Longmen township, especially after Premier Li Keqiang's visit to the township on Sunday. Xinhua also reported yesterday that medical workers took care of a newborn boy in a tent serving as a temporary hospital in Taiping.

Yang Hao, a farmer in Shengli village, said: "We are the forgotten ones; nobody cares about us. I wish Premier Li had come to our town, then we wouldn't have today's problems."

View Yaan Earthquake in a larger map

REUTERS: Supplier woes stir Apple demand fears, stock drops below $400

By Poornima Gupta and Noel Randewich
SAN FRANCISCO | Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:22pm EDT
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSBRE93G0PA20130417?irpc=932

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's shares fell below $400 on Wednesday for the first time since December 2011 after a chip supplier's disappointing revenue forecast fanned fears about weakening demand for the iPhone and iPad as competition intensifies.

The stock dropped below $400 briefly before bouncing back to end 5.5 percent lower at $402.80, losing more than $22 billion of market value in a single day.

Cirrus Logic, which makes analog and audio chips for the iPhone and iPad, on Tuesday warned of a reduced product forecast from one customer - which it did not name. But 90 percent or more of its business comes from Apple, making it a key indicator of demand for iPhones and iPads.

The surprise warning fueled fears that demand for the iPhone - which makes up more than half of Apple's revenue - is falling faster than expected as Samsung Electronics and other rivals who use Google Inc's Android software flood the market with cheaper phones. Typically, many Apple fans also hold off on buying the gadgets if they believe a new model will be introduced in the next few months.

Apple is to report quarterly results on Tuesday. Analysts say Cirrus Logic's reduced outlook lends weight to arguments that consumers' love affair with the iPhone is waning as challengers such as Samsung vie for their attention.

"This is a tough environment. Apple is in transition between products," said Michael Yoshikami, a portfolio manager at Destination Wealth Management, which owns about 50,000 Apple shares. Cirrus's warning "makes it more likely Apple's not going to surprise on upside."

Since its September 2012 peak, Apple has lost 40 percent of its market value or more than $280 billion - slightly more than Google's entire capitalization - battered by worries about the effect on Apple's industry-leading margins if it's forced to do faster updates of its products to keep up.

Some believe Apple will not be able to sustain its high gross margins as competition in the tablet and smartphone markets leads to lower prices. Shorter product cycles limit Apple's ability to bring down component costs, Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi said in a note to clients.

Cirrus's weak forecast follows a 19 percent decline in first-quarter sales at Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, Apple's main contract manufacturer.

"It's a reminder of weakening demand and the challenges around product transitions," Shannon Cross, of Cross Research, said. "There's not a lot of conviction about what the second half is going to look like."

Verizon Communications Inc, which with Vodafone controls the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier Verizon Wireless, reports results on Thursday and may offer more clues to iPhone and iPad demand in the quarter.

NERVES

Investors are growing increasingly nervous about Apple's growth prospects.

Shares of other chip makers and Apple suppliers, including Qualcomm, Avago Technologies, Broadcom and Skyworks, fell between 2 and 6 percent on a day that saw broad weakness in financial markets.

Goldman Sachs analyst Bill Shope said in a note on Wednesday that Apple's momentum could weaken further before it launches new products later this year.

Apple, which relies heavily on new products to drive its revenue growth, has not had a launch since last October when it unveiled its 7.9-inch iPad mini and an updated full-size iPad.

The company typically launches a new iPad in the spring, but it is unlikely to do so because of the October update. Looking forward, investors now expect an upcoming new iPhone to power earnings in the second half. The two versions of the iPad are also likely to get an update in the fall.

In the past week, analysts had reduced their estimates for Apple's March quarter revenue on average to $42.53 billion from $42.68 billion. Following Cirrus' warning on Tuesday, some think Apple's results could miss those already reduced expectations.

Apple is expected to report a 9 percent increase in quarterly revenue, with net profit expected to decline 17 percent to $9.59 billion, or $10.08 a share, for its fiscal second quarter, according to average analysts' estimates.

Sacconaghi, who lowered his revenue estimate to $41.1 billion from $42.4 billion, said he expects mixed results with Apple's revenue coming in below consensus and earnings per share largely as expected.

Apple's implied volatility, which measures perceived risk of future stock movement, shot up on Wednesday. The implied volatility for the next 30 days for Apple stood at 43.73 percent, a 16.7 percent increase.

Share price volatility should increase into earnings and surpass an annual high in the next few days, said Ophir Gottlieb, managing director of options analytics firm Livevol.

(Additional reporting By Edwin Chan; Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Andrew Hay, Leslie Adler and Cynthia Osterman)

scmp: 40pc of bird flu victims haven't touched poultry

四成H7N9患者無接觸過禽鳥

北京第一位感染H7N9的7歲女童，昨日出院

一位4歲男童證實感染H7N9，但無病徵，現繼續被隔離

中國科學家指，病毒可能來自東亞洲雀鳥，例如南韓。而日本科學家指來源是由歐洲遷徙過來的雀鳥引起。

Stephen Chen binglin.chen@scmp.com
http://m.scmp.com/article/1217059/no-poultry-contact-some-china-h7n9-bird-flu-cases

A top mainland scientist said 40 per cent of the people who have tested positive for the new, deadly strain of bird flu had no recent contact with poultry, and so it is still unclear how they contracted the virus.

The remark by Dr Zeng Guang , chief of epidemiology at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, came as Shanghai and Zhejiang authorities announced five new cases of H7N9, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 82, with 17 of them fatal.

"How were they infected? It is still a mystery," he was quoted by The Beijing News yesterday as saying. All the cases so far have been in China.

The Ministry of Health cited Feng Zijian, director of the CDC's office of emergency response, as saying the source of the illness was hard to pinpoint. He noted that during the last major bird flu outbreak, which involved H5N1, half of the victims could not remember whether they had come in contact with poultry or other birds. Still, he said he believed that all infected during this outbreak must have come in contact with an environment contaminated by fowl, or in contact with birds directly.

Of the five new cases, just one was in Shanghai - an 89-year-old man from Jiangsu province. Authorities did not give his condition. The first person infected in Beijing, a seven-year-old girl, left hospital yesterday.

A four-year-old boy in the capital infected with the strain but not displaying symptoms remained in quarantine.

Health authorities hope the boy will help doctors understand the virus. He was identified as a carrier via a random blood test of people in or near the poultry industry.

Hunan this week became the sixth major region to officially announce a case of H7N9 - a two-year-old child whose sex was not given. The child and his parents travelled from Shanghai to Changsha, Hunan, on March 17, when he began running a fever, according to Hunan health authorities. He was admitted to hospital in Changsha and returned to Shanghai two days later. He was again admitted to hospital, where he recovered. He was discharged on March 22.

Meanwhile, a research team in Hubei province has a new theory regarding the evolutionary path of the bird flu strain.

Professor Xue Yu, a biologist at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan , said researchers believed the deadly virus evolved after Chinese birds came in contact with birds from East Asian countries such as South Korea.

Xue's analysis was in line with other studies on the mainland, including by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, that suggested the decisive element of the deadly virus came from East Asian countries.

But it differs from a theory put forward by Japanese researchers, which blames birds migrating from Europe.

camp: Hong Kong expert warns new bird flu virus could become a pandemic

專家指H7N9傳染性比H5N1強，有病者沒有出現病徵，擔心會出現疫情。

Hong Kong expert says H7N9 could pose a bigger threat than H5N1 and may adapt to become transmittable between humans

Emily Tsang and Zhuang Pinghui
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1215581/hong-kong-expert-warns-new-bird-flu-virus-could-become-pandemic

The deadly new bird flu may pose a bigger threat to humans than the H5N1 bird virus that has killed hundreds of people worldwide, a University of Hong Kong microbiologist warned yesterday.

Ho Pak-leung became the first expert to publicly express fears it could become a pandemic.

The H7N9 strain emerged in humans only last month and is so far contained to the mainland.

But it has already infected more people than the H5N1 virus has infected in the past 10 years.

Ho said the new virus showed a higher ability to be transmitted rapidly from birds to humans and to spread geographically.

And because infected birds appeared healthy, it was also harder to detect.

Ho said: "The pathology pattern of H7N9 so far is very special and quite different from H5N1.

"But the pattern points to one alarming conclusion - it may be a bigger health threat than H5N1."

He said news that a four-year-old Beijing boy was found to have the virus despite not showing any flu symptoms was a "warning sign" for a pandemic.

"It is possible for the virus to grow more adaptable to the human body … and eventually becoming transmittable among humans," he said.

The number of confirmed H7N9 cases has reached 63 - and 14 have died, according to the national health commission.

A boy who is now under medical observation in hospital was screened for the virus after coming into close contact with the capital's first H7N9 case, a seven-year-old girl. So far, H7N9 has emerged in Shanghai and the provinces of Zhejiang , Jiangsu , Henan and Anhui , as well as in Beijing.

"The previous H5N1 pandemic never affected so many provinces at the same time," Ho said.

H5N1 has infected 45 people on the mainland since 2003, killing 30.

Hong Kong was hit by an early outbreak in 1997, with six deaths, before the virus re-emerged in 2003 to spread throughout the world, claiming some 332 lives by late 2011.

Yuen Kwok-yuen, head of microbiology at HKU, said if infected people do not develop symptoms, the disease will get harder to control.

The husband of one of the H7N9 victims was confirmed to be infected with the virus 10 days after her death, sparking fears the virus could be passed between humans.

Respiratory diseases expert Dr Zhong Nanshan said it was too early to rule out the possibility of human-to-human transmission.

Zhong said: "We can only say that based on the evidence so far, no human-to-human transmission has been detected. But that does not mean it is not possible."

Click on each balloon for more information on individual patients infected with the avian flu virus: blue, patients infected with the H7N9 virus under treatment; red, those infected with the H7N9 who have died; and pink, those with H1N1 avian flu virus.

scmp: Adventurers find insurance not best policy

旅遊保險各有不同保障限制。

中國招商局保險有限公司: 不保熱氣球，不保背包旅行(?!)，不保乘電單車。

中國建設銀行: 不保乘撘飛機(!!)

恒生銀行昆士蘭（香港）有限公司: 不保攬球

（招商局保險有限公司，上月拒絕承保6位埃及熱氣球事固中遇難港人。）

Travellers need to read the small print in documents to make sure they are covered for risky activities and visits to all countries

Amy Nip amy.nip@scmp.com
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1212485/adventurers-find-insurance-not-best-policy

Trekking at high altitude, hang-gliding, hitch-hiking or just taking part in an exciting race of some sort are activities usually offered in tour packages for adventurous travellers.

But it pays to check your insurance cover carefully before you leap out of a plane because these adventures are not necessarily covered.

Travel insurance coverage hit the spotlight last month after the hot-air balloon tragedy in Egypt. Nine Hongkongers died in the crash, but only three families received compensation. The other six families were told the victims' insurance packages did not cover hot-air balloon rides.

Policies offered by major banks and travel agencies have different exclusion clauses or do not cover accidents involving certain activities. Except for flying as a passenger in a commercial airliner, aviation activities such as ballooning, parachuting and para-gliding may not be covered.

Many insurers will also not cover diving to a depth of more than 30 or 40 metres, trekking higher than 5,000 metres and any form of racing, except if it is on foot.

Bad luck too if you are hurt or killed during a riot, civil war, revolution, by terrorists or by radioactive contamination.

Flight delays caused by strikes and industrial action which were in progress when the insurance was applied for may not be compensated. If there was a threat of a strike when a traveller bought the insurance and they are then delayed when the industrial action actually happens, they may not be compensated, some insurance agents cautioned.

Insurers also do not want to know about sexually transmitted diseases and problems arising from alcohol or drugs.

Lost jewellery, mobile phones and computers are sometimes excluded. Losses from credit cards not reported to the police and the card issuers within 24 hours will not be compensated.

China Merchants Insurance, which insured the six uncompensated hot-air balloon victims, does not cover hitch-hiking, backpacking and motorcycling.

A package offered by Hang Seng Bank in conjunction with QBE General Insurance (Hong Kong) does not cover mountaineering - which reasonably requires the use of ropes or guides - ski-jumping, use of bob-sleighs, pot-holing, bungee jumping and rugby.

AIA specially excludes visits to Afghanistan, Cuba, Congo, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, Sudan and Syria.

Hong Kong Insurance Practitioners General Union vice-chairman Andy Fung Chi-yuen said the insurers had to put in the exclusions when they lowered the premiums to win customers.

It was not the exclusions, but failure to explain them in detail that resulted in consumers buying packages that were not suitable for their tours, he said.

"Sometimes tour agencies' insurance representatives may not be able to explain the packages in detail during the short transaction time," he said.

Also, they might not be as careful as insurance agents when selling insurance because their livelihood did not depend on it.

If they get their insurance licence revoked because of breaches, "they can still sell tour packages or other products to travellers", Fung said.

Buying travel insurance on the internet is also risky because buyers will have to read the fine print themselves.

scmp: Testing begins on live poultry imports

食環署昨日起對入口活家禽做H7N9測試。

H7N9感染個案，累積38宗，死亡10宗。

Live imports will be stopped if health officials find the H7N9 virus in any of the livestock

Lo Wei wei.lo@scmp.com
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1212505/city-starts-tests-mainland-poultry

The city began testing imported live poultry for the H7N9 virus yesterday in response to the outbreak on the mainland which has killed 10 people.

In addition to the regular tests for the H5 virus, imported live poultry will now be subjected to the H7 rapid test before being sold, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said.

About 7,000 live chickens were imported from the mainland each day before the emergence of the new bird flu virus. The number fell to around 4,000 by last week, according to the department.

"Though bird flu is not threatening Hong Kong yet, people are worried. We have been selling fewer live chickens," said Steven Wong Wai-chuen, chairman of the Poultry Wholesalers and Retailers Association.

"As there is lower demand, fewer chickens are being imported," he said, estimating that sales of live chicken in Hong Kong have dropped by 40 per cent and that of frozen chicken is down by 20 to 30 per cent.

"It's no use lowering the prices, people are worried and they won't buy it no matter how cheap. We only hope that the source of infection will be found soon," he said.

All live poultry imports will be stopped if any bird is found to have the H7N9 virus and the government will consider culling them, the department said.

The H7N9 bird flu virus claimed another life on the mainland yesterday and five more people were confirmed to have contracted it.

That brings to 38 the number of cases confirmed by mainland authorities since the first on March 31, with 10 dead.

Meanwhile, Secretary for Education Eddie Ng Hak-kim visited St Francis' Canossian School in Wan Chai yesterday to inspect precautionary measures against bird flu in the school.

Click on each balloon for more information on individual patients infected with the avian flu virus: blue, patients infected with the H7N9 virus under treatment; red, those infected with the H7N9 who have died; and pink, those with H1N1 avian flu virus.

REUTERS: Deadly new bird flu vindicates controversial research

荷蘭及美國科學家正在實驗室中研制可人傳人H7N9病毒，了解病毒在自然環境中人傳人的可能性及所需條件。

兩研究組2011年已成功改變H5N1病毒，使其可透過空氣中水滴於哺乳類動物間傳播。

By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent
LONDON | Thu Apr 4, 2013 10:27am EDT
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9330M820130404?irpc=932

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists in the Dutch city of Rotterdam know precisely what it takes for a bird flu to mutate into a potential human pandemic strain - because they've created just such mutant viruses in the laboratory.

So as they watch with some trepidation the emergence in China of a strain of bird flu previously unknown in humans, they also argue it vindicates their controversial decision to conduct these risky experiments despite fierce opposition.

Above all else, what the world needs to know about this new strain of H7N9 bird flu is how likely it is to be able to spread efficiently among human populations.

And according to Ab Osterhaus, a world leading flu researcher who is head of viroscience of the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, studies his team and another in the United States have been doing are the best way to find out.

"At the moment we don't know whether we should go for a full-blown alert or whether we can sit back and say this is just a minor thing," Osterhaus told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"(To answer that) we need to know what this virus needs to become transmissible."

With 10 cases of the new H7N9 bird flu confirmed in people in China since Sunday, including four deaths, Beijing is mobilizing resources against the threat.

Japan and Hong Kong said they had also stepped up vigilance against the virus, and Vietnam banned imports of Chinese poultry.

MAKING A MONSTER?

The scientific work that can answer key risk questions is known as "gain of function" or GOF research. Its aim is to identify combinations of genetic changes, or mutations, that allow an animal virus to jump to humans.

By finding the mutations needed, researchers and ultimately health authorities are better prepared to assess how likely it is that a new virus could become dangerous and if so how soon they should begin developing drugs, vaccines and other scientific defenses.

Yet such work is highly controversial.

When two teams of scientists announced in late 2011 they had found out how to make a another strain of bird flu - H5N1 - into a form that could spread between people, alarm bells rang so loudly at the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) that it took the unprecedented step of seeking to censor publication of the studies.

In a series of GOF experiments, the scientists induced mutations into the H5N1 virus that made it transmissible among mammals through droplets in the air.

The NSABB said it feared details of the work, carried out by Ron Fouchier at the Rotterdam lab and by a second team led by Yoshihiro Kawaoka at the University of Wisconsin, could fall into the wrong hands and be used for bioterrorism.

"The fear was that they were making a monster," said Wendy Barclay, a flu virologist at Imperial College London.

An acrimonious debate ensued and flu researchers around the world agreed to a year-long moratorium on further experiments of this type until fears could be allayed.

Yet throughout the moratorium, some scientists argued the research was vital to preparing for the next flu pandemic, and that to abandon it would leave the world in the dark when new flu strains emerged.

VIRUSES JUMP FROM ANIMALS TO HUMANS

Barclay, who was a signatory on an open letter in January from 40 scientists calling for an end to the moratorium on bird flu transmissibility research, says current events in China underline why.

"What this H7N9 emergence does is show for sure that flu will emerge at regular intervals from animal sources," she said.

"And it underscores the fact that for each virus, we don't know whether it will be readily transmissible between humans when it emerges, or whether it will turn out to be a zoonotic dead end because when it reaches the human host there are barriers it can't overcome."

Some scientists, however, remain unconvinced of the value of deliberately manipulating viruses in laboratories - however secure they may be - to create and then analyze mutant flu strains that can spread between mammals.

Writing in the scientific journal Nature last week, Simon Wain-Hobson, chair of the Washington-based Foundation for Vaccine Research in the United States, accused flu researchers of going down a dangerous blind alley.

"The world has never been more densely populated," he wrote. "Is it appropriate for civilian scientists to make microbes more dangerous?"

Osterhaus, who has looked at genetic sequencing data from the new H7N9 bird flu strain samples in China and found some worrisome mutations have already occurred in the H7N9 strain, says such concerns are far outweighed by the fear of not knowing the potential risk of an emerging new virus.

"This virus might be on the brink of gaining function of transmissibility (in humans). I think it's crucial to know the rules of the game."

(Editing by Will Waterman)

scmp: DNA points to poultry markets as H7N9 transmission route

港大: H7N9可能來自禽鳥養殖場而非野生禽鳥。

HKU flu virologist who helped crack genetic code of H7N9 says evidence suggests wild birds do not play a role in transmission of the virus

Lo Wei wei.lo@scmp.com
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1210222/dna-points-poultry-markets

A Hong Kong professor who was among the first to crack the DNA code of the H7N9 virus suspects poultry farms are the direct transmission route of the current outbreak and it has little to do with wild birds.

In order to trace the route of infection and control the virus, the next step would be to investigate poultry markets and then farms - a difficult task that would require extensive sampling, said Malik Peiris, a flu virologist at the University of Hong Kong.

It is unlikely wild birds are involved in the transmission route, as this particular H7N9 gene pattern has not been found in them so far.

However, wild birds may have been part of the gene reassortment process that occurred earlier. The virus most likely originated from wild birds in Europe and Asia.

There is no evidence of human to human transmission at the moment, but that risk would rise if people are infected.

More cases would make mutations more likely, increasing the chance it will become transmittable between humans.

Finding the virus in other mammals such as pigs or dogs would also elevate that risk as the virus might have adapted to mammals, Peiris said.

Poultry markets are most likely to be the direct source of infection in these recent cases in eastern China, given previous studies he had done on bird flu.

"The virus can enter one bird and stay in the market for a long time, and humans have a lot of contact with these poultry," said Peiris, a specialist in animal and human influenza viruses.

The virus can enter one bird and stay in the market for a long time, and humans have a lot of contact with these poultry

Malik Peiris, flu virologist at the University of Hong Kong

"The next question would be how the virus got into the poultry markets in the first place."

Sampling work will need to be done at farms supplying the markets to find which species have been infected.

He suspects mainland authorities are already working on that. H7N9 has already been found in some poultry markets in Shanghai.

"We are trying to understand what allowed the virus to jump to humans and what made it so pathogenic," Peiris said.

The World Health Organisation's Chinese National Influenza Centre in Beijing sequenced the viral DNA from each of the first three human cases - two in Shanghai and the third in Anhui province - and published them in an online flu sequence database on March 31.

Researchers around the world have since been analysing them.

What is known is the virus' eight genes came from three sources - two groups of wild bird viruses and one group of H9N2 poultry virus.

There are genetic characteristics which enabled the virus to bind to humans. H9N2 has been widely spread in poultry over the past 15 years in many parts of Asia and the Middle East.

Gene reassortments are "chance events and unpredictable". It requires two viruses to infect one animal at the same time, which is not very common, Peiris said. "Most of the time they do not cause any problems to birds and humans."

But sometimes the genetic combinations were unsuitable for the virus and it dies, but in other circumstances the new arrangement is advantageous and the virus thrives.

The H7N9 virus has so far claimed seven lives and infected at least 24 people in China. The latest victim being a 64-year-old man in Shanghai who died on Sunday.

In 1997, the H5N1 virus killed six of 18 people who contracted it in Hong Kong and led to an unprecedented mass culling of 1.4 million birds and the closure of the trade for two months.

Scientists said that prevented a pandemic.

Click on each balloon for more information on individual patients infected with the avian flu virus: blue, patients infected with the H7N9 virus under treatment; red, those infected with the H7N9 who have died; and pink, those with H1N1 avian flu virus.

scmp: Tributes flow for Thatcher, giant of 20th century

Margaret Thatcher, the 'Iron Lady' who led Britain from 1979 to 1990 and reluctantly negotiated HK's return to China, has died of a stroke at 87

Ng Kang-chung and Agence France-Presse in London
http://m.scmp.com/news/article/1210310/tributes-flow-margaret-thatcher-who-has-died-stroke-87

Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister who negotiated the Sino-British Joint Declaration settling the future of Hong Kong, has died. She was 87.

A towering figure on the world stage during some of the most momentous events in modern history, and Britain's longest serving leader of the 20th century, Thatcher died after a stroke at her London home yesterday.

World leaders paid tribute to Britain's first woman prime minister, a right-wing titan and key cold war figure.

"It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announce that their mother, Baroness Thatcher, died peacefully following a stroke," family spokesman Tim Bell said, referring to Thatcher's children.

Dubbed the "Iron Lady" when she led Britain from 1979 to 1990, Thatcher developed dementia in later years and rarely appeared in public. Her daughter revealed that Thatcher had to be repeatedly reminded that her husband Denis had died in 2003. And doctors told Thatcher after a series of strokes a decade ago to quit public speaking.

US President Barack Obama called her a "true friend" of America, while German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel hailed her as an "extraordinary leader".

The man occupying the office today to which Thatcher was first elected in 1979, David Cameron, called her "a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton". He said she would receive a "ceremonial funeral with military honours" at St Paul's Cathedral on a date to be confirmed, but not a state funeral.

A frequent visitor to Hong Kong, Thatcher admitted in her 1993 memoirs that she felt "depressed" at the prospect of giving up the city, though she later praised the "brilliance" of her opposite number in the 1982 negotiations, Deng Xiaoping .

When this proved impossible, I saw the opportunity to preserve most of what was unique to Hong Kong through applying Mr Deng's ['one country, two systems'] idea

In a 2007 radio interview with Hong Kong businessman David Tang Wing-cheung, she said that before the 1982 talks she had wanted "a continuation of British administration" in Hong Kong. "But when this proved impossible, I saw the opportunity to preserve most of what was unique to Hong Kong through applying Mr Deng's ['one country, two systems'] idea," she said.

Tang, who had planned to visit Thatcher this summer, described her as one of the greatest politicians of the 20th century.

"She expressed regret and disappointment in the interview," he said. "Of course, she was speaking from the perspective that Britain lost Hong Kong. She was not expressing regret about Hong Kong's situation after the handover. She cared very much about Hong Kong. I met her quite often and every time she would ask how Hong Kong was doing.

"I remember … many rich people did not want her to hand Hong Kong over to China. But now after the handover, it proves that what she did was correct."

Democratic Party founder Martin Lee Chu-ming recalled an hour-long private meeting with Thatcher in 1994: "My impression was that she really cared about Hong Kong and its future." He believed she achieved a "not-too-bad" deal with Beijing.

Thatcher last visited the city in 1997 - for the handover she had negotiated 15 years earlier.

REUTERS: Linux users file EU complaint against Microsoft

西班牙Linux組織向歐盟投訴Microsoft，指Windows 8內置[安全系統]阻礙用戶安裝其他作業程式，歐盟指已留意到此系統，暫未見有違規情況。

Microsoft過去10年，限制安裝第三方瀏覽器，濫用Windows巿場地位拓展Media Player等，在違反歐盟競爭法上罰款累積達2.2億歐元，成為全球最大歐盟商業違規者。

================

咁某政黨濫用管治權力，阻礙參於選舉資格，及阻礙大眾公平選擇其他管治信念，又有無違反競爭法？

人地已經去到商業環境爭辯道德議題，我地就仲係基本社會運作上泥漿摔角。。。唉。。。

Exclusive: Linux users file EU complaint against Microsoft | Article | Technology
By Sarah Morris

By Sarah Morris
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSBRE92P0E120130326?irpc=932

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish association representing open-source software users has filed a complaint against Microsoft Corp to the European Commission, in a new challenge to the Windows developer following a hefty fine earlier this month.

The 8,000-member Hispalinux, which represents users and developers of the Linux operating system in Spain, said Microsoft had made it difficult for users of computers sold with its Windows 8 platform to switch to Linux and other operating systems.

Lawyer and Hispalinux head Jose Maria Lancho said he delivered the complaint to the Madrid office of the European Commission at 0900 GMT (4 a.m. EST) on Tuesday.

In its 14-page complaint, Hispalinux said Windows 8 contained an "obstruction mechanism" called UEFI Secure Boot that controls the start-up of the computer and means users must seek keys from Microsoft to install another operating system.

The group said it was "a de facto technological jail for computer booting systems ... making Microsoft's Windows platform less neutral than ever".

"This is absolutely anti-competitive," Lancho told Reuters. "It's really bad for the user and for the European software industry."

Microsoft said UEFI was an industry standard aimed at improving computer security and the approach had been public for some time.

"We are happy to answer any additional questions but we are confident our approach complies with the law and helps keep customers safe," Microsoft spokesman Robin Koch said in a statement.

A spokesman for EU Competition Chief Joaquin Almunia declined to comment.

But in written comments dated March 4 to a query from an European Parliamentary lawmaker, Almunia said his administration was aware of the Microsoft Windows 8 security requirements.

"The Commission is monitoring the implementation of the Microsoft Windows 8 security requirements. The Commission is however currently not in possession of evidence suggesting that the Windows 8 security requirements would result in practices in violation of EU competition rules," he said in the letter posted on the website of the European Parliament.

The European Commission has fined Microsoft, the global leader in PC operating systems, 2.2 billion euros ($2.83 billion)over the past decade, making it the world's biggest offender of European Union business rules.

Microsoft's relations with the EU executive have been tense since 2004, when the EU found that the company had abused its market leader position by tying Windows Media Player to the Windows software package.

The company took a more conciliatory approach in recent years, settling another antitrust investigation in 2009 related to the choice of a browser in its Windows operating system.

It also lodged its own complaints to the Commission about the business activities of rival Google.

But Microsoft broke its 2009 pledge and was fined 561 million euros by the EU Commission on March 6 for failing to offer users a choice of web browser.

(Additional reporting by Teresa Larraz; Editing by Julien Toyer, Tom Pfeiffer and Clelia Oziel)