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    #Hashtag Hong Kong

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    Listen to #Hashtag Hong Kong every Sunday morning at 8.15

    Focussing on issues affecting civil society, we'll hear from representatives of NGOs, associations, statutory bodies, and non-profit groups.

    (Sundays 8.15am - 8.25am)



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    Mao, Wong Wan Yin, social worker at Caritas Asian Migrant Workers Social Service Project
    11/05/2025
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    Mao, Wong Wan Yin, social worker at Caritas Asian Migrant Workers Social Service Project

    As an aging society, the Hong Kong government has, in recent years, been actively promoting aging-in-place initiatives while addressing the mental stress and health challenges faced by caregivers. Numerous campaigns and services have been introduced to support caregivers. However, one group of caregivers has long been overlooked—Migrant Domestic Workers, who provide care for 26% of elderly individuals living at home.
    Hello, we are the Caritas Asian Migrant Domestic Workers Social Service Project, and today we will be discussing the mental health of Migrant Domestic Workers.
    Migrant Domestic Workers leave their homes to work in Hong Kong, taking care of our elderly and children. However, despite being caregivers themselves, their circumstances are often ignored. Many people hold the mindset that since they are paid, they should accept the hardships they face—justifying the moral exclusion they experience as a simple employer-employee relationship.
    We have observed that Migrant Domestic Workers from the Philippines often hide their inner distress behind a smile, while Migrant Domestic Workers from Indonesia tend to be highly submissive. Through our services, we’ve uncovered the realities behind this suppression.
    Firstly, in terms of workload, Migrant Domestic Workers often work more than 12 hours a day, performing physically demanding tasks such as household chores and lifting elderly individuals. Many Migrant Domestic Workers cannot relax and sleep properly even at night, as they need to constantly worry about elderly employers falling while going to the bathroom. In some cases, employers fail to arrange additional caregiving support, leaving Migrant Domestic Workers with no rest days. This creates high mental stress for them. The long-term lack of rest leads to anxiety, prolonged fatigue, irritability, and various psychosomatic symptoms.
    Migrant Domestic Workers also face systemic challenges when working in Hong Kong. For example, during their first contract, they are not allowed to resign, whereas employers can terminate the contract without consequences. In a fair employment relationship, both employers and employees should have the right to choose. While the Labour Ordinance typically includes a probation period, Migrant Domestic Workers are excluded from this.
    Additionally, Migrant Domestic Workers must pay agency fees equivalent to a year’s salary for training and placement, which creates debt bondage, making it difficult for them to leave their jobs. If they try to quit in the first two-year contract, they risk being labelled as “job hoppers” by Immigration Department, which could result in visa rejections.
    This norm forces Migrant Domestic Workers to complete their first two-year contract, even in cases of prolonged sexual harassment or psychological abuse. Many Migrant Domestic Workers endure such conditions, creating a vicious cycle that prevents the improvement of their safety and work environment and often leads to mental health disorders.
    And we would like to address another source of immense pressure for Migrant Domestic Workers: online criticism. Some employers post individual Migrant Domestic Workers’ behaviour on social media for public scrutiny, which often results in stigmatization and prejudice. This damages the trust between employers and Migrant Domestic Workers, contributing to widespread social exclusion. Such conditions make life in Hong Kong even more oppressive for Migrant Domestic Workers. It’s important to remember that Migrant Domestic Workers are not just workers or tools—they are living, breathing human beings.
    On the other hand, many Migrant Domestic Workers have shared that kind treatment from employers makes Hong Kong feel like a second home for them. Simple gestures, such as respecting their dietary preferences and allowing them to cook their own food, showing care and understanding for their lives, and breaking down prejudices and stereotypes to build genuine interactions, caring about their health and allowing them to medication when needed, can significantly improve their mental health.
    For Mental Health Awareness Month, we urge Hong Kong citizens, employers, and policymakers to take cultural and policy-level actions to genuinely promote labour-friendly practices and dignity. Let’s work together to make Hong Kong a worker-friendly city.

    11/05/2025 - 足本 Full (HKT 08:15 - 08:30)

    11/05/2025 - Mao, Wong Wan Yin, social worker at Caritas Asian Migrant Workers Social Service Project

    重溫

    CATCHUP
    03 - 05
    2025
    香港電台第三台

    11/05/2025

    Mao, Wong Wan Yin, social worker at Caritas Asian Migrant Workers Social Service Project

    04/05/2025

    Cheryl Yip , Advocacy Officer in Rainlily

    27/04/2025

    Kristen Yip Wing Tung, Social Worker of Hong Kong Family Welfare Society HealthNet Service

    20/04/2025

    Dr. Chris Yiu - director of the SLCO Community Resources

    13/04/2025

    Christina Y W Chua - Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer at The CEO Foundation

    06/04/2025

    Daniel Lai - Programme Director of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Financial Education Programme

    30/03/2025

    Deanna Kwok - Head of Programmes at Love21 Foundation

    23/03/2025

    Dr. Angie Fong - specialist in Ophthalmology, and Council Member of The Hong Kong Ophthalmological Society

    16/03/2025

    Abi Tannis Porter, founder of the charity A Little Bit Extra

    09/03/2025

    Inès Gafsi - Inspiring Girls Hong Kong
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    John Ng, Careers Master of St Paul's College

    How has life treated you?  Each of you may have a different answer at different stages of life.

    When I was small, I wished to stand tall.

    I asked my teacher, “What will I be?”

    Here’s what my teacher said to me,

    “Any dream will do.”

    I’m sure many of you have been encouraged to do the same: pursuing your own dreams.  But I doubt whether many adolescents have dreams of their own in this day and age.  For those who do, I am wondering whether the dreams contribute to genuine happiness.  The World Happiness Report 2024 sounds alarm on the mental well-being of the youth.  Our youth’s happiness has hit a new low. 

    Many teenagers are living with the mundanity of daily routines, and worryingly, lack long-term plans of their own.  With a lack of personal life goals, these youngsters go with the flow, and tend to follow a fragmented path, which is not sustainable in the long-term.  When facing headwinds, they can become disoriented and experience mental breakdown easily.  Their setbacks in life include unsatisfactory academic results, huge pressure from parents and the deprivation of social life.  To our dismay, despair often leads to tragic stories.

    Career and life planning is particularly important for our youth.  Gone are the days when we were burdened with making important life decisions, such as choosing university courses or applying for a job, in the nick of time.  Life is a journey and it should be perceived this way. 

    Now I have students of my own,

    they ask me, “What will I be?”

    I say to them, “Whatever will be will be.”

    Of course, I am not encouraging them to engage in inaction.  What I am telling them is that they should plan ahead without excessive planning. 

    There is a world of opportunities awaiting them.  I usually tell them this: go all out and explore.  Yet nothing should be set in stone to start with.  Nor should they overwhelm themselves with as many experiences as possible.  Remember, it is not the more, the merrier.  They should embrace new opportunities while committing themselves to a few experiences at a time.  Gradually, they will form their own goals, work towards the goals, review them from time to time, form new life priorities and build career resilience.  It’s okay to face hardships.  Don’t be failed by the future but let future find us.  Life planning is a perennial and dynamic process.

    To be future ready, we are often told that we should adapt to the emerging AI world.  I am not worried about Gen Alpha’s preparedness for the AI world because they are generally tech-savvy.  What I am worried about is their exposure to the real world experience.  When some youngsters have spent too much time in the virtual world, they only know how to write fragmented sentences as social media messages instead of composing proper emails; or they only know how to customise their online experience without feeling the need to collaborate with others.  Worse still, some of them only know how to input commands in order to generate music and artworks while losing human creativity.  I hope none of these will become the norm or else our future will be bleak.

    Our future will be bleak because the youth is our future.  If they thrive, we thrive.  That’s why I encourage NGOs, schools and businesses to work together to organise experiential activities for our youth so as to connect their learning experiences with the real world. Nothing is more valuable than providing them with mentorship and internship.  Giving them a flavour of the workplace allows them to appreciate the beauty of teamwork and gain practical experiences making them more humanistic.  In fact, many of our students are grateful for the enlightening and life-transforming experiences of learning from mentors experienced in the field.  Their experiences are conducive to their career planning.

    At the end of the day, we are reduced to a name, or slightly better, a character.  I hope when we reach that note, we can proudly say:

    “I lived a life that's full

    And traveled each and every highway

    And more, much more than this

    I did it my way”

    These few lines are taken from the song “My Way” by Paul Anka.  “My way” does not denote a solitary journey.  Rather, it means that we, especially our youth, should navigate the world ourselves, have forward planning and chart a course that suits us best.  If we can, Hong Kong will prosper.  

     

     

     

    香港電台第三台

    11/08/2024 - 足本 Full (HKT 08:15 - 08:30)

    11/08/2024 - John Ng, Careers Master of St Paul's College