

Hong Kong Today
Description:
RTHK's morning news programme. Weekdays 6:30 - 8:00
Presenter:
Ben Tse and Vicky Wong2023-02-16
Thursday
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Selected audio segments:
Cathay to boost capacity amid passenger surge
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Cathay Pacific says it will further boost its flight capacity in the coming months to meet higher demand. The airline said passenger numbers surged last month, hitting the one million mark for the first time since the start of the pandemic three years ago. Violet Wong reports:
Caution against encouraging mass tourism
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A tourism professor has welcomed the recovery in the sector but is warning authorities not to encourage mass tourism. Professor Haiyan Song, the associate dean of the Polytechnic University's school of hotel and tourism management, was commenting after the Tourism Board revealed half-a-million visitors came to Hong Kong in January - triple the figure from December. Professor Song told Ben Tse that authorities should aim to attract high-end tourists, provide quality services, and consider the sustainability of Hong Kong as an international destination:
Authorities tackle car park chaos at Heung Yuen Wai
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The government says only motorists with advanced reservations will be allowed to park at the Heung Yuen Wai car park from Friday. It is part of a "multi-pronged approach" to tackle parking space shortage at Hong Kong's newest border crossing. The Heung Yuen Wai checkpoint opened to individual travellers for the first time on Monday last week and had only been used by trucks before then. The first weekend after it opened saw major congestion at its car park, as Kelly Yu reports:
ICAC charges eight more over third runway project
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Graftbusters, the ICAC, says eight more people have been charged for alleged bribery in connection with the airport’s third runway project. This brings to 10 the number of people who have been charged, as Kelly Yu reports:
'Talent beneficiaries needn't remain in HK'
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The government says it will not make it a condition that people who benefit from any publicly-funded talent retention measures remain in Hong Kong for future career development. Labour minister Chris Sun was replying to a question from Business and Professionals Alliance lawmaker, Jimmy Ng, who noted that the local workforce had shrunk by around 140,000 people in the past two years. Damon Pang reports:
Concerns over talent scheme's impact on local workers
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Lawmaker Bill Tang, from the Federation of Trade Unions, says he hopes the government will ensure local workers are not negatively affected by its talent schemes. He was commenting after a Legco antechamber meeting with government officials on Wednesday, where Labour minister Chris Sun said Hong Kong's top talent scheme had received over 10,000 applications, with over 70 percent having been approved. Tang told Ada Au that the government needed to be cautious about importing workers:
i-Cable reiterates that it's hiring, not firing
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The Chief Executive of i-Cable Communications, Stephen Wong, says there is no plan to lay off any employees following the firm’s decision to terminate its pay-TV service from June. In fact, he says the company is looking to hire more people, as Maggie Ho reports:
Dehumidifiers fail to meet the grade
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The Consumer Council has called on dehumidifier manufacturers to provide more transparent and precise information about the performance of their products after finding some do not work as well as claimed. It also found that air filters supplied with some models significantly affected their performance and energy consumption. Frank Yung reports:
Bouldering gyms warned over liabilities
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The Consumer Council also says operators of bouldering gyms should not assume that getting people to sign a waiver will let them off the hook if a customer injures themselves or even dies. Vanessa Cheng reports:
Local athletes confident in upcoming Asia Triathlon
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The Hong Kong team are getting ready for the Asia Triathlon Cup to be held in Tai Mei Tuk later this month. As Leung Pak-hei reports, local athletes think they have the home advantage over their international opponents:
Triathlon 'good fitness test' as athletes eye Asian Games
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The head coach of the Hong Kong Triathlon National Squad says the upcoming Asia Triathlon will be a good fitness test. Andrew Wright said the team was focusing on the training for the event and not the result, as its biggest race would be the Asian Games in September. Despite this, he told Ben Tse that the squad was the fittest it had ever been, and that overseas competitors would be in for a shock when they see the bike leg of the event:
Sturgeon's resignation catches many by surprise
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After leading Scotland for eight years as head of the Scottish National Party, Nicola Sturgeon has abruptly resigned as first minister. At a press conference, she said the decision was a difficult one, but came from "a place of duty and love":
'Sturgeon may play role on world stage'
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In recent months, Nicola Sturgeon's strong popularity has been sliding over her strategy for independence and for promoting a bill that would make it easier for 16 and 17-year-olds to officially change their gender. RTHK's UK correspondent Gavin Grey spoke to Vicky Wong:
Air India plane deal a game-changer
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Air India's record deal for 470 planes from Airbus and Boeing has happened at a time when the carrier plans to become "a world-class proposition". That is the words of the chairman of Tata group, which owns the airline. The troubled carrier was acquired by Tata about two years ago and has retired most of its older aircraft and launched a five-year plan to modernise its ageing fleet. The size of the order indicates Air India's desire to reclaim its pole position in India's crowded aviation market, as RTHK's India correspondent Murali Krishnan told Annemarie Evans: