Dhruv Tikekar

Hong Kong may be small but we’ve always punched above our weight. And whether they’re Olympic medallists, young-up-and-comers or inspirational mavericks, Hong Kong is home to some pretty awesome sporting icons. 1. Tiffany Chan Amateur golfer-turned-sporting champion Tiffany Chan is the first player from Hong Kong to win a professional women’s ranking tournament. She also recently secured her spot in the 2016 Rio Olympics, where we hope the 21-year-old continues to set new standards. 2. Marco Fu Professional snooker player Marco Fu famously beat superstar snooker champ Ronnie O’Sullivan to win the 2007 World Open. Last year he reached the semi-finals of the World Championship – 10 years after he first made it that far – proving he’s still got what it takes at the highest level. 3. Ko Lai-chak Together with Li Ching, Ko Lai-chak bagged Hong Kong’s first-ever silver medal when the pair finished second in the table tennis doubles in Athens in 2004. But Ko has also had his share of solo success. At the 2006 Asian Games – along with a gold meal earned with Li in the doubles – he also won a bronze in the men’s singles tournament. 4. Mui Thomas A true inspiration and sporting icon. Thomas was born with the rare skin condition harlequin ichthyosis but has overcome adversity to become a special needs teacher at Wan Chai’s Rock Foundation and a referee for the Hong Kong Rugby Union. With aspirations of becoming a referee for major international rugby matches, the 22-year-old has also be

Does Hong Kong have a problem with human trafficking? Is the government going to create some legislation to combat the practice? Dhruv Tikekar goes in search of a few answers It’s been almost 13 years since the Palermo protocols were set in motion by the United Nations, establishing a series of measures to combat transnational human trafficking, smuggling and the manufacturing of illegal arms. The protocol overseeing human trafficking, in particular, set its sights on protecting and assisting the victims of these human rights violations. It also sought to clearly define the act itself by addressing a broad range of means employed for the ‘recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons’ for the purposes of asserting control over those persons or exploiting them in some way. Great for the UN, then. But Hong Kong didn’t write any such definition into its legislative framework. And it still hasn’t done. In fact, there’s no broad legislative framework in our SAR that addresses the issue at all and, with this, comes uncertain consequences. In the annual Trafficking in Persons report released by the US State Department earlier this month, Hong Kong was recognised as having laws that ‘do not prohibit all forms of trafficking’ as well as having ‘no specific criminal offence related to the crime’ of human trafficking. “[The Hong Kong government] is consistently in denial about Hong Kong being a destination, transit and origin for human trafficking,” says Jade A

The government’s recent proposals to introduce swimming areas and slides into Victoria Harbour has raised eyebrows given the history of water pollution. Have recent efforts done enough to make such proposals safe? Dhruv Tikekar investigates Development along Hong Kong Island’s harbourfront has long been one of the most contentious civic issues. Government decisions to reclaim land along Central and Wan Chai harbourfront, in particular, were met with resistance in 2003 from local groups that cited the reclamations as being unnecessary and in violation of existing legislation, namely the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance.  In January last year, the Harbourfront Commission and the Planning Department commenced the Urban Design Study for the Wan Chai North and North Point Harbourfront Areas in a bid to realise their vision for ‘reconnecting people to the water’. More recently, when development secretary Paul Chan detailed plans for these areas in May in an online blog post, among the proposed developments were floating swimming pools, water slides and diving pools. While the proposals have been and continue to be vetted through numerous public consultations, two issues remain to be addressed further – the quality of the water in Victoria Harbour and the necessity of certain proposals listed in the study. In a statement issued by the Environmental Protection Department, pollution in Victoria Harbour is said to have ‘dropped by over 70 percent’ since the implementation of a treat