Latest news with #Chu
HKFP
3 hours ago
- Business
- HKFP
Hong Kong pro-democracy business hit with ‘unwarranted' tax demand, owner says
A Hong Kong pro-democracy shop owner has said his business is facing 'unwarranted' tax demands. Derek Chu, an ex-district councillor and the owner of e-commerce company As One, said on Tuesday that the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) demanded in April that his business pay HK$120,075 in profit tax for the financial year 2023-24. The tax assessment would mean As One made a profit of about HK$1.5 million in 2023-24, but in reality, his shop only recorded a profit of less than HK$100,000, Chu told HKFP in a phone interview. Most of As One's HK$4 million income last year was spent on salaries, rent, and restocking products, he added. 'The numbers should have been obvious to the IRD,' Chu said. 'I don't know how they could see that much profit.' The shop owner, who also founded the prisoners' rights advocacy group Waiting Bird, accused the IRD of 'targeting' his business and said he decided to speak up about the tax demand to 'set the record straight.' 'It's about telling people that what the IRD did was completely unwarranted,' he said. HKFP has contacted the IRD for comment. Part of As One's business model is selling gift packages for prisoners, which accounted for about a third of the shop's income, according to an Instagram post published on Monday. The company relies on loans from Chu's family members to maintain cash flow, and it has accumulated debts totalling over HK$1 million since the business started in 2021, he said. He has been repaying the loan, but there is still an outstanding amount of 'hundreds of thousands' of dollars, Chu told HKFP. The five full-time staff members and two part-time staffers only earn meagre salaries of less than HK$20,000 a month, while Chu himself has never got paid in full, he said. The IRD's tax demand has made his business 'harder' as he has to borrow more from his family members to pay the tax, he added. Independent media's tax audits Chu's disclosure comes nearly two weeks after the Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) made a similar announcement last month. According to the press union, six independent media outlets in the city have been facing tax audits from the IRD since late 2023, with the IRD making errors and 'strange, unreasonable claims' in its tax assessments and demands. The outlets include HKFP, InMedia, The Witness, ReNews, Boomhead, and one that did not wish to be named. In a statement, HKFP said it has been cooperating fully with the IRD's tax audit, adding that it has 'always met its tax obligations, paid IRD demands immediately, and ensured meticulous record-keeping' since it was established in 2015. According to the HKJA, 20 individuals, including heads of media outlets and their spouses, are also subject to the IRD's audits and backdated tax demands. The HKJA also faces the IRD's scrutiny. When asked by a reporter about the matter, Chief Executive John Lee brushed off HKJA's allegations and said that journalists 'have no privilege to evade taxes.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rep. Judy Chu and advocates push FEMA for more housing assistance for Eaton Fire survivors
Federal agencies must do more to house struggling victims from January's Eaton Fires, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) and advocacy groups argued Tuesday. Chu hosted a roundtable at the Altadena Library with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and other agencies, where a dozen organizations assisting fire survivors pleaded for more assistance. Even with the availability of federal vouchers and other housing aid, thousands of people remain bouncing between hotel rooms, living out of their cars or in other unstable housing situations, advocates said. 'Survivors of the Eaton Fire are slipping through the cracks,' Chu said at a press conference following the event. Read more: After disasters, FEMA leases apartments for survivors. But not after the L.A. fires Chu is urging FEMA to authorize a housing program called Direct Lease where FEMA directly rents apartments for disaster survivors who cannot find somewhere to live on their own. The Times reported this month that FEMA hasn't implemented Direct Lease in Los Angeles even though it's commonly made available after natural disasters nationwide, including the 2023 wildfires in Maui. Nearly 13,000 homes were destroyed in January's wildfires with more than half the losses in Altadena and surrounding areas. FEMA and CalOES officials have said that their data shows thousands of rental units available across L.A. County, making the program unnecessary. 'We know from anecdotal evidence that that cannot be true,' Chu said. 'It is far from the truth.' Fire survivors have faced numerous barriers to finding permanent housing while they decide on rebuilding their homes, advocates said. Landlords' income requirements are too high. Potential tenants' credit scores are too low. Some landlords aren't accepting the vouchers FEMA is providing survivors. And the agency is including apartments in the Antelope Valley and other areas far from Altadena in its assessment of L.A.'s rental market. By not taking these factors into account, FEMA officials are ignoring needs on the ground, advocates said. 'There is a huge gap between availability and vacancy and accessibility,' said Jasmin Shupper, president of Greenline Housing Foundation, a local nonprofit. The push for additional housing aid comes amid widespread cuts to FEMA and resistance from the Trump administration for disaster spending nationwide. On Tuesday, the president threatened to strip federal funds from California if the state continued to allow transgender athletes to compete in girl's sports. Read more: As climate hazards worsen, Trump moves to weaken FEMA and shift disaster response onto states Chu said that FEMA already has provided $132 million in assistance, including $40 million for help with housing. She said that money for Direct Lease was available through the existing federal disaster allocation following January's wildfires. She noted that she supported the state's request to Trump and Congress for $40 billion for long-term recovery efforts. FEMA and CalOES didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on Chu's request. After Times reporting earlier this month, state emergency officials said they were reevaluating an earlier decision not to advocate for Direct Lease. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rep. Judy Chu and advocates push FEMA for more housing assistance for Eaton Fire survivors
Federal agencies must do more to house struggling victims from January's Eaton Fires, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) and advocacy groups argued Tuesday. Chu hosted a roundtable at the Altadena Library with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and other agencies, where a dozen organizations assisting fire survivors pleaded for more assistance. Even with the availability of federal vouchers and other housing aid, thousands of people remain bouncing between hotel rooms, living out of their cars or in other unstable housing situations, advocates said. 'Survivors of the Eaton Fire are slipping through the cracks,' Chu said at a press conference following the event. Read more: After disasters, FEMA leases apartments for survivors. But not after the L.A. fires Chu is urging FEMA to authorize a housing program called Direct Lease where FEMA directly rents apartments for disaster survivors who cannot find somewhere to live on their own. The Times reported this month that FEMA hasn't implemented Direct Lease in Los Angeles even though it's commonly made available after natural disasters nationwide, including the 2023 wildfires in Maui. Nearly 13,000 homes were destroyed in January's wildfires with more than half the losses in Altadena and surrounding areas. FEMA and CalOES officials have said that their data shows thousands of rental units available across L.A. County, making the program unnecessary. 'We know from anecdotal evidence that that cannot be true,' Chu said. 'It is far from the truth.' Fire survivors have faced numerous barriers to finding permanent housing while they decide on rebuilding their homes, advocates said. Landlords' income requirements are too high. Potential tenants' credit scores are too low. Some landlords aren't accepting the vouchers FEMA is providing survivors. And the agency is including apartments in the Antelope Valley and other areas far from Altadena in its assessment of L.A.'s rental market. By not taking these factors into account, FEMA officials are ignoring needs on the ground, advocates said. 'There is a huge gap between availability and vacancy and accessibility,' said Jasmin Shupper, president of Greenline Housing Foundation, a local nonprofit. The push for additional housing aid comes amid widespread cuts to FEMA and resistance from the Trump administration for disaster spending nationwide. On Tuesday, the president threatened to strip federal funds from California if the state continued to allow transgender athletes to compete in girl's sports. Read more: As climate hazards worsen, Trump moves to weaken FEMA and shift disaster response onto states Chu said that FEMA already has provided $132 million in assistance, including $40 million for help with housing. She said that money for Direct Lease was available through the existing federal disaster allocation following January's wildfires. She noted that she supported the state's request to Trump and Congress for $40 billion for long-term recovery efforts. FEMA and CalOES didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on Chu's request. After Times reporting earlier this month, state emergency officials said they were reevaluating an earlier decision not to advocate for Direct Lease. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Rep. Judy Chu and advocates push FEMA for more housing assistance for Eaton Fire survivors
Federal agencies must do more to house struggling victims from January's Eaton Fires, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) and advocacy groups argued Tuesday. Chu hosted a roundtable at the Altadena Library with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and other agencies, where a dozen organizations assisting fire survivors pleaded for more assistance. Even with the availability of federal vouchers and other housing aid, thousands of people remain bouncing between hotel rooms, living out of their cars or in other unstable housing situations, advocates said. 'Survivors of the Eaton Fire are slipping through the cracks,' Chu said at a press conference following the event. Chu is urging FEMA to authorize a housing program called Direct Lease where FEMA directly rents apartments for disaster survivors who cannot find somewhere to live on their own. The Times reported this month that FEMA hasn't implemented Direct Lease in Los Angeles even though it's commonly made available after natural disasters nationwide, including the 2023 wildfires in Maui. Nearly 13,000 homes were destroyed in January's wildfires with more than half the losses in Altadena and surrounding areas. FEMA and CalOES officials have said that their data shows thousands of rental units available across L.A. County, making the program unnecessary. 'We know from anecdotal evidence that that cannot be true,' Chu said. 'It is far from the truth.' Fire survivors have faced numerous barriers to finding permanent housing while they decide on rebuilding their homes, advocates said. Landlords' income requirements are too high. Potential tenants' credit scores are too low. Some landlords aren't accepting the vouchers FEMA is providing survivors. And the agency is including apartments in the Antelope Valley and other areas far from Altadena in its assessment of L.A.'s rental market. By not taking these factors into account, FEMA officials are ignoring needs on the ground, advocates said. 'There is a huge gap between availability and vacancy and accessibility,' said Jasmin Shupper, president of Greenline Housing Foundation, a local nonprofit. The push for additional housing aid comes amid widespread cuts to FEMA and resistance from the Trump administration for disaster spending nationwide. On Tuesday, the president threatened to strip federal funds from California if the state continued to allow transgender athletes to compete in girl's sports. Chu said that FEMA already has provided $132 million in assistance, including $40 million for help with housing. She said that money for Direct Lease was available through the existing federal disaster allocation following January's wildfires. She noted that she supported the state's request to Trump and Congress for $40 billion for long-term recovery efforts. FEMA and CalOES didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on Chu's request. After Times reporting earlier this month, state emergency officials said they were reevaluating an earlier decision not to advocate for Direct Lease.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hong Kong targets ‘top talent' as Harvard faces international student ban
Hong Kong's education bureau has called on the city's universities to 'attract top talent' by opening their doors to those affected by the Trump administration's attempt to ban Harvard from enrolling international students. Last week the Trump administration revoked Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, effectively banning the university from accepting foreign students. A US federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the government from enforcing the ban, which would have reportedly forced students currently enrolled and not graduating this year to transfer to another institution or lose their legal status and visa. Harvard has launched legal action, but it has done little to assuage concerns among students thrown into limbo. Experts have warned the US the ban could be a boon for foreign institutions looking to attract talent. On Monday Hong Kong's education bureau said it had 'promptly called on all universities in Hong Kong to introduce facilitation measures for those eligible with a view to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of students and scholars, and to attract top talent'. The Hong Kong Science and Technology University announced on Friday an open invitation to any affected foreign students, offering a place to those forced to leave Harvard as well as those with confirmed offers. 'The university will provide unconditional offers, streamlined admission procedures, and academic support to facilitate a seamless transition for interested students,' it said. Hong Kong is home to five of the world's top 100 universities, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, however in recent years they have been made to integrate national security and patriotic themes into studies, after China's ruling Communist party tightened its grip on the semi-autonomous city. More than 2,000 students from Asia are currently enrolled at Harvard, with an unknown number accepted and waiting to start. 'A lot of people in east Asia have some sort of fantasy and feel the prestige of Harvard,' said Taiwanese student Chu, who asked that his real name not be published. Chu was expecting to start a Masters in Science in August, and has already paid about $3,000 in visa and accommodation fees, and deferred his hospital residency for a year 'I either stick with Harvard or I just go back to my residency training,' he said. 'There's no other alternative I have.' In a lawsuit filed against the Trump administrations attempted ban, Harvard said the move would immediately blunt its competitiveness in attracting the world's top students. 'In our interconnected global economy, a university that cannot welcome students from all corners of the world is at a competitive disadvantage', it said, adding foreign students were 'a key factor' in the college maintaining its standing in academia. The vast majority of Harvard's foreign students – about 1,200 currently studying – are from China. On China's Xiao Hong Shu app, a Chinese masters student from Sichuan, said she had given talks to campus classmates about unequal access to education in her home country. 'As a fresh graduate studying abroad in the US for the first time, I've overcome a lot to get here,' she said. 'But when the hammer came down today, it was the first time I truly realised just how small I am.' A spokesperson for China's ministry of foreign affairs, Mao Ning, said on Friday that China 'opposed the politicisation of educational cooperation', and warned the move would 'harm the image and international standing of the United States'. On the social media platform Weibo, a series of related hashtags, including 'Trump is destroying Harvard', saw more than 200 million interactions, including many viewing it as the latest skirmish between the US and China. Among the reasons cited by the Trump administration for revoking Harvard's program was an accusation that it fostered 'coordinating with the Chinese Communist party on its campus'. Additional research by Jason Tzu Kuan Lu and Lillian Yang
