Latest news with #TungWahGroupofHospitals
South China Morning Post
06-03-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
How a rubbish dump became an eco-haven in Hong Kong
'I have always been interested in unusual projects,' says architect Corrin Chan. And what could be more unusual than a campground in an old rubbish tip? Advertisement E-Co Village, which opened last year near Lohas Park in Tseung Kwan O, is an initiative by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGH) charity to provide a fun space for families and school groups to connect with the great outdoors while learning about environmental sustainability. Along with campsites, it includes activity rooms, a farm, a butterfly garden and an amphitheatre, all of it powered by 272 solar panels that produce more energy than the campground consumes. E-co Village in Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong. Photo: The project, done in collaboration with architectural firm Spence Robinson and One Bite Design Studio, won the Hong Kong Institute of Architects' Sustainable Architecture Award at the end of 2024, but it began nearly eight years earlier, when TWGH learned that its existing campsite in the northern New Territories would be repurposed for the government's Northern Metropolis development. The charity turned to Chan, whose studio, has a long record of working on educational, social and environmental projects, including schools, a vertical farm concept and a TWGH-run community centre in Sheung Wan. 'I said to them, 'Instead of just a camping ground, can we make it more?'' Chan recalls. She notes that the site given to TWGH is one of the 13 landfills that Hong Kong has closed because they are full . Only three remain. 'We can't just live the way we have, with endless consumption,' she says. 'We need to make a change and this was a symbol of that. We wanted to transform garbage into a garden – waste into something useful, meaningful and impactful for people.' We wanted to transform garbage into a garden – waste into something useful, meaningful and impactful for people Corrin Chan The concept of the E-Co Village emerged from that line of thinking. The form it took was governed by the sensitive nature of the site, which has undergone a 30-year 'aftercare' period that began in 1995, when the Tseung Kwan O Stage I landfill was closed. The mountain of decomposing waste is capped by a geotextile polyethylene liner, a synthetic drainage layer and soil, with special facilities to capture and treat the methane released by the rubbish. Advertisement All of this meant that the E-Co Village needed to tread lightly on the surface, with no large structures that would require piling, and limited infrastructure for water and sewerage. 'There were a lot of limitations – most people would run away from a site like this,' says Chan. 'But we were curious.'
South China Morning Post
04-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong actor Vinci Wong bankrupt after alleged HK$2.8 million loan default
Vinci Wong Yin-chi, actor and former chairman of Hong Kong's oldest and largest charity, has been declared bankrupt. Advertisement The 54-year-old filed for bankruptcy in December last year, just a day after a credit company sued him for allegedly defaulting on an unsecured loan of HK$2.8 million (US$360,046). High Court Master Jack Wong Kin-tong made the order against Wong on Tuesday after nobody objected. The debtor was absent from the hearing. Vinci Wong has been awarded Bronze Bauhinia Star in recognition of his significant contributions to charity. The 54-year-old filed for bankruptcy in December last year. Photo: Handout Wong, who chaired the 154-year-old Tung Wah Group of Hospitals in 2018 and 2019, previously confirmed on social media that he had petitioned for his bankruptcy, calling it a 'difficult' but 'prudent' decision. He stopped short of revealing the reasons behind the application. The artist is one of several beneficiaries of 29 per cent shares of Wong's Kong King International, an electronics investment firm founded by his grandfather Wong Wha-san and now chaired by his father Senta Wong Chung-tung. Advertisement The company, listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, has a market value of more than HK$178 million.
South China Morning Post
27-01-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
1 in 3 Hongkongers do not know ‘space oil' health risks, drug survey finds
Almost one-third of Hongkongers do not know the health risks of taking the emerging substance 'space oil', a survey by a drug counselling centre has found. The narcotic, typically packaged in e-cigarette capsules and containing the anaesthetic etomidate, has been gaining popularity among young people, sparking widespread concern. The substance will be classified as a dangerous drug on February 14, with the maximum penalty for possession increased to seven years' jail and a HK$1 million (US$128,205) fine. Trafficking may result in life imprisonment and a HK$5 million fine upon conviction. At present, the substance is classified as a poison, and possession carries a maximum penalty of a HK$100,000 fine and two years' prison. The CROSS centre, which provides anti-drug services and is under the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, on Monday revealed the findings of a survey it conducted between September and December last year involving more than 1,600 residents via online questionnaires and its school network. Christopher Sin Chun-kit, a clinical psychologist at the centre, said almost 30 per cent of respondents had no idea about the health effects of space oil.
