HK Government spends HK$200m into Wi-Fi facilities

The government would invest more than HK$200 million in Wi-Fi facilities to provide free access for the public, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan has announced.

The Wi-Fi facilities would be installed in government premises such as libraries, community centres and parks over the next two years.

Mrs Lau was discussing plans to further the development of information and communications technology (ICT) in Hong Kong at the Opening Ceremony of Digital Lifestyle Forum late on Thursday.

She said the government would also help the industry extend wireless networks in other areas. It would do this by allowing the provision of networks at public facilities – such as bridges and lamp-posts, at nominal rent, she explained.

“Apart from our existing 3G networks that could provide high-speed connections to light-weight and highly mobile devices, we consider that the introduction of broadband wireless access [BWA] services in Hong Kong would provide additional capacity to support advanced applications and wireless Internet access.

“We will finalise spectrum allocation and licensing arrangements next year,” she added.

Mrs Lau noted that Hong Kong’s creative industries were playing an increasingly important role in the economy. She said this development was needed to “accelerate in the next five years if the city was to maintain its leading position” in the region.

The commerce secretary commended the city’s creative industries for its “uniqueness and advanced position” as it “demonstrates Hong Kong people are creative and innovative”.

But Mrs Lau said it still had to be mindful about information security and data privacy.

“In this connection, I would like to point out that while we are going to further the development of creative industries including the digital lifestyle concept ... we must ensure that information security will be an ingredient embedded into it.”

How to charge an iPod with an onion

Jellyfish attack destroys salmon

A jellyfish invasion has wiped out Northern Ireland's only salmon farm, killing more than 100,000 fish.

A Northern Salmon spokesman said last week's attack could cost more than £1m.

Billions of small jellyfish, known as Mauve Stingers, flooded into the cages about a mile into the Irish Sea, off Glenarm Bay and Cushendun.

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Amazon's new ebook device - Kindle

The digital reader that will provide 200 books at the touch of a button

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says that the Kindle may be the most important thing he's ever done. But how well does it work? As the first journalist to get his hands on the device, I found it fit my hands pretty well. It's comfortable to hold, and the huge NEXT PAGE and PREVIOUS PAGE buttons on the sides make it easy to keep reading at a steady pace. On the other hand, the prominence of those buttons makes it almost impossible to pick the Kindle up without inadvertently turning a virtual page.

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ParknShop will stop handing out plastic bags automatically today

ParknShop will from today stop automatically handing out plastic bags to customers.

Shoppers who want a bag will be asked to pay 20 cents for each one. But the levy is voluntary. If they refuse to pay, customers will be given new biodegradable bags with the message: "I'm a plastic bag, please use me responsibly."

The 222 stores will no longer use plastic bags with its classic "P" logo.

The company expects its policy to cut the number of plastic bags by 90 million in the next two years.

Making the 20-cent payment "on a voluntary basis allows people to make their own choice", said ParknShop managing director Philippe Giard. "We are driving a change; we are not making any profit out of these 20-cent contributions. It's not a question of money."

Mr Giard also believed the new policy would not deter customers.

The bag levy is part of the company's programme, "For a Better Hong Kong", which includes other measures such as the use of recycled gift-wrapping paper during festive seasons, in which customers are encouraged to pay HK$1 for each sheet of paper.

Another incentive to persuade customers not to use plastic bags is a system of giving five bonus MoneyBack points for every HK$25 spent, up to 20 points per visit.

A spokeswoman for rival chain Wellcome said its "no plastic bag days" had helped save 95 million bags over the past two years. She said Wellcome would review the effort before starting another campaign. Customers pay a voluntary 50 cents for bags at Wellcome every Tuesday.

Both ParknShop and Wellcome said they were seeking alternatives for wrapping fresh food.

The Plastic Bags Manufacturers' Association said its business had dropped by 20 to 30 per cent since the "no plastic bag day" campaign had begun.

Association spokeswoman Penny Yeung Pui-yee said: "ParknShop's decision will affect only one or two suppliers, and it will have little effect on the whole industry, but we expect business will drop by 90 per cent after the government introduces a tax on plastic bags."

Ms Yeung said the industry was facing a difficult business environment with the rising price of resources for manufacturing.

"Our members now focus more on overseas markets such as Europe where there is a huge demand for bags specially designed for putting dog faeces," she said.

Ho Ka-po, project manager of Green Sense, which started the "no plastic bag day" campaign, hailed Parkn Shop's initiative to reduce plastic bag use.

"We hope the new practice will help strengthen public awareness about using fewer plastic bags and build up a habit of using their own shopping bags," she said.

The executive director of Greener Action, Angus Ho Hon-wai, also welcomed the move.

"This is a good start, as the supermarket is now promoting environmental protection at all their branches every day by ceasing to give out free plastic bags. We hope other retail stores will follow suit."

But he was worried whether the programme would be effective, as it was voluntary. "Customers can still ask for plastic bags if they need them, and they have to pay only 20 HK cents. The fee is set even lower than what the government has proposed, which is 50 cents."

A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department said: "The initiatives are generally in line with our policy objective, which is to avoid and reduce waste at source.

"We encourage other retailers to strengthen their waste reduction initiatives."

Heroes creator apologises to fans

The creator of hit TV show Heroes has apologised to fans in the US for a slow start to the second series.

Tim Kring admitted to Entertainment Weekly that mistakes had been made on the choice of storylines, but promised to get the show back on track.

The second series has seen falling ratings in the US, where the programme is now eight episodes in.

Viewers in the UK can see the conclusion of the first series on BBC Two on 5 December.

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HSBC rooftop garden offers breath of fresh air

It may be stuffy and dusty on the street in Mong Kok, but 16 floors up on the roof of one of HSBC's buildings it is a different world, where people can have breathing space.

The striking difference is brought about by a sky garden that has just been completed on top of the bank's office tower situated at Mong Kok's busiest junction, Nathan Road and Argyle Street.

The garden, measuring more than 4,000 sq ft, is the first of its kind among HSBC's properties in Hong Kong and may also be a pioneer in the heart of Mong Kok, with its solid wall of buildings.

At a cost of HK$2 million, the originally shabby, concrete rooftop was converted into an oasis, with green turf and a garden partly laid with recycled plastic materials.

The turf, along with the landscaped vegetation, could lower temperatures on the roof by an estimated 2 degrees Celsius and reduce the air conditioning load for the 15th floor underneath it.

A solar-powered film as thin as a bank card generates 2kWh of electricity, which can help cut up to about 1 tonne of carbon dioxide annually.

Apart from renewable energy, the garden also promotes the reuse of wastewater generated from the building's air conditioning system. About 1 cubic metre of water is collected on a daily basis for irrigation.

Leung Wai-on, the garden's contractor, described it as almost "heaven" in a heavily polluted area.

"This is the busiest part of Mong Kok, but we now have an oasis in a concrete jungle."

He said many property owners were sceptical about sky gardens because of perceived high costs, but each garden could be tailor-made to a budget.

Maverick Leung, sports and recreation manager of the bank, said the money spent on the garden was worth it because it had become very popular since its official opening three weeks ago.

"Our colleagues can come up to the roof anytime to get some fresh air. They can have lunch here, too," he said, adding that a Christmas barbecue in the garden was almost fully booked.

External affairs manager Ophelia Quach said the bank would continue to look for opportunities to save energy and go green.

The group's new data centre in Tseung Kwan O would incorporate a sky garden, while something similar was being considered for its Tsim Sha Tsui office tower.

The former Central School's foundations discovered

Extent of school find revealed

About 40 per cent of the former Central School's foundations have been discovered within the area occupied by the former Police Married Quarters in Hollywood Road, but the government's antiquities adviser has suggested that only a small portion of them be preserved.

The Antiquities and Monuments Office released a report on the find last night.

The foundations, found partially preserved beneath a car park, had been disturbed by the construction of the police quarters in 1948, reducing their aesthetic and academic research value, the report said.

"As the foundations have been considerably disturbed ... their overall heritage value has also been diminished to such a degree that total in situ preservation cannot be justified," it said.

It recommended that a small portion of the foundations be preserved for integration into future development on the site.

The Central School, set up in 1862 on Gough Street, was attended by the founder of modern China, Sun Yat-sen, as a teenager. It moved to the Hollywood Road site in 1889. The school was the first government institution offering upper primary and secondary education.

The report recommended that excavation of the foundations, which cover 600 square metres of the site, should not be continued, as it could affect surrounding tree walls and the stability of underground features.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, in his policy address last month, announced a halt to the sale of the site for one year. He also said proposals for revitalisating the site would be invited.

Besides the foundation, the school's playground, remnants of small entrances, old stone steps - and underground structures that matched the layout and basement floor plans attached to an 1883 report proposing construction of the new Central School - were also found.

No remains of the Shing Wong Temple, thought to have been on the site before the school, were unearthed, however.

University of Hong Kong architectural conservation programme director Lee Ho-yin said uncovering the remains of the historic school was a "rare discovery" in Hong Kong.

He said the foundations and other remnants should be preserved so people could see part of Hong Kong's history. He suggested the site should be open space and the former police quarters kept for community use.

Central and Western Concern Group spokeswoman Katty Law Ngar-ning said she was exhilarated by the excavation results.

"It is a significant event to unearth historic relics in a bustling city centre," she said.

"The government should think of ways to incorporate the features into future developments."