The politics of pollution

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/27/opinion/edbowring.php


The politics of pollution
Philip Bowring / International Herald TribunePublished: November 27, 2006

HONG KONG: Progress - or lack of it - in combating pollution speaks volumes about the effectiveness of government in Asia.

Take Hong Kong, which is supposedly well run, advanced and rich. Even Merrill Lynch is now warning that the city is losing business as international companies flinch from subjecting senior employees and their families to the health hazards of this often smog-enveloped city.

A complacent administration makes green noises but does little. It blames mainland factories or suggests that other cities in China are far worse. But a look from the surrounding hills down on the center of Hong Kong shows how much of the pollution in the center is home-generated.

Hong Kong must compete not just with Chinese cities but with much cleaner places - from Tokyo to Sydney to Singapore - yet it subscribes to outdated pollution standards and the chief executive suggests that particulates are not bad for your health.

Why the inaction by an administration that claims to be decisive? It is partly the inertia of a bureaucracy unwilling to admit its own failings. But more important are the links between the administration and the business interests that resist effective action. These are the businessmen who dominate the political structure and provide the chief executive with much of his political support. Their companies offer highly paid cushy jobs to retiring senior officials.

So the power companies carry on maximizing profits by burning coal. The bus and trucking companies continue to use diesel, the ferry and shipping companies continue to belch black smoke into the crowded harbor. Business and bureaucratic interests press for more highways in the heart of the city. A relatively poor Guangdong is now doing more than Hong Kong to reduce emissions.

The bottom line of Hong Kong's situation is that the chief executive is beholden to Beijing when it comes to politics, and on other matters, to a local elite. There is a direct connection between the lack of representative government and inertia in fighting pollution.

A barrage of public complaints is met with words not deeds. The contrast between Hong Kong and advanced East Asia cities such as Seoul and Tokyo is stunning. Even impoverished Dhaka, Bangladesh, has done more to cut urban air pollution.

Indonesia's problems are very different, but again the triumph of money over the environment is evident in the fires that are said to have contributed 10 percent to the global emissions total this year. The smoke has disrupted life in Malaysia and Singapore as well as large parts of Indonesia.

Indonesia may be democratic but public interests are more often than not sidelined in favor of commercial ones, especially in remote areas. Even in crowded Java, a recent catastrophic mud flow showed that environmental and rural concerns are given scant regard by a politically well-connected oil explorer.

That the fires recur annually despite promises from Jakarta is testimony to the weakness of administration everywhere, but especially in the more remote regions. In some areas, the generally desirable decentralization of power from Jakarta has led to increased corruption and lawlessness.

Clearing for the benefit of forest- based industries never completely stopped but more recently the boom in biodiesel has led to a surge in clearing for oil palm, the most cost-effective source of this supposedly green fuel. Forest products have also seen a price boom.

No one would accuse clean and green Singapore of lacking the means as well as will to put public interest before private profit. But neither Singapore nor Malaysia should complain too much about the smoke given that the forest and plantation interests that are the ultimate beneficiaries of many of the fires are based there, not in Indonesia. Malaysian forest and plantation companies have, at best, mixed environmental records.

Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have shown sufficient combination of popular pressure and administrative ability to make major strides in cleaning up cities and industries. But can China, whose cities now suffer the worst pollution in the world?

It will indeed be perhaps the biggest test for the Communist Party since reform began 25 years ago. Can the government justify its continued grip on power by showing as much determination to halt environmental degradation and the resulting health problems as in suppressing dissent? Or will the commercial interests of local power holders - the local party bosses who also sit on boards - cancel out orders from Beijing based on the alarming findings of the central government's experts?

If the little rich kid, Hong Kong, is so loath to put public health above private profit, what hope is there for the mainland? Can the central government show that it is in control? Or will the public eventually rebel against the notion that private profit and even job creation are more important than health?

HK businesses told to cough up for pollution

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP296880.htm

HK businesses told to cough up for pollution
27 Nov 2006 09:54:46 GMT
Source: Reuters


HONG KONG, Nov 27 (Reuters) - A top Hong Kong business leader hit out at companies in the territory on Monday for not taking responsibility for the pollution they are causing in the city.

U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch issued a scathing report on Hong Kong last week, saying the bad air could negatively impact the property sector and was scaring off skilled global talent.

"Companies that are creating the pollution -- they should resolve their own problems," David Eldon, the head of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and a former Asia Chairman of HSBC Holdings PLC, said at a "Business for Clean Air" conference in the city.

"Why should the Hong Kong taxpayer put their own money into helping some company that's been making a lot of money already. This is a business issue, business needs to deal with it," he added.

Hong Kong's pollution is largely caused by coal-fired power stations, but huge amounts of smog-inducing particulates are blown across the border from southern China, where thousands of Hong Kong-owned factories now operate.

Many manufacturers have paid lip service to Hong Kong's deteriorating air quality, but have argued the costs of going green would erode their competitiveness and even lead to factory closures.

A voluntary "Clean Air Charter" for businesses launched last year to cut emissions and improve polluter disclosure has so far drawn 500 signatories, a response Eldon described as "pretty bad" with some major industrialists among the absentees.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang, who signed the government up to the "Clean Air Charter" at the conference, acknowledged the scale of the problem.

"Our air quality is not acceptable and we're acting to fix it."

But Tsang said the problem should be kept "in perspective" and wasn't as bad as it seemed.

He also debunked perceptions that Hong Kong's economy was losing out to cleaner places like Singapore, saying the city remained an attractive destination for foreign direct investment and companies.

The Price of Pollution

http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501061204-1563005,00.html

The Price of Pollution
Hong Kong's worsening air quality is driving down analyst estimates for real estate companies?and could start driving residents away

By PETER RITTER


Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006
Hong Kong residents are accustomed to seeing their city's famous skyline shrouded by smog. Now the haze could be casting a pall on the city's business climate as well. Last week, investment bank Merrill Lynch downgraded three of the city's biggest property companies, warning in a separate report that pollution could dampen demand for real estate and blunt the city's economic edge. "If we get to the point where it's so noxious you can't live here, people will start walking out the door," says Merrill Lynch strategist Spencer White.
For now, Hong Kong's economy is thriving, with GDP predicted to grow by an impressive 6.5% this year. But concern is mounting that the city's pollution woes are ruining its attraction as a place to live and work. One fear is that multinational firms that have made Hong Kong their Asian base will increasingly decamp for cleaner locales?particularly Singapore, dubbed the best city for Asian expatriates in a recent quality-of-life survey by human-resources consultant ECA International. Hong Kong dropped from 20th to 32nd in the study, largely due to pollution.

The Council for Sustainable Development, a government advisory panel, recently proposed a thorough review of Hong Kong's clean-air standards, as well as cleanup measures costing up to $3.5 billion. But there's relatively little the city can do about its greatest environmental scourge: an estimated 80% of its air pollution drifts in from mainland China's Guangdong province. "You can clean up your own backyard," White says, "but there's still this enormous problem across the river."

Still, Hong Kong's skies at least remain brighter than those of some Chinese cities. Last week, Beijing was forced to close highways and delay flights in and out of its airports due to a choking, opaque haze, while its air-pollution index reached 414 out of a possible 500?a level even Chinese authorities described as "hazardous." By comparison, Hong Kong's troubles seemed almost enviable.

With reporting by Simon Elegant
From the Dec. 04, 2006 issue of TIME Asia magazine

Officials push eco-friendly cardboard coffins

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=bizarre&id=4799595

Officials push eco-friendly cardboard coffins
(11/27/06 - HONG KONG) - They're presentable, environmentally friendly and burn faster: cardboard "eco-coffins" may just be the solution to long queues at Hong Kong's busy crematoriums, officials say.

Health officials want to introduce the green coffins made of corrugated cardboard and said to speed up the cremation process from two and a half hours to an hour to alleviate traffic at crematoriums, the government said Tuesday.


"With less time required for each session, we can arrange more sessions per day to cut queuing time for cremation," said permanent secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Carrie Yau in a statement. "That in turn will help ease the demand on our public mortuary."


Cremating the dead is more common and affordable than burials in land-scarce Hong Kong. The government said it has six crematoria which provides 34,400 cremation sessions a year about 94 sessions every day but families of the dead often have to wait more than 10 days until they are assigned a slot.


Although the cardboard coffins are more efficient and are said to produce less toxic gas during combustion, they aren't likely to be popular in Hong Kong, where skimping on the traditional Chinese rituals of sending the dead away is seen as a sign of disrespect.


But Hong Kongers should try to accept the advantages of the coffins, said to be gaining popularity in Japan and Europe, Yau said.


"The eco-coffin coincides with the Asian philosophy of integration between man and nature," Yau said. "Due respect is given to the deceased, regardless of a simple or magnificent coffin."

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Bruce Lee theme park to be built in action star's ancestral home

http://news.bostonherald.com/international/view.bg?articleid=169314

Bruce Lee theme park to be built in action star’s ancestral home
By Associated Press
Monday, November 27, 2006 - Updated: 03:25 PM EST

HONG KONG - A theme park with a statue and memorial hall will be built at Bruce Lee’s southern Chinese ancestral home of Shunde, the president of his fan club said Monday.

The park will also contain a martial arts academy and conference center, Wong Yiu-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Bruce Lee Club, told The Associated Press.

Wong said he couldn’t confirm details of a report Monday in the Apple Daily newspaper that said the park was budgeted at $25.5 million and was expected to be completed in three years.

Wong said he attended the laying of the theme park’s foundation in Shunde, near Hong Kong, on Sunday. He said Lee’s younger brother, Robert Lee, and actress Betty Ting Pei also attended.

The newspaper said Ting donated a set of nunchucks - a weapon consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or rope - that Lee once used.

Lee, who was born in San Francisco, died of an edema, or swelling of the brain, in Hong Kong in 1973. He was 32. His action films included “Fists of Fury” and “Enter the Dragon.”

Wong said he wasn’t certain who is funding the theme park.

HONG KONG: PCCW stake sale faces defeat

http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=58411

HONG KONG: PCCW stake sale faces defeat
Richard Li may get his wish -- sources say Singapore firm has enough proxy votes to sink deal

South China Morning Post
Saturday, November 25, 2006

By Frederick Yeung

Richard Li Tzar-kai's Singapore-listed company has sufficient votes from minority shareholders to reject a proposal to sell its 23 per cent stake in PCCW, sources familiar with the situation said yesterday.

Minority shareholders in Pacific Century Regional Developments (PCRD) will hold a ballot on the sale on Thursday.

Richard Li, PCCW's chairman, had favoured selling the stake to a consortium led by investment banker Francis Leung Pak-to. But this week he urged shareholders to vote against selling the PCCW stake, claiming that the involvement of his father, Li Ka-shing, made the deal too politicised and murky.

"PCRD told PCCW senior management yesterday that PCRD has secured sufficient proxies to vote against [the sale of the stake]," a source close to the deal said.

PCRD's minority shareholders yesterday rejected an earlier plan by PCRD chairman Richard Li, who holds 75 per cent of its shares, to buy the remaining PCRD shares he does not own. The "no" vote was required before the shareholders could decide whether to sell the stake in PCCW, Hong Kong's biggest telecommunications firm.

The first sign that the deal was becoming politicised came in June when China Network Communications, the mainland's second-largest fixed-line operator, which holds 20 per cent of PCCW, voiced opposition to the sale of PCCW's assets to foreigners.

Mr Leung then stepped in, offering to buy PCRD's 23 per cent PCCW stake. Controversy was fuelled when it emerged Li Ka-shing provided financing to Mr Leung for the deposit on the purchase.

This month Mr Leung said Li Ka-shing would take a 12 per cent stake in PCCW for HK$4.8 billion through his two foundations. Spain's Telefonica would pay HK$3.3 billion for 8 per cent of PCCW and Mr Leung would invest HK$1.2 billion for the remaining 2.65 per cent.

Richard Li declined to comment yesterday.

A banker close to the sale said Richard Li's statement this week on the PCCW stake sale may breach Hong Kong regulations on share manipulation. The remarks contradicted his statement in July that he would pay HK$1.3 billion in special dividends to PCCW shareholders after the sale. That might have affected the share price and could lead to an investigation by the Securities and Futures Commission, the banker said.

Richard Li could face more scrutiny from broadcasting regulators too. Legislators this week pressed the government to further investigate whether his purchase in August of a half share in newspaper the Hong Kong Economic Journal violated media cross-ownership rules. PCCW subsidiary PCCW Media, the operator of its NOW Broadband service, holds a television licence.

Mr Li's most recent statement added to the confusion facing PCRD's minority shareholders. The company's independent financial adviser, Genesis Capital, has recommended they vote for the deal.

Market watchers said there was no reason for PCRD minority shareholders to oppose the sale of the PCCW stake, as the offer's premium was attractive. Even so, some minority shareholders at yesterday's meeting urged a higher offer price.

The Singapore Exchange has barred Richard Li from voting on the sale.

Date Posted: 11/25/2006

HK journalist jailed in China asks to serve term near home

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=34849

HK journalist jailed in China asks to serve term near home



Agence France-Presse
Last updated 02:44pm (Mla time) 11/26/2006


HONG KONG--Veteran Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong, jailed in China for spying for Taiwan, has asked that he serve his five-year sentence at a prison closer to home, his family said Sunday.

After an appeal against his conviction was last week refused following in a brief closed-door court session, Ching, 56, requested a transfer from his prison believed to be in Beijing to one in southern Guangdong province.

"It would be more convenient for his family to visit him," his wife Mary Lau told local RTHK radio.

"In order to visit him regularly it would be more convenient for him to be in prison in the Guangdong area," Lau added.

Ching was sentenced on August 31 to five years in jail following a one-day, closed-door trial on espionage charges. He has always maintained his innocence.

In its original verdict, a lower Beijing court said Ching passed on information, some of it top secret, to two people from a Taiwanese foundation who were in fact deputies of an intelligence agency.

The case has attracted international attention, highlighting fears China is cracking down against foreign and domestic journalists in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

His family, who have campaigned for his release since he was arrested, say Ching's health problems have worsened since he was imprisoned.

Better Numbers for Tsang in Hong Kong

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=13920

Better Numbers for Tsang in Hong Kong
November 26, 2006
- More adults in Hong Kong are expressing satisfaction with Donald Tsang, according to a poll by the Hong Kong University Public Opinion Programme. The overall support rating for the chief executive stands at 62.3 points, up 2.6 points since late September.

In June 2005, Tsang was elected unopposed by an 800-member committee to serve as Hong Kong’s chief executive for two years. Tsang had substituted Tung Chee-hwa on an interim basis.

China took control of Hong Kong from Britain in July 1997. As part of the "one country, two systems" arrangement proposed by Deng Xiaoping, China must allow Hong Kong to be sovereign in all matters—except national security and foreign affairs—until 2047.

Hong Kong’s Basic Law sets no specific timetable for a democratically elected government. In September 2004, Hong Kong’s 3.2 million registered voters chose 30 members to the 60-seat Legislative Council. The representatives monitor the performance of the government, and play a role in enacting laws, as well as examining and approving budgets.

Earlier this month, the chairman of Hong Kong’s stock exchange, Ronald Arculli, warned that high levels of pollution could become a major threat for the territory’s competitiveness. On Nov. 24, the government introduced the Air Pollution Control Regulation, which forbids the import and local production of goods whose volatile organic compounds content exceeds certain limits. The list of regulated substances includes paints, printing inks, hairsprays, air fresheners and insecticides.

Polling Data

Please use a scale of 0-100 to rate your extent of support to the chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, with zero indicating absolutely not supportive, 100 indicating absolutely supportive and 50 indicating half-half. How would you rate the chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen?

Nov. 10
Oct. 27
Sept. 20
Aug. 23

Support Rating
62.3
59.7
63.6
65.2



Source: Hong Kong University Public Opinion Programme
Methodology: Interviews with 1,013 Hong Kong residents, conducted from Nov. 6 to Nov. 10, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

Pro-Democratic Group Law Maker Prepares for Hong Kong Chief Executive Election

http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-11-24/48518.html

Pro-Democratic Group Law Maker Prepares for Hong Kong Chief Executive Election
By Lin Yi
Epoch Times Hong Kong Staff Nov 24, 2006


Alan Leong, Pro-Democratic Group Candidate (Wu Lianyou/The Epoch Times)HONGKONG—In a luncheon held by Hong Kong Democratic Foundation (HKDF) in the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong Kong earlier this week, Alan Leong, the candidate of Hong Kong Chief Executive from the Pro-democracy group, was invited to explain why he participated in the election. Leong indicated that Hong Kong's powerful and influential public figures often elect the candidates that Beijing preferred, so it's extremely difficult for a candidate of the Pro-democracy group to get support from at least 100 members of the Election Committee (EC), but he will do his best.

Leong said that the Pro-democracy group is keen to participate in the election because they don't want a ruler of Hong Kong to be automatically initiated without any contest again. However, he did point out that it would be hard for him to get enough support from the members of the Election Committee.

He said, "To put it frankly, it is extremely hard to get 100 member's support from the 800 members of the EC, because the system was manipulated by different powers. The committee members could receive pressure that would not occur in a direct election."

Frequent Pressure by Powerful and Influential Public Figures

Leong pointed out that under the present system, one in the Election Committee could be asked by someone in power to support a candidate preferred by Higher Authorities (Beijing Authorities). Since they could decide your career and future, if you say 'No', it will be regarded as a resistance and not being respectful.

"How many people would be willing to destroy their future?" Leong asks.

In addition, there is a strange phenomenon. Many rich merchants strive to compete for the membership of the EC. Leong said, "Businessmen and organizations depend on the government's support, and even big business organizations need protection by supporting 'the right candidate'."

In the aspect of candidacy political program, Leong criticized the idea of governance, "Strong Governance for the People," proposed by the present Chief Executive, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen. He said, "The slogan can never substitute for Hong Kong's perspective."

He implied that Hong Kong needs to have a free and fair competitive environment to develop a harmonious society.

The Key for Good Governance is Democracy

Leong said that although Hong Kong is economically well-developed, its political system is flawed in many ways. "Under the most developed economic system, the income of HK people is below average and the distribution of its political power is not very fair because the Chief Executive and half of the members of the legislation are generated from functional constituency election."

For the social policy, Leong stressed that he believed the government from a democratic election is the key to good governance. He said that he has an important duty in this election, so he will try his best. He also hopes to get everyone's support.

PLA forces in HK conduct ninth routine rotation

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-11/26/content_742895.htm


PLA forces in HK conduct ninth routine rotation
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-11-26 09:43

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) garrison troops in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Saturday conducted its ninth troop rotation since it assumed Hong Kong's defense responsibility on July 1, 1997.

The annual rotation started at 00:00 November 25 when a number of military vehicles of the ground troops rolled across the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint into Hong Kong under the escort of the Hong Kong police.

Six military helicopters landed at the Skek Kong Barracks in the morning. The last part of the rotation was carried out at the Stonecutters Island Naval Base.

The naval rotation involved a missile escort vessel, a landing ship.

The annual rotation was conducted in accordance with the HKSAR Garrison Law of the People's Republic of China.

The size of the forces remained unchanged in both personnel and weaponry after the rotation, said Lieutenant Colonel Cheng Dongfang, spokesman for the PLA garrison troops in Hong Kong.

Oh My God! Margaret Chan be new WHO leader

Before I hear this news, I hope Mrs. Chan eliminate in an election. Because i hate her very much. Hong-kongers should not forget how her helped SARS spread Hong Kong, as Yeoh Eng-kiong, former Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food.

Mr. Yeoh has resigned. Most of people who has derelicted in spread of SARS in Hong Kong were resigned. But, how about Mrs. Chan?

If her don't use "It's a Top Secret of national" as reason to stop spread of SARS. I think Hong Kong's environment must be better than now.

Now, Mrs. Chan be a new WHO leader. I'm afraid her and the Mainland will harm the world in next 5 years......



See how angry are the Hong-kongers after they know Mrs Chan win the election.
http://www.discuss.com.hk/viewthread.php?tid=2713732
http://www.discuss.com.hk/viewthread.php?tid=2711037
How the victims of SARS in Hong Kong say:
http://appledaily.atnext.com/template/apple/art_main.cfm?iss_id=20061106&sec_id=4104&subsec_id=11867&art_id=6481858

Teen rape case sparks reaction

Ref:
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=76139



Teen rape case sparks reaction
Support grew yesterday for the 16-year-old girl at the center of rape allegations, as Greek President Karolos Papoulias spoke out against her alleged attackers, while Health Ministry officials met with the teenager and her mother.
“It is a shocking moment for our society,” said Papoulias. “We are all responsible. We are citizens of a country where the most noble ideas developed. We cannot let some people... blacken this.”
Papoulias was reacting to unrest in the small town of Amarynthos on Evia where many locals have accused the girl of making up a story that she was raped by four schoolboys.
The girl and her mother are from Bulgaria and moved to Greece in 1999. This has prompted some officials to suggest that racism has led to the reaction on Evia.
“Greeks have experienced expatriation and racism and we will not impose what we have been through on the immigrants living and working here,” said Papoulias.
Deputy Health Minister Giorgos Constantopoulos also met with the 16-year-old and her mother, who have not been named because of privacy laws. Constantopoulos said that the ministry would provide any assistance the girl needs. She has moved to Athens since the alleged incident on October 27.
The high school where the alleged rape took place decided yesterday to suspend the schoolboys for five days as well as their alleged victim.
School officials did not take any action against the three girls said to have witnessed the incident. The 16-year-old claimed that one of the girls recorded the incident on her mobile phone.
No such video was found but authorities have asked a mobile phone company to check if it may have been deleted or sent on to anyone else.

The ugly social ills simmering in Evia

Ref.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=76132

The ugly social ills simmering in Evia
By P. Mandravelis

The deplorable case involving the rape of a 16-year-old girl, allegedly by a group of fellow pupils, at a school on Evia brings to the surface several ailments of Greek society, many of which we would prefer to sweep under the carpet.

The case highlights, once again, the ills of the Greek television sector, where various channels chasing the short-term distinctions of the AGB viewer ratings firm pay lip service to respecting the journalistic code of conduct but then go on to systematically violate it. Similarly, although they insist that they are not trying to replace the judiciary and carry out interrogations, they extract all manner of lurid details from the protagonists of the issues they are covering under the pretext of enlightening the public.

Questions such as “What did your son tell you about the case?” or “How did your daughter get back from school?” or “Can your child’s mobile phone record videos?” belong in the courtroom. These questions also reveal the fixation with attracting viewers by broadcasting as many grisly details as possible.

Most concerning, however, is the problem of racism, which is rearing its ugly head once again in Greek society.

The victim in the alleged rape case on Evia is a girl of Bulgarian origin.

Perhaps the stereotype of foreign women having “loose morals” - due to the tendency of many to find work in late-night bars - fueled the groundless conclusions that the apparent rape was not actually rape but a voluntary sexual union.

Indeed, the fact that the citizens of Amarynthos on Evia staged a protest to express their solidarity with the accused boys smashes yet another myth about Greeks being immune to racism.

Many claim that Greeks are not racist. This is untrue. But the opposite of this, that Greeks are racist, is also untrue. This stance itself, according to which an entire nation is racist or not racist, is prejudiced. Some Greeks exhibit racist behavior while others are tolerant of foreigners living alongside them in society.

Some claim that there are very few demonstrations of racist behavior in Greece. This may be the case but one can only speculate. There are no statistics to give us an overall impression of the situation. Others claim that the racists among us are few and far between.

But the problem of racism in our society cannot be observed simply through the scrutiny of citizens. The problem of racism becomes clear the day after a racist incident - it is clear in the abhorrence or the justification it provokes among citizens at large. And this is where the truly ugly side of our society rears its head.

Shock TV preys on students

Ref.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=76084

Shock TV preys on students
By Marianna Tziantzi

Allegations that four schoolboys raped a 16-year-old female classmate on Evia have prompted a spate of bad reporting from the country’s sensationalist and scaremongering media. Sex scandals involving monasteries or rented apartments once dominated the news bulletins. These days the big news is “sex in schools,” preferably footage of group sex between pupils. Private channels offer naughty details about a school orgy while airing shocking though fuzzy footage from school bathrooms which, in the words of one silver-tongued anchorman, have become more like porn film sets.

Some channels reproduced the testimony of the victim word for word in a slow, sensual fashion. They also aired the confession of one of the boys. The text scrolled on the screen as the news reader adjusted his voice for dramatic effect. Objectivity supposedly rules as both sides are awarded equal airtime. Captions such as “They treated me as if they were beasts” or “I was crying, screaming” are contrasted with others like “We made love using a condom” or “She bragged she had had sex with many men.” Shock journalism comes with cheap shots, pompous condemnations of xenophobia and haughty repetitions of the obvious (“This could also happen outside Evia”).

Young students, their backs to the camera, are interrogated by a journalist. A deputy minister watches the questioning from an adjacent window on the TV screen. Mothers incriminate the girl as her own mother rebukes the coverage on various channels. An army of lawyers, psychologists, parents and teachers make up the rest of the picture.

The shocked audience then believes the truth is somewhere in the middle: That there were actually two alleged rapists. That the girl wanted to have sex but then changed her mind. It’s not about repressing facts. It’s about mining the truth without exploiting human pain.

New probe in teen rape case

ref.


New probe in teen rape case
The Education Ministry yesterday began a separate investigation into allegations that four schoolboys raped a 16-year-old classmate in a school on the island of Evia.

The teenagers were charged with rape on Monday. Their parents were accused of failing to control the boys.

However, the ministry wants to conduct its own probe to find out if any of the teachers at the high school in Amarynthos were negligent or if they could have done more to prevent the alleged incident.

The unnamed schoolboys said that the 16-year-old girl consented to having sex with all four while students were staging a sit-in protest. Three schoolgirls have been accused of witnessing the incident and failing to intervene.

The alleged victim and her mother have been placed under police protection after being vocally abused by some locals outside a courthouse on Monday.