Official appointed at Liaison Office

Yin Xiaojing has been appointed deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR, the State Council announced Monday.

Born in 1956, Yin, a Hebei native, will leave her previous post as bureau chief of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

59% to spend more in holiday

A telephone survey among 1,079 Hong Kong adult residents found 59 percent planned to spend an upward of HK$500 during the upcoming Christmas holiday period.

The survey, conducted by the non-profit Hong Kong Research Association between December 8 and 14, also found 21 percent planned to less than HK$500 and 20 percent said they will not spend any extra during the holiday.

As to how people plan to spend the money, 25 percent said they will spend it dining, 18 percent on shopping, 16 percent on entertainment and 12 percent on travel.

Rehab ordered after campus fire

A 17-year-old student who set a fire in school when he learned he might have to drop out was sentenced to a rehabilitation center in the Fan Ling Magistracy Monday.

The court heard that Chan Cheung-ming, a Form Four student in Buddhist Chi Hong Chi Lam Memorial College, learned from his social worker that he could not continue his studies because of his mental state. In frustration and anger, he sneaked onto the campus in the early morning of October 30 and set a fire in a storage room, causing the school some HK$25,800 in losses. He was caught by a young man who noticed the fire while chatting with friends at a nearby park.

Principal Magistrate Josiah Lam Wai-kuen urged the teenager to live a disciplined life and learned to deal with his anger in a healthy way.

Charter flight for the stranded

The Hong Kong government may charter a flight to help stranded Hong Kong people when London's Heathrow Airport resumes operations.

The Immigration Department has received 39 requests for assistance and 152 enquiries, many from students returning home for Christmas holiday, said Under Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok at a briefing Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, staff at a Hong Kong's representative office in London have already helped some special cases, including a cash-strapped young student and a resident in need of medicine.

Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung Yao-chung said about 500 tourists from more than 10 groups were also stranded in London. Airlines have made arrangements for most to stay in hotels.

Air pollution level very high

Roadside Air Pollution Index (API) reached the very high level of 167 in Causeway Bay Monday, followed by 142 in Mong Kok and 133 in Central. The general API was between 55 to 110.

Persons with heart or respiratory illnesses, children and elderly are advised to avoid prolonged stays in areas with heavy traffic and to reduce any physical exertion in those areas.

China Daily

(HK Edition 12/21/2010 page1)