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South China Morning Post
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Film producer Jessica Kam-Engle talks Disney, John Woo and more
I GREW UP IN HONG KONG. My father was an interior designer, my mother a housemaker. I went to St Mary's Canossian College for most of my secondary schooling, until transferring to King's College for the last two years. Although it's an all-boys school, for a brief period they accepted girls and I had the privilege to study there during that time. I was a bit of a nerd, a straight A student, good in math and science. I didn't do much except focus on my exams, but I was never too sure what my career would be. I applied to a bunch of universities and went to the University of California, Berkeley (in the United States), when they accepted me for computer science. Jessica Kam-Engle as a student at St Mary's Canossian College in Hong Kong. Photo: courtesy Jessica Kam-Engle AFTER I GRADUATED, in 1990, I got a job at software giant Oracle right away. They were pretty big already, with lots of resources. They even flew me in for an interview. I was well paid, and they treated us well. The company was about 70 to 80 per cent guys. I always seem to be in settings where there are more males than females, but I never came across any discrimination or disrespect. I actually quite enjoy being the minority as a woman and Asian. Male engineers tend to be quite straightforward; they speak their minds without a lot of politics. Silicon Valley was growing so much. It was still a boom period. I had a very comfortable life but something was missing. Advertisement I LOVED MOVIES and storytelling, so I decided to study film at the American Film Institute. It was a short course but I realised it was something I enjoyed. So I decided to jump ship and pursue a new life. I had no idea what I would do in film. I didn't know if I was creative enough; I've always been logical, but I realised that technology influences people's way of living, whereas film influences people's minds. That's the power I was attracted to. I was obsessed after that. Jessica Kam-Engle attending the MTV Video Music Awards. Photo: courtesy Jessica Kam-Engle I THEN DID a student-exchange programme in the Netherlands and an internship for a cable company. That led to some contacts and a job at the MGM network, which would soon bring me back to Hong Kong. They opened a channel in Asia called MGM Gold to show old Hollywood movies and I became their first employee. It was a dream job but they overestimated the appeal of classic films. Asian audiences want new things. The channel closed down after about a year and after that I went to Dow Jones and then MTV (in Beijing), where I was promoted to run MTV China. It was exciting and challenging. I did programming as well as ad sales. There were a lot of parties, and I was exposed to interesting artists and other people, including my big boss, (American media magnate) a student-exchange programme in the Netherlands and an internship for a cable company. That led to some contacts and a job at the MGM network, which would soon bring me back to Hong Kong. They opened a channel in Asia called MGM Gold to show old Hollywood movies and I became their first employee. It was a dream job but they overestimated the appeal of classic films. Asian audiences want new things. The channel closed down after about a year and after that I went to Dow Jones and then MTV (in Beijing), where I was promoted to run MTV China. It was exciting and challenging. I did programming as well as ad sales. There were a lot of parties, and I was exposed to interesting artists and other people, including my big boss, (American media magnate) Sumner Redstone . In addition to a real passion to win, he also had the ability to dream big and see things at a higher level, with a wider perspective. What he's most famous for is coming up with the line 'content is king'. That motto has defined my career, too. I CAME BACK TO Hong Kong again in 2005, mainly because I got married, and I joined Celestial Pictures, which distributed the Hong Kong again in 2005, mainly because I got married, and I joined Celestial Pictures, which distributed the Shaw Brothers ' movie catalogue. I went from cool, hip, young and trendy MTV to selling old Hong Kong movies from 40, 50 years ago. Jessica Kam-Engle with director Jeffrey Lau, with whom she produced films such as Just Another Pandora's Box and Lock Me Up, Tie Me Down. Photo: courtesy Jessica Kam-Engle THEN IN 2008, my journalist husband got a job in Beijing. It was an exciting time because we'd just had a baby. China was opening up, the , my journalist husband got a job in Beijing. It was an exciting time because we'd just had a baby. China was opening up, the Olympics was happening, and I thought I could take a break, be a mother and not work. But by chance, a guy who invested in a film company approached me. He got into the business but had no experience. I didn't know him but I met him, explained as much as I could about how Hollywood studios made money, and after, he said, 'Why don't you join us?' I didn't plan on working but I ended up with a job. The company was Galloping Horse, one of the most aggressively expanding media companies in China. I ended up working with big directors including John Woo and Jeffrey Lau
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
The Lens: Jakarta's new public transport policy faces challenges despite good intentions
If you are interested in being a regular contributor for The Lens, please apply by clicking this link. Thoughts from last week Valerie Chiu, 15, St Mary's Canossian College Valerie Chiu believes that while Jakarta's new public transport policy for civil servants aims to ease congestion, it raises many questions. Photo: Handout A new policy mandates that all civil servants in Jakarta take public transport every Wednesday. However, there are several reasons why this policy is unlikely to alleviate long-term traffic congestion. First, the policy is unfair to those living in suburban or outlying areas, where the transport network does not extend. Forcing some civil servants to walk or drive to the nearest public transport hub is inefficient and inconsiderate. As they experience physical exhaustion, their work efficiency may decrease, ultimately affecting Jakarta's overall workforce. Moreover, is Jakarta truly capable of accommodating all civil servants with public transport during peak hours? While reducing the number of private vehicles may initially alleviate road congestion, increased use of public transport could lead to long queues and inconvenience. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the policy is uncertain due to weak regulation. Although top leaders may appear to follow the rules, it is doubtful they will maintain this compliance. The requirement to take selfies as proof of compliance is inherently ineffective; with advancements in deepfake and photo-editing technology, anyone can easily fabricate evidence of having used public transport. The absence of penalties for non-compliance further undermines the policy's success. A more effective long-term strategy may involve expanding the transport network and improving infrastructure. By building more roads, alternate routes would be available for private vehicles to reach their destinations, reducing the likelihood of traffic congestion. If the government genuinely wants to promote public transport, it should only be implemented once a comprehensive network is established. Read up on this issue in last week's The Lens Read and observe The Philippines is facing alarming rates of functional illiteracy among high school graduates, highlighting systemic educational challenges. Photo: AFP A staggering number of high school graduates in the Philippines have been found to be 'functionally illiterate' – a revelation that lawmakers and education experts say exposes systemic failings in the country's school system that must urgently be addressed. The Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey is a nationwide assessment of the population's basic and functional literacy levels every five years. Around 79 million people were considered to be functionally literate in the 2019 edition of the report, which defined the term as having reading, writing and numeracy skills. In 2024, however, this definition was updated to include higher-level comprehension skills, cutting the figure to 60 million. The number of Filipino high school graduates lacking advanced comprehension skills is 'staggering, but not entirely surprising', according to Baguio City Representative Mark Go, who co-chairs the Second Congressional Commission on Education. Go cited the Programme for International Student Assessment study released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2024, in which the Philippines earned a mean score of 14 in creative thinking, well below the global benchmark of 33. Meanwhile, a 2022 World Bank report on learning poverty – the inability to read and comprehend a simple text by age 10 – showed the Philippines at 91 per cent, while Singapore was at 3 per cent. Go said that the problem had been aggravated by 'learning loss' during the Covid-19 pandemic. The provinces with the highest functional illiteracy rates were in Mindanao in southern Philippines, with Tawi-Tawi – the country's southernmost province – at 67 per cent, followed by Davao Occidental at 43 per cent. Gatchalian said it was 'important that we flag the local government units in that area to address illiteracy in their locality, either by using their own resources or allocating national resources so that it can be augmented'. Staff writers Research and respond How might higher rates of functional illiteracy and educational issues in the Philippines impact the country's society and economy in the long term? What steps can the Philippines take to address this education gap?
South China Morning Post
22-05-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
SOTY 2023/24: Hong Kong student's AI invention wins Geneva award for child safety
Chow Sze-lok, a 17-year-old student at St Mary's Canossian College, has been passionate about technology since childhood, when her family gave her an old Windows XP computer. 'I had to figure out how to use it on my own, exploring Microsoft Word and the internet,' she recalled. Her curiosity grew through primary school information technology (IT) classes. 'By Primary Two or Three, I enjoyed experimenting with IT. When we started learning programming in Primary Three or Four, I picked it up quickly and loved the logical thinking behind it,' she said. A teacher later introduced her to App Inventor and encouraged her to join her first coding competition. 'I didn't win, but I loved the process of creating something from nothing,' Sze-lok said. In secondary school, Sze-lok's interest in STEM led her to take on technological projects. In late 2022, reports of child abuse in Child Residential Care Centres caught her attention. 'I saw frequent reports in newspapers about abuse cases. I had a happy childhood, so seeing children suffer felt unfair. Every child is innocent – why can't they all have a happy childhood?' she said. She wondered if technology could help. 'There were already CCTV cameras, but the problem persisted. AI was gaining popularity, [so] I thought, why not use AI to detect abuse in CCTV footage?' SOTY 2023/24: Grand Prize second runner-up wants to combine technology with healthcare She discussed the idea with classmates and decided to take action: 'We presented it to our teacher, who supported us. However, the project was entirely student-led. The school provided equipment, but we developed everything ourselves.' She said the biggest challenge was training the AI model. 'Because CCTV is video, we needed a method that could analyse frame sequences instead of treating them as separate images. Finding the right model was tough. But I thought, if this could save children, I had to push through.' The project, Kid-AID, took about six months to develop, with additional refinements over a few more months. 'We tested it by filming simulated abuse scenarios at school, but we couldn't apply it in real childcare settings due to privacy concerns. However, our internal tests were largely successful,' she said. In 2024, Sze-lok's school participated in the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions, where Kid-AID won a bronze medal. 'We spent a week presenting our invention to visitors and judges. We also had the chance to see projects from Hong Kong universities,' she said. Experts at the exhibition provided valuable feedback. 'They suggested ways to improve user-friendliness and operations. Some concerns they raised were things we hadn't thought about, making it a great learning experience.' She believes technology has a role in solving societal issues. 'AI could handle repetitive tasks that consume human labour, like cleaning,' she said. 'I also hope technology can help bridge inequalities, providing better resources to developing countries.' Sze-lok was the first runner-up in the Scientist/Mathematician category at the Student of the Year Awards 2023/24, organised by the South China Morning Post and sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. 'My goal has always been to use technology to improve lives,' she explained. 'Knowing your purpose helps you identify real-world problems and find ways to address them.'
