Schools may get to choose which language to use

Secondary schools could be given freedom to choose whether to teach in English or Chinese, the education secretary said yesterday.

Paving the way for an apparent policy shift, Michael Suen Ming-yeung said the Education Bureau was currently considering options on how to give schools more flexibility in implementing the medium-of- instruction policy.

Mr Suen said school groups had been petitioning for a wide range of measures, including having different language streams within a school, either on a subject-by-subject basis or by splitting students into English or Chinese classes according to ability.

But he insisted that schools would not be given carte blanche; rather, the bureau would implement an "objective, transparent" mechanism to determine how schools could set their language of instruction policy.

He gave no details of what form that mechanism might take.

Mr Suen said the bureau aimed for 60 per cent of secondary school leavers to be capable of learning in English by the time the new six-year secondary curriculum was fully implemented in 2012. Now, only the top 40 per cent of Primary Six graduates is deemed able to learn in English.

There have been persistent rumours of a significant policy shift since November, when Mr Suen announced a review to "fine-tune" a new set of rules on medium of instruction due to come into effect in 2010. Those rules, set down in 2005 after an extensive consultation process, had been in favour of maintaining the rigid divide between English- and Chinese-medium secondary schools and categorically ruled out language streaming within schools.

Mr Suen's comments yesterday were broadly welcomed by the education sector - on the condition that the change would not result in a return to the situation prior to the introduction of the mother-tongue education policy in 1998.

At that time, schools had complete autonomy over their medium of instruction, with many opting to teach in English regardless of whether teachers were competent in the language or students were able to learn effectively. The mother-tongue policy banned all but 112 secondary schools from teaching in English.

Professional Teachers' Union president Cheung Man-kwong said it was important to ensure students were capable of learning in English and the labelling effect of Chinese-medium schools was minimised. "The most important thing Mr Suen said was there will be a clear mechanism for inspecting and making sure schools maintain standards."

Dominic Chu Fu-yau, former chairman of the Subsidised Secondary Schools Council, said allowing schools to choose which classes to teach in English or Chinese was better than "simply splitting schools between winners and losers".

"Frontline teachers are the optimum judge of whether their students would learn best in English or Chinese," Mr Chu said.

Michael Tien Puk-sun, chairman of the 2005 policy working group, said he did not believe the government was going to change the core findings of his team's report - that schools should only be allowed to teach in English if they could meet set criteria, including students' language ability, teacher quality and support measures within the schools.

"Initially, we had been in favour of allowing language streaming within schools, as we felt that was a more idealistic solution," Mr Tien said. "But in the end we decided there were too many practical concerns."

These included the drain on resources due to the need to inspect quality "class by class" and the increase in teacher workload from having classes in two languages. "The key is, there needs to be a system of quantifiable ways to uphold conditions to allow students to learn effectively."

Microsoft warns on Vista update

Microsoft is warning Windows Vista users that a forthcoming service pack for the operating system may stop some third-party programs working.

The software giant has released a list of programs that may be broken by the SP1 update for Vista.

Most of the software hit by the upgrade are security programs that prevent Windows users falling prey to viruses, trojans and booby-trapped webpages.

The Windows Vista update will be released to the public in mid-March.

Continue reading at: BBC News

Killer fish terrifies Britain

A SAVAGE fish more terrifying than a piranha has been caught in Britain for the first time — sparking fears of a deadly invasion.
The vicious giant snakehead EATS everything it comes across and has even been reported to KILL people.

The monster — from south-east Asia — has a mouth crammed with fearsome teeth, can “crawl” on land and survive out of water for up to four days.

News that a 2ft specimen had been hooked in an English river caused widespread panic among anglers and conservationists.

Continue reading in the Sun

Fei Fei now at peace: daughter

People do not have to feel unhappy, she says

"I will be good. I will try my best to learn to be a responsible woman. I know it is what my mother wants from me," the only daughter of late comedienne Lydia Shum Tin-ha said at an emotional press conference yesterday, a day after her mother's death.

The death of Shum, better known as "Fei Fei", or "Fatty" for her ample girth, sparked an outpouring of emotion throughout Hong Kong as almost every newspaper in the city featured front-page reports of her death after a long battle with cancer of the liver and gall bladder.

However, in a bid to emulate her mother who brought happiness to millions before her death at age 62, Joyce Cheng Yan-yee, 20, said: "People do not have to feel unhappy about her death. She did suffer a lot during the long battle. It was really hard for her.

"We all miss my mum and we all do not want to let her go. But then she was tough, she had fought with the disease for a long time.

"Now that she has gone, she is somewhere more peaceful."

She added that many family members had been at Shum's bedside when she died peacefully at Queen Mary Hospital on Tuesday morning.

Before succumbing once more to her grief and breaking down in tears, she thanked her mother's fans and friends for all the concern and support they had shown, saying all these were a great comfort to the family.

According to Fei Fei's wishes, she will be buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Vancouver next week during a family-only service.

People would be able to bid farewell to Fei Fei at a memorial service in the Hong Kong Coliseum on March 2, Shum's manager, Chan Suk-fan said. Details of the event would be released later.

"Fei Fei had lots of friends and regarded show business as her lifelong love," Ms Chan said. "She grew hand in hand with Hong Kong people and was always an icon of happiness. She hoped that such an image would be eternal."

Ms Chan added that many people tried to contact Fei Fei when she was in the hospital and she had not realised until then the extent of the concern felt for her.

"There is no need to regret that you did not bid a last farewell to her as Fei Fei wanted everyone to remember her face as happy and healthy," Ms Chan said.

It is understood the family is to publish an obituary in at least one Chinese-language newspaper today signed by Fei Fei's family members. However, it is also understood that the name of her ex-husband Adam Cheng Siu-chow, from whom she separated 19 years ago, is not included. Cheng, an actor who is making a TV series on the mainland, has not commented since Fei Fei's death.

Compared with dead superstars like Anita Mui Yim-fong and Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, Shum's persona had a deeper meaning, said Chinese University journalism Professor Anthony Fung Ying-him.

"Anita and Leslie were glamorous superstars but Fei Fei was more like the close family that Hong Kong people grew up with," said Professor Fung.

SCMP. Feb 19, 2008

Music using ONLY sounds from Windows XP and 98!

Colourful HK personality Lydia Shum dies

One of Hong Kong's most well-known, popular and colourful personalities - Lydia Shum Din-ha - died on Tuesday morning at 8.30am, Hong Kong media reported.

She passed away in Queen Mary hospital after a long fight with cancer. She was 60 years old.

Shum, who was also known as Lydia Sum, was a much admired Hong Kong comedian and actress - famous for her plump size and dark-rimmed glasses. Hong Kong people affectionately called her Fei-fei (Fatty).

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said he was greatly saddened by Shum's death and extended his condolences to her family.

Liberal Party's Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee said: "She was such an important and talented actress in Hong Kong. Her positive, happy image always set a great example,"€ she said.

The entertainment industry on Tuesday also paid tribute to Shum.

Veteran film maker Tsoi Wo-ping, who had known her for many years, said he was "shocked, surprised and sad"€ at her passing.

Actor and television host Ho Sau-seon said: "She contributed so much to the entertainment industry with her happy, positive attitude. She was irreplaceable."€

Another well-known actor, Lo Hoi-pang, lamented that Hong Kong's entertainment industry had lost one of its most talented members.

Over a career spanning 48 years, Lydia Shum made regular television appearances and starred in many titles during a varied film career.

But in recent years her failing health had been affecting her career. When Shum received a life achievement award at TVB's annual awards night last November. she had said: "I feel so honoured ... I hope my health can improve. I will not give up show business so easily, I love it so much."

The entertainer had been plagued by cancer, bile duct inflammation, diabetes and hypertension.

In 2002, Shum was hospitalised and had 32 gallstones removed. In September 2006, she was diagnosed with liver tumour and cancer around the gallbladder. Doctors were forced to remove a third of her liver.

Shum was born July 21, 1947 in Shanghai. She made her film debut in 1960 with the Shaw Brothers. She became well-known in widely televised TVB variety show Enjoy Yourself Tonight, first singing with the female group Four Golden Flowers in the 1970s.

Shum subsequently established herself as predominantly a comic and dramatic actress, appearing regularly in films over the past 40 years. These included The Lotus Lamp 1965, Three Women in a Factory 1967, The Country Bumpkin in Style 1974 and more recently In-Laws, Out-Laws 2004 and Where Are They Now? 2006, among others.

Shum took a break from making films in 1997. After this, she hosted a talk show in Hong Kong, along with telethons and variety shows on TVB. She lived in Vancouver, Canada for a while.

Shum returned to cinema in 2004 with the comedy film In-Laws Outlaws.

Shum starred in Singapore's Channel 5 English sitcom Living with Lydia and such Cantonese series as Slim Chances. Her performance in Living with Lydia won her the "Best Comedy Performance by an Actress"€ award at the 2003 Asian Television Awards. She said it was the first time she had acted in an English drama in her 40-year career.

In 1985, Shum married actor and singer Adam Cheng Siu-chow after 11 years of living together. They later divorced. She has a daughter Joyce Cheng Yan-yee, who is a singer.

On October 11 last year, Shum collapsed and was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The actress was discharged from the hospital on October 16, 2007.

SCMP. Feb 19, 2008

Scuba from the comfort of your car

It sounds like a “greatest Irish invention” joke, but it’s true. A Swiss company has invented an underwater car - and it’s a convertible. Costing around £750,000 to build, the Rinspeed sQuba concept car was inspired by James Bond’s The Spy Who Loved Me. The sQuba is a road-worthy car that, at the touch of a button, can transform into an amphibious vehicle. It is capable of diving to a depth of about 33 feet. When on the water, it is propelled by two propellers, while two powerful jets propel the vehicle underwater.

"Shaolin Soccer" for real!!

I'm sure you've all seen Stephen Chow's film "Shaolin Soccer". Characters in the film are all superb at manipulating footballs (using CG). In this video, it seems that these South Americans can really play those tricks.