4E News Reaction – Hong Kong (Deadline: Oct 12 08)

Dear 4E

This is the article for this week’s news assignment.   You have to do two things:

1. Read the article. 
2. Leave comments to this article/ topic here (no less than 80 words). You may respond to your classmates’ comments as well.  Remember to let me know who you are.

Have a nice weekend!  

Ms Fong

South China Morning Post

Sunday August 31 2008

Out and about

To gain an insight into the ‘real’ Hong Kong, take the MTR to the end of the Tsuen Wan line, writes Jason Wordie.

Visitors and recent arrivals often ask: ‘Where is the ‘real’ Hong Kong?’ This mythical spot must, surely, exist somewhere beyond the cliched imagery, far removed from Central’s ersatz international gloss, Tsim Sha Tsui’s glittering temples to high-end consumerism and every other well-worn postcard view.

There must be a place where you won’t see Jackie Chan flinging himself through the bamboo scaffolding like an amphetamine-fuelled marmoset, or sailing junks floating serenely, if improbably, through Victoria Harbour. For the record, these craft vanished from local waters decades ago – a minor, inconvenient detail the Hong Kong Tourism Board hasn’t yet acknowledged.

To encounter the ‘real’ Hong Kong, journey no further than the end of the MTR line and Tsuen Wan. Like other new town conurbations, where the vast majority of Hong Kong people live, authentic, varied Tsuen Wan rewards an afternoon’s exploration.

And believe it or not, Tsuen Wan is one of Hong Kong’s major tourist destinations – for visitors from the mainland. Chung On Street features heavily on many mainland tourist itineraries and, as in downtown Kowloon, the main attraction is shopping. Favoured purchases are gold and jewellery, mid-range cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, dried seafood and traditional Chinese medicinal items – all can be purchased with reasonable consumer confidence in Hong Kong, unlike on the mainland, where adulterations and fakes are common.

Close to Tsuen Wan MTR station and marooned among tower blocks and expressways, white-washed, pitch-roofed Sam Tung Uk is a pleasant reminder of Tsuen Wan’s relatively recent village past. A substantial Hakka complex that dates from 1786, Sam Tung Uk was preserved and gazetted a monument in 1981, when the surrounding squatter settlement was cleared. Now converted into a small, immaculately maintained ethnographic museum, it nevertheless feels strangely dead without the colour and movement, noises and smells typical of village life.

Other rural-era relics survive amid the metropolis; near Tsuen Wan’s original waterfront, now several hundred metres inland, a few surviving buildings from Hoi Pa village form part of a shady park close by Yan Chai Hospital.

Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong’s highest mountain, rises behind Tsuen Wan. Route Twisk, one of the city’s most picturesque country roads, meanders through almost wild countryside over to Kam Tin. The No 51 bus from above Tsuen Wan MTR station provides one of Hong Kong’s most enjoyable – and cheapest – scenic excursions; a complete contrast in every respect to bustling Tsuen Wan, just below.

 

Seek help from Wordreference and Thesaurus!

 

 

 

6A News Reaction – Euthanasia (Deadline: Oct 12 08)

Dear 6A

This is the article for this week’s news reaction assignment.  You have to do two things:

1. Read the article. 
2. Leave comments to this article/ topic here (no less than 100 words). You may respond to your classmates’ comments as well.  Remember to let me know who you are.

Have a nice weekend!  

Ms Fong

 

South China Morning Post

 

Monday March 31 2008

 

Mercy killing or murder, euthanasia is still illegal

Some people believe life is sacred, others think they should have the right to call it quits, writes Elaine Yau

The debate about euthanasia flared up again last week with the death of a cancer-stricken French woman. Former schoolteacher Chantal Sebire, 52, suffered from a rare form of cancer which caused her face to become deformed and swollen.

The severely disfigured woman, who lost her sight and senses of smell and taste because of the malignant tumour, died two days after the French court rejected her request for the right to die.

Euthanasia, which means mercy-killing or medically-assisted death, has caused heated debates around the world. It may be conducted with or without the patient’s consent.

Voluntary euthanasia involves a patient asking to be killed. Involuntary euthanasia usually involves an unconscious patient whose death is decided without his consent. As a patient in an incurably vegetative state or irretrievable coma cannot agree to the act of euthanasia, his proxies – usually his doctors or family – make the decision to end his life. This form of euthanasia has long divided societies as it can be equated to murder.

In a medical sense, the practice is divided into two types – active and passive euthanasia. The former involves medical practitioners using lethal substances or fatal medical means to end the lives of patients. As this aggressive form of euthanasia runs contrary to a doctor’s sworn duty to save lives, it has caused the most strident protests.

The most famous proponent of euthanasia is Jack Kevorkian, dubbed Doctor Death. The retired pathologist claims to have euthanised 130 patients. He was finally convicted of murder and sentenced to prison after he sent a tape of himself in the act to a television show.

Passive euthanasia usually entails the unplugging of life support systems or withholding treatments like medication, surgery or even food and water essential to sustaining the patient’s life.Passive euthanasia is commonly practised in hospitals the world over. While most societies deem passive euthanasia morally acceptable, its active form has touched off countless debates.

Religious leaders argue that human life is inviolable. Governments around the world also fear legalising euthanasia would spark a wave of assisted suicides of disabled but otherwise healthy people, hence making a mockery of the supposedly noble value of human life.

The personal crusade of quadriplegic Tang Siu-pun, better known as Ah Bun, to end his life through assisted suicide exposed the rifts over the idea. The wheelchair-bound Mr Tang, who has been dependent on others for most of his basic needs ever since a sports accident more than a decade ago, wrote a letter to former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa in 2003 asking for euthanasia to be legalised.

He released a 300-page book I Want Euthanasia last year in which he argued for his right to die in peace and with dignity. He said the value of a person’s life is subjective and should not be judged by others. His plight struck a chord with people who have witnessed the slow and painful deaths of their loved ones.

The sight of bed-ridden family members wilting away in hospital often makes people yearn for a more humane way to expedite their demise and end their suffering.

Proponents of euthanasia argue the practice can diminish the pressure on the public health system. However, this notion is rejected by moralists who believe this idea would see calls for people to die for the public good.

Sam Lee Yuan-tai, chairman of the Direction Association for the Handicapped, agreed that legalising euthanasia might put pressure on the sick and handicapped to commit suicide as they might worry about becoming a burden to society and their families.

Mr Lee, a quadriplegic, argued that instead of legalising euthanasia, society should step up support for the disabled which would allow them to lead a full life.

Mr Lee’s arguments echo the calls for the provision of better hospice and palliative care for the terminally ill instead of allowing patients suffering from incurable diseases to die prematurely.

Studies show that most people support euthanasia, but the practice is usually blocked by the law.

In Hong Kong, euthanasia remains a strict no-no in the eyes of both the legal and medical communities.

Seek help from Wordreference and Thesaurus!

 

 

AL UE and CE English Syllabuses

Dear 6A and 4E

The HKEAA’s website contains information about public exams. Do visit it from time to time to get updated information. Below are the links to UE and CE syllabuses.

HKALE Use of English 2010

HKCEE English Language 2010

Ms Fong

Come On In My Classroom!

Dear 6A, 4E and 2N

This blog is our central meeting place to plan and discuss English learning throughout the school year. Check back regularly to review the syllabus, read any new announcements, do the assignments, get tips about English learning, and ask your peers or your teacher questions concerning English learning . Don’t forget to join the Game of the Month! Happy learning!

Ms Fong