August 2006 in Hong Kong

__NOTOC__ 2006 in Hong Kong : June - July - August - September - October - November - December - →
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Holidays

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August 2, 2006 (Wednesday)

• The Legislative Council will today convene for an extraordinary summer session in an attempt to pass a new spying law to limit and regulate secret wiretapping and surveillance in the territory. 1
• In an apparent effort to rescue stalled discussions over the troubled Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge project, the SAR government has ventured several options to finance the HK$58 billion price tag - but analysts say the spat over money merely underscores deeper cross-border tensions. 2

August 3, 2006 (Thursday)

• Twelve mainland seamen were left perilously stranded on a floating barge overnight, battered by Typhoon Prapiroon, 100 kilometers southwest of Hong Kong, after the Government Flying Service was forced to cancel its rescue operation due to nightfall. 3

August 4, 2006 (Friday)

• While tens of thousands of people continued to suffer the consequences of Typhoon Prapiroon, the director of the Hong Kong Observatory defended his decision to hoist only a No. 3 signal, saying his judgment was based on "established criteria" and not on the fears of the public. 4

August 5, 2006 (Saturday)

• Hong Kong's legislature has passed a controversial new law on the use of covert surveillance and phone tapping, which critics fear will harm liberties. 5

August 6, 2006 (Sunday)

• It started during the 50th hour of the council meeting, as Saturday's already protracted spy bill session crawled closer to midnight: frustration, ever hovering over the marathon five-day spy bill session, boiled over into terse replies, veiled insults and pointed fingers. 6

August 8, 2006 (Tuesday)

• Two major Hong Kong banks, and top corporations such as Cheung Kong, Henderson Land Development and Sun Hung Kai Properties, have snubbed invitations to join Lights Out Hong Kong, also known as the 888 campaign, scheduled for 8pm tonight. 7

August 9, 2006 (Wednesday)

• Richard Li, who has just agreed to sell his stake in PCCW, agrees to buy 50 per cent of the shares of the Hong Kong Economic Journal with 240 million HKD (32 million USD). 8
• A record-breaking 25 students garner 10 As in the 2006 HKCEE, the last one of the examination in which letter grades are used. 9

August 10, 2006 (Thursday)

• Her anxious wait for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination results was over. But if there were still a frown on 17-year-old Ng Ping's face, it was because she would have to settle on a Secondary Six school that was not quite her dream. This year 47,092 students who met the S6 admission requirements are competing for just 25,000 places. 10

August 11, 2006 (Friday)

• The Independent Commission Against Corruption acted with sufficient care, duty and advice when it sought a search warrant from a magistrate and raided what was effectively a law firm's offices, a High Court judge ruled. 11

August 12, 2006 (Saturday)

• The Urban Renewal Authority should ensure the new Kwun Tong town center is redeveloped in tandem with adjacent districts so that it will not become an isolated regional hub in East Kowloon, Town Planning Board members said. 12

August 14, 2006 (Monday)

• In a small sliver of space where performance art and sustainable development intersect, a group of artists is launching a campaign to save Central's venerable Star Ferry clock tower - and maintain what they call an historic piece of Hong Kong's bustling downtown core. 13

August 15, 2006 (Tuesday)

• One of Hong Kong's last links to World War II and a legendary campaigner for veterans' rights has died at 88. 14
• Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said he has prayed for the vandals who desecrated the graves of 29 fallen heroes at Gallant Garden over the weekend, hoping they will feel ashamed at what they have done. 15

August 16, 2006 (Wednesday)

• The city's adopted crocodile, six-year old Pui Pui, was welcomed into her permanent home at the Hong Kong Wetland Park. 16

August 18, 2006 (Friday)

• Beijing has given Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen the green light for a top-level reshuffle that will see Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fan and the Commissioner for the Independent Commission Against Corruption Raymond Wong Hung-chiu switch posts. 17
• The combination of fridge-like conditions on buses and the choking, hot roadside air is increasing the health risks for Hong Kong commuters, doctors and environmentalists have warned. 18

August 19, 2006 (Saturday)

• A deputy High Court judge has called for the setting up of a database on [...] offenders after sentencing a repeat offender to eight years' jail for sexually assaulting four children aged between five and 12. 19

August 22, 2006 (Tuesday)

• Democratic Party vice chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan, who was injured in a brutal attack by three baseball wielding thugs in Central Sunday, vowed he would not be intimidated and would return to his legislative and solicitor's duties after he has recovered. 20
• While Democratic Party vice chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan has earned the dubious honor of being the first local legislator to be assaulted in a public place, other lawmakers Monday spoke of receiving threats and other forms of intimidation. 21

August 24, 2006 (Thursday)

• Health officials have selected a site close to the border and far enough from the closest residential cluster in what they say could be their last attempt to establish a central poultry slaughtering plant in the city. 22

August 25, 2006 (Friday)

• Hundreds of complaints have flooded in to the media watchdog over secretly taken photos of Gillian Chung Yan-tung, one of the Twins pop duo, that showed her changing outfits in a dressing room. 23
• Hong Kong's public order and rule of law was under siege and severe challenge just hours after bashed Democratic Party vice chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan had left the confines of Queen Mary Hospital, with his solicitor firm receiving another threatening letter in which a razor blade was enclosed. 24

August 28, 2006 (Monday)

• Hundreds of bank workers took to the streets Sunday to protest against their employers extending services to seven days a week, saying it is unfair and depriving them of their personal lives. 25
• Public opposition against Easy Finder magazine's indecent photos of Cantopop singer Gillian Chung Yan-tung gained momentum over the weekend with a protest by the Kwai Tsing Community Force and 18 other women's groups. 26

August 29, 2006 (Tuesday)

• A day before the publication of Easy Finder's next issue, celebrities, government members and women's rights groups flocked to TVB City calling on the public to boycott the magazine for publishing indecent photos of Twins member Gillian Chung Yan-tung. 27
• In the latest twist to its war on illegal bookmaking, the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced a cash rebate it hopes will take up to 20 percent of racing bets away from underground pools. 28

August 30, 2006 (Wednesday)

• Hong Kong consumers are among the most optimistic in the world, with 54 percent saying they are ready to indulge in some retail therapy within the next year, according to a consumer confidence survey. 29

August 31, 2006 (Thursday)

• Pan-democrats hope they can win at least 120 of 800 seats in the Election Committee polls in December in order to nominate a candidate to challenge incumbent Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in the chief executive election next March. 30

News collections and sources

• Wikipedia:News collections and sources.
• Wikipedia:News sources - This has much of the same material organised in a hierarchical manner to help encourage NPOV in our news reporting.

zh:香港新聞動態