While some parts of the world don’t need a reminder to laugh, there are two spring days in Britain that invite people to find the humour in life. The first is Red Nose Day in March, a BBC covered media event by the charity Comic Relief, and the other is the first of April – or ‘April Fool’s Day’ – in which a flurry of (hopefully) funny pranks are carried out before midday — miss the deadline and the prankster is branded the ‘fool’. These are events that bring a lot of fun, but as the science behind laughter becomes increasingly researched, it seems that perhaps one ought to see every day as a good day to laugh.
田方澤
近一年前的學童自殺悲劇，社會一片愁雲。針對諸等事件，政府成立了防止學生自殺委員會，檢討學童自殺的成因。坊間意見除了譴責不負責任的教育局長外，大多將學童問題歸因於學校教師和社工支援、競爭性的教育制度和競爭性的社會環境等，尤其近年社會關注TSA（全港性系統評估）和學生壓力的問題，更傾向於此討論。 Read More
Paul Yip
Mental health is one of the major public concerns in our city. The first-ever Hong Kong Mental Morbidity Survey, which interviewed more than 5,700 people aged 16-75 between 2010 and 2013, found that nearly one in seven suffered from common mental disorders, such as anxiety or depression. Read More
Paul Yip
A recent visit to Beijing was a reminder of the cost and benefit of any economic development. Indeed, the spectacular growth rates of the past two decades have made China the world’s second-largest economy. But economic prosperity and rapid development has sadly come at the expense of the environment. Read More
Marty Forth & Paul Yip
Even in a city as wealthy and advanced as Hong Kong, there are still neighbourhoods where basic support services and programmes for children and families are insufficient. Read More
Jenny Huen & Paul Yip
In recent years, relations between different political camps and between different stakeholders (including the government) in Hong Kong have become increasingly strained and polarised. One of the fundamental reasons behind this phenomenon may be a difference in core values. So what are the values that Hong Kong people uphold, and how do they differ across political affiliations? Read More
Paul Yip
At a mental health conference held in Cairns last week, one of the topics was healthy body and healthy mind.
It is so important to invest in a healthy body, which is strongly related to a healthy mind. It is not rocket science to achieve a healthy body, namely through a balanced diet, regular exercise and good social support. Read More
Paul Yip
The Commission on Poverty provides detailed figures on the situation in Hong Kong and has just released the fourth update to the poverty line since it was set in 2013. The poverty line is set at half the median household income, according to household size. Those living below it are considered poor. As it is in relative term, there will always be a certain proportion of the population below the threshold. Read More
葉兆輝
上個月筆者參與香港賽馬會慈善信託基金舉辦的「慈善共創 都市聚焦」國際慈善論壇，此論壇聚焦「共享價值」（shared value）議題，講者們講述很多商界「善有善報」的成功例子（doing well by doing good），這些善舉不單捐贈盈餘，還展現出商界對社會的承擔，企業如何回應社會充滿挑戰性的需要，如何通過與非政府機構和整個社會創造「共享價值」，一同突破原有資本主義商業營運的限制。 Read More