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H K U G A C s . S C H O O L .

M A G A Z I N E
Sapientia ipsa libertas

Dear readers, the support we received from you for our previous issue is deeply appreciated. This magazine was established in hopes that we could encourage our readers to be well-informed and critical, and when one of you contributed an analytical article to us (pg. 15), we were thrilled that the power of words was acknowledged. Last time, we covered topics ranging from the Jasmine revolution to William and Kates royal wedding. In this issue, we hope to live up to our motto and provide more info-packed articles for your perusal. Various topics such as the Wenzhou Express Railway accident and the News International phone-hacking scandal are explored. We have a piece of travel writing on New Zealand. To top it off, our Chinese Department has been expanded to include quality writing that probes at issues surrounding our daily lives, like tutorial schools and poverty. Whats more, we now have language learning corners! You can now mull over some elementary Spanish phrases and impress your friends. As an independent student organization, we have also covered the Student Council Elections, from start to finish, in our e-magazine: http://www.wix.com/hkugacrenaissance/renaissancehkugac. We guarantee that readers and SC cabinet members will be pleasantly surprised. This time, our magazine logo represents an all too familiar hand gesture of power in HKUGAC (Can you guess what it is?). We wish that you will find this issue empowering, entertaining and educational; after all, sapientia ipsa libertas (knowledge itself is liberty).

Interview wit
Ben Kong

e are sure many students are curious about our new Principal Mr. Ip. He definitely has a shiny CV: he graduated from the Imperial College of Science and Technology in England and received his teaching diploma from the University of Nottingham, majoring in Mathematics. He had taught at a boys grammar school in London for five years as well as a private school for girls for seven years before coming back to Hong Kong to teach at schools like Yew Chung International School. But you know this already. So heres an exclusive interview with Mr. Ip which we hope could let us all get a glimpse of what our new principals like and what he has in store for us.

these qualities you are bound to do well. Weaknesses though, if I may suggest, lies in the overall English environment. The general picture seems to be that a lot of students, when they are walking along the corridors outside the classrooms, between lessons, they tend to communicate with each other in Chinese. There is nothing wrong with that, of course; but I think that as an EMI school, we should make an extra effort to make the environment a little more English I: What do you plan to do to address this need for a better English environment? P: Well, I hope that the very fact that I use English to communicate with you lot and by being seen using English around the campus will set a good role model. We can form an English debate team and encourage people to take part in competitions. We can also promote our English drama club by making a few more productions. Moreover, we want to enforce the English environment within the classroom.

I: Interviewers (Ben Kong, Katrina Poon, Priscilla Chan) P: Principal Ip I: We used to enforce English only rules in school corridors too. I: Hi, Mr. Ip. Whats your first impression of HKUGAC? P: In my present knowledge of the situation it is not P: Everyone seems to be very friendly and approach- wise to enforce that because it would be difficult able. Students here are quite courteous, responsible and would create a lot of resentment because people and keen to learn. Thats my first impression anyway wouldnt like it at all. I always believe in positive rein(laugh). But, of course, theres a lot more to it that forcement as opposed to punitive measures; in other meets the eye. And I think the teachers are very co- words to punish others for doing this instead of reoperative, very dedicated and committed. warding people for doing that. I think at the end of the day, if one wants to improve his/her English, they I: What do you think are the strengths and weak- will have to practice it. It doesnt happen just like that, nesses of the students in this school? you have to put a lot of effort into it. P: It is a little bit too early to pinpoint all those things just yet. But I would say from what Ive seen so far, the strengths are that you folks seem to be keen to learn, and are quite capable and responsible. With I: You may be aware that some students have been criticizing the school in the previous years with the use of the internet, letters and petitions. Does that strike you as rebellious?

th Mr. Ip
P: No, I dont think I know the students well enough to make a judgement, but so far, my impression is that you are not. The thing is, we have to give young people freedom to do what they think is right to do, but at the same time there should be rules. We have to be sensible and strike a balance between the two. Recently as you know, there was this business about the freedom of expression (e.g. the violent disruption of a consultation forum on by-election arrangements); but is it freedom? Or is it an abuse of freedom? If I give you freedom and then you abuse it, then thats not freedom anymore. Your freedom should not infringe upon my rights, or my personal safety. Using the example of smoking, you might say, I should have the freedom or the right to smoke. But then you havent got the right to give people lung cancer. I know these are still quite controversial issues, but then the principle behind is the same. Once your freedom infringes upon other peoples rights, then it gets very complicated. So I hope that by having a balance of rules and freedom, we can lead happy lives. agree with the exam system right now in Hong Kong? P: I believe that theres nothing wrong with the exam system itself. Examinations are essential; its part of the learning process. What we have to be careful is how we handle the exams. This is difficult though, because we all want to study in a way that we can enjoy, especially by interacting with each other and with teachers; and yet there is always so much that teachers want to cover in their lessons and therefore, it is quite tempting for the teacher to just give you a lot of information, hence the spoon-feeding. Teachers may drill students on exam skills simply for the sake of drilling them, too. How the examinations dictate how teaching is done is quite unfortunate. But thats the past. Now with NSS, we hope that it is truly criterion-referenced instead of norm-referenced, so a students abilities can be objectively evaluated. We must find a balance between learning and the exams.

I: Because the S6s are the first batch that goes in this school to sit in the HKDSE examination; do you have I: So when infringement of other peoples freedom any words of encouragement or advice for them? happens, do you recommend the implementation of a punishment system? P: Work consistently hard, and also smartly; meaning that you must have a balance of work and leisure. But P: I find the term punishment a very negative term. I if you are determined enough, you should be able to would say people should take responsibility for their find your goal. Examinations are not the be-all and own actions. What does that mean? It means that end-all of education; there is much more to education once the mistake has been made, try to do something than examinations. I think if the students are deterto remedy it. If in the process of remedying or recti- mined enough and persistent enough, they will be able fying the mistake you have to suffer, well, so be it. But to find the goals in life. For example, even if I know Im we shouldnt punish people for the sake of punishing. not very good at English Literature, it doesnt matter; If someone made a mistake and you punish the per- I will do enough of that so that I will be reasonably son, and it doesnt help to remedy the situation, then well read or informed. But there must be some areas its useless. where Im very good at, and then I will explore the area and take advantage of my talent. Everyone is I: HKUGAC is a local school, and local schools are good at something, and its just a matter of finding usually stereotyped as schools that spoon-feed mes- out what the person is good at. sages to students and are very exam-oriented. Do you

The Pixar SucceSS


R
zero dialogue or an ode to a rat that wants emember Woody, Nemo, and Light- to be a chef in Paris. But the movies always ning McQueen? From Toy Story end up triumphing over industry cynicism and to Wall-E, theres a reason this timidity because of Pixar's creativity, sophissmall computer animations studio can con- tication and brilliant artistry. sistently churn out acclaimed, financially successful, and universally adored movies. John Lasseter, chief creative officer at Pixar and creator of Luxo the lamp, once said, Pixar has long been known for setting ridicu- "When someone comes in and says, 'This is lously high standards for computer animation something no one has ever done before, we and film-making. Almost all of their movies all get excited. We have a company culture have received a rating of 9.0/10 or above in that celebrates being pioneers." Rotten Tomatoes. Thus far, Pixar has racked up 26 Oscars, seven Golden Globes, and three Pixar is not afraid to try new things, and they Grammies. try hard every time. This explains why Pixar's So what is Pixars recipe for success? Quality. one movie is always better than all of Fox's 20 movies. Pixar's daring attitude and high Innovate & Create Dreams self-standards stands as an anomaly to a HolIts really that simple. lywood industry that is dominated by mindless test marketing and rigid money-orientWith the use of memorable characters, heart- ed group think. Pixar does not make movies warming stories, brilliantly drawn sights, for money or reputation. They care about catchy music, cutting dialogue, and much the movies themselves, and they care about more, Pixar manages to wow their audience how to make each film outshine the previous every time with films that are utterly original. one. We realized having lower standards for They take common objects that we rarely no- something is bad for your soul, Ed Catmull, tice, from toys, fish and bugs to cars, rats and Pixars President, has once pointed out. robots, and create dramas that are utterly human. Its films are often populated with dark, Another reason for Pixars continued success pessimistic yet realistic themes, like love, is its unwavering commitment to a culture loss, death, letting go, growing up, thwarted of authentic feedback. Every two or three desires, and even pollution, but they always months while a film is being made, the dimanage to be spiritually engaging and uplift- rector gets direct comments from a group of ing for all who are human. other filmmakers at Pixar, and every time he/ she would see this as their responsibility to The company's movies may seem exotic and uncover honest, even brutal feedback. Even unfamiliar at first glance. Surely we wouldnt after a film has been released and achieved like a sci-fi film with nearly half an hour of success, Pixar goes through postmortem evaluation sessions. Ed Catmull explained

Priscilla Chan

that Pixar leaders do whatever it takes to make sure the filmmakers dont get complacent and make the feedback session into another praise party. For example, one effective facilitation method theyve used is to have everyone in the room come up with five things they would do again, and five things they wouldnt do again. We, as students, can learn from Pixar. Do not be afraid to be innovative, because thats how everyone achieves greatness. Do not be afraid to ask others (or yourself) about how you could have done better, because thats how everyone attains and sustains their success.

animation, waiting for its moment to shine.

lessons Well-learneD
Then an opportunity arose in 1992 as Lassaters animation team landed its first movie deal with Disney for Toy Story. They turned in an initial cut of the movie and were shocked when the Disney executives hated it. In fact, Disney hated it so much they halted production and scrapped the whole project. Despite their massive disappointment, Pixars animators regrouped and looked at their film again. They discovered that they agreed with Disney the film was flawed in many ways. So they spent a whirlwind three weeks reworking the entire story and presented a revised cut to Disney. Disney loved the new cut and the project was saved. In the end, Toy Story proved to be a raging sensation. Heres where we too can learn from Pixars culture of authentic feedback. It would have been easy for the company to assume that the evil executives at Disney just didnt get it, but they were able to honestly critique their own work. Think about how many times youve blamed others for your failure, or how others have judged you and made you feel like youre nothing. What did you do about it? Pixar didnt just give up. They reflected upon themselves and took others criticism as a form of advice. From 1995 on, they went on to become the pioneer of computer animation and filmmaking, and Disney has to play catch up with them. You can do that too. We, as future pioneers, should not ever give up on doing the things we love, no matter how many times others have sneered at our work. In fact, we should ask haters about their views and use them as stimuli to improve ourselves and continue our work.

GrounDeD In realIty, but not HelD baCk


Pixars road to success though is all but smooth. The company started in 1979 as a small Graphics division of Lucasfilm, owned by a very forward-looking filmmaker George Lucas. They make special effects, the most successful one being the Genesis Effect in the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. At that time, there was no such thing as computer animation. John Lasseter tried once in 1981 to convince his employers, the Walt Disney Company, by creating a short computer animated film. They hated it and deemed the technology as costly and time-consuming. John was fired immediately after. In need of a job, he joined Lucasfilm. Then, Steve Jobs came in 1986. Jobs, shortly after he left Apple Computer, purchased the small Lucasfilm division and renamed it to Pixar. Even then, the company was always on the verge of bankruptcy. It sold computers to the government, and did commercials for various companies, like Tropicana. All this time, John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs had worked on the then-groundbreaking use of CGI

Malaga
Jonathan Cheung

Santi Carzorla is presented before the Malaga faithful in a packed Roselada Stadium.
that has reversed the tide. Not only have they held onto their best players, they have also been able to (outrageously) spend more money than Real Madrid. With 58 million euros already spent, that team is Malaga CF. Taken over by a member of the Qatari royal family last year, Malaga appointed Jesualdo Ferreira as head coach and promised their fans huge signings to prevent the club from being relegated. They did spend 18 million euros and also signed striker Jose Rondon from Las Palmas for a record fee of 4 million. However, things didnt go well and by mid-season they had slumped to the bottom of the table. Ferreira was sacked and the club bought in Manuel Pellegrini, who was previously the coach of Villarrreal and Real Madrid. Further signings came with Julio Baptista joining the club from Roma during the winter. Unfortunately, Pellegrini started his tenure in a fashion similar to Ferreira and the team continued to stay at the bottom of the table. Somehow, towards the end of the season Malaga enjoyed a resurgence that saw them win 5 consecutive matches. Eventually they finished in the mid table, avoiding relegation. However, that was only the beginning of Malagas rise. In June, it was announced that Van Nisterooy had signed for the team on a free transfer. Days later, the signings of Joris Mathijensen, Nacho Monreal, Sergio Sanchez, Martin Demichelis were announced. Many noticed that Van Nisterooy, Mathijensen and Demichelis were all reaching the end of their careers and thus questioned the long term plans of the club. Further signings came. Jeremy Toulalan, previously the captain of the French National Team joined from Lyon for another record breaking fee of 10 million euros. However, this record merely stood for a month as Santi Carzola was signed from Villarreal for another record sum of 21 million euros. Between that period, the club also signed Joaquin Sanchez and Isco (both from Valencia) for a combined sum of 10.5 million. Overall, the club has already splashed out 55 million in this spending spree. In fact, nobody in the world except for PSG (from Ligue one) has spent more money than Malaga this summer. Even Real Madrid and Barcelona trail Malaga, which is something unheard of in La Liga over the past few years.

ast season in Spain, Barcelona spent 58.5 million euros on players while their eternal rivals, Real Madrid spent 56.5 million. Their closest rivals, Valencia, spent 33 million. In fact, Valencia had 400 million euros of debt and was only able to spend this amount of money by selling their two star players (Villa and Silva), which raised about 75 million euros. In fact, this huge disparity is not only seen in the extravagant spending of Barca and Real but also in how the TV revenue is distributed in Spain: a staggering 50% of the money is divided between the big two, while the other 18 teams are forced to share the remaining half. In fact, Valencia, Spains third largest club, earned less TV money than West Ham last year (West Ham finished bottom in the Premier League). This seasons transfer window has been roughly the same with Barcelona and Real Madrid already splashing out 37 and 50 million respectively while the rest of the teams have been forced to sell their prized assets to solve their financial woes (Namely Atletico Madrid selling Kun Aguero and Valencia probably selling Juan Mata). However, there has been one team

The signing of Carzola was also significant in the sense that it was the first time in six years since one of the best players in La Liga (outside the big two) has been purchased by a team in Spain that is not Real Madrid and Barcelona (since Joaquin was bought by Valencia for 25 millions). Previously, most of the star players from the other 18 teams had either been snatched up by Barcelona or Real Madrid or have left Spain for another league, with the latest casualty being Kun Aguero, who left Atletico Madrid for the riches of the English Premier League. Carzola has been one of these players, who was previously linked to the Real Madrid. And also Liverpool, one of the larger clubs in England. Finally, a team outside the top two has done something groundbreaking.

SpaniSh Corner: BienvenidoS!


John Leung

Will Malaga challenge for La Liga next season? Quite frankly, they wwill struggle to make it to the top four places. The problem with Malaga is that almost all of the best players in the world are owned by Real Madrid and Barcelona. Arguably, the best strikers, the best wingers, the best midfielders and probably even the best defenders of football play in the big two. Last season, Barcelona and Real Madrid racked up 96 and 92 points respectively while third placed Valencia finished with 71 points. While some have suggested that this shows that La Liga only has two large teams and 18 lowquality teams, around the world few could boast such impressive statistics as Barcelona and Real Madrid. For

instance, Manchester United, who won the premier league, managed less than 80 points. Thus it would be extremely difficult for any team in the world to challenge the Big Two. Also, with up to 10 new players in the squad, Pellegrini will need time to sort out his best starting XI while Real and Barca already have a stable squad. Furthermore, Spains mid-tier is probably the most competitive in the world with teams like Valencia, Villarreal, Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid, and Espanyol (if they manage to keep their best players) all able to compete for a place in top 4. Thus Malaga still has a long way to go before being able to compete with Real and Barca.

Goethes famous line he who knows no foreign language, knows nothing of his own seems to bear the impress of truth in our modern society which prizes the ability to speak and understand multiple languages. The Spanish language was spread to different continents (even the Philippines) with the expansion of the Spanish Empire in the medieval times and is currently spoken by around 500 million people around the globe. With a ballooning Hispanic population, some businesses in North America now require employees to be reasonably conversant in Spanish especially if they work in education and healthcare. If your native language is English, learning Spanish can help to broaden your vocabularies immensely since Spanish is a Romance language whose roots are derived from Latin. For example, the Spanish translation of the English word repugnant is repugnante, and antique is antiguo. In a lot of cases, they sound and look similar. While you are learning Spanish,

dont forget that you are also imbibing the Spanish culture. Some of them such as the fierce tussling with bulls in a Spanish plaza de toros (bullring), or the flaming flamenco extravaganza in Andaluca, or the most renowned Spanish dish tortilla espaola (Spanish omelette), should sound very familiar to modern ears. Knowing Spanish also allows you to appreciate, without undue difficulty, the literary masterpiece of prolific Hispanic writers ranging from Miguel de Cervantess magnum corpus, Don Quixote to Federico Garcas lyrical poems. With around 1000 Spanish phrases and words under your belt, gallivanting around Spanish little towns ceases to be an insurmountable challenge. Bantering with the local folks and mingling with Spanish speakers there, you can experience an entirely new dimension of travelling and you will be more than welcomed by the ever so passionate Hispanics. To whet your appetite for this wonderful language, I have included some practical Spanish phrases below.

USEFUL PHRASES Hola! = Hello! Cmo ests? = How are you? (informal) Buenos das = Good morning Buenas tardes = Good afternoon Buenas noches = Good night Hasta luego = Goodbye Lo siento! = Sorry Gracias = Thank you De nada = Youre welcome Perdn! = Excuse me Encantado = Nice to meet you Si = Yes No = No No s = I dont know Por favor = Please Igualmente = Same here Claro = sure Callate! = shut up! USEFUL QUESTION/ANSWER De dnde eres? = where are you from? Soy de = Im from Cuntos aos tienes? = how old are you? Tengo aos = I am years old Hablas ingls? = do you speak English? Hablo ingls = I speak English Entiendes? = do you understand? Entiendo = I understand Puede ayudarme? = can you help me? Claro que s = of course Qu es esto? = what is that? Qu pasa? = what is happening? No tengo ninguna idea = I have no idea

have always wanted to go to New Zealand. Its Gods own country and the paradise of the Pacific. The seemingly rural but highly developed island country is about the size of the United Kingdom, and is situated at the southeast of Australia, across the Tasmen Sea. Ive always imagined that the second I arrive at the place, I would be able to feel fresh air brush past my face and hear a crowd of sheep with jingling bells. What I would give to wander among the silent mountains and vast grasslands!

looking for more natural landmarks, Fiordland is an option for you. Fiordland is a national park containing major tourist attraction such as the Browne Falls and Sutherland Falls, which are among the tallest waterfalls on earth, as well as Milford Sound, which is a long and narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacial activity. It is acclaimed to be New Zealands most famous tourist destination.

New Zealand is world renowned for its dazzling and diverse natural beauty. Imagine soaring mountain peaks, fiords, lakes, rivers, and active volcanic features all around you. While the less energetic can enjoy the magnificent scenery simply by immersing themselves into the clean green environment right before their eyes, the action-crazed can definitely smell New Zealands adventurous side. In fact, New Zealand is the home of jet boating through shallow gorges and bungy-jumping off anything high enough to give a thrill. In New Zealand, one can experience the literal meaning of hugging the lakes and mountains. Nature and the country side are what made New Zealand distinctive, but its thriving and unique cities Numerous landmarks and distinguishing tourism are prominent as well, especially the following four: sites exist in New Zealand. One of the top picks of Auckland, a volcano-active but most populated retourists is the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. Discover gion in New Zealand, also a famed cultural and shopthe centuries old icy grandeur, stretching from the tip ping centre; Wellington, the nations capital, also of the Southern Alps down into untouched rainforest known as The windy city and Wellywood (after below. According to a local legend, the glacier was Hollywood) with its signature beehive government formed by freezing the flood of tears of a girl who building; Christchurch, the magical and beautiful garfell from the local peaks due to the grief of losing her den city with streets lined with trees; and Queenslover. Another worthy site to visit is the Abel Tasman town, the adventure centre of the world where you National Park. You can experience the Golden sand can skydive, bungy jump, jet-boat do practically beaches and walk on the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, anything that stands for extreme excitement. with waves lapping at your feet on one side and mountainous inland looming over you on the other If you find yourself wondering where youve seen side (just like how stars do it in movies). If youre this place before in New Zealand, do not be sur-

prised. You may have seen the scenery from famous movies filmed in New Zealand. New Zealand-born director Peter Jackson filmed the Lord of the Rings Trilogy in various locations around his home country; you may have noticed how the rolling hills of Matamata became Hobbiton, or how the volcanic region of Mount Ruapehu transformed into the fiery Mt. Doom where Sauron forged The Ring. This real-life middle-earth is still very appealing to LOTR fans. The Chronicles of Narnia directed by Andrew Adamson were set in New Zealand as well. The White Witch's Camp is in the Woodhill Forest, north-west of Auckland. Aslan's Camp is situated at the Elephant Rocks, the rolling hills near Duntroon in the Waitaki district of the South Island. Marvel at how perfectly fictional as many would put it, which probably resulted from places spring to life as you visit them. Can you think being in harmony with nature for a long period of of a better place to film these movies? time. Tourists are a very common sight among New Zealand settlements, as the number of tourists visitAnother characteristic feature of New Zealand is its ing New Zealand each year is over half of the local small, diverse and multicultural population. Once a population. Also, the islands are inhabited many speBritish colony, New Zealand adopted English as their cies of unique fauna, including the mysterious kiwi, national language and its people are Mostly of Eu- which has become the national symbol. ropean and Maori descent. Maori means the Polynesian people, the indigenous groups that have in- In New Zealand, everything is perfect, except one habited the central and southern Pacific Ocean. New thing: You will have to constantly fill up your wallet Zealand respects and celebrates its original people with money, because New Zealand is one of the most and their culture. As the Maori culture continues to expensive countries in the world; even basic transplay an important part in everyday New Zealand life, portation, food and accommodation fees will cost places and streets are named in the Maori language a fortune. I may never had the chance to go there. and there are plenty of opportunities for the visitor But if you do have the money and are not afraid of to understand and experience the history and the volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and very large open present day form of Maori life. The local people of spaces, then I demand that you book a ticket to New New Zealand are friendly, if not a bit calm-looking Zealand NOW.

The Byte Out Of Apple

News
a short liFe biography For

"10 years ago we used to have Bob Hope, John Cash and Steve Jobs. Now, we got no hope, no More than 2000 charities across England have cash and no jobs..." had their funding cut or even withdrawn by local councils. This amounts to over 110 million Communication has always been essential for the pounds, but the actual amount might be even intellectual development of mankind. We have ex- higher, according to anti-cut website False perienced revolutionary changes in the field of Economy. Many see this as a consequence of communication technology for the past 5 decades, David Camerons big society, small governand one man stood out more than any other. He re- ment initiative. The opposition Labour Partys defined the modern world with inventions that are deputy leader Harriet Harman said the impact now widely used among all of us: from the first of cutting funding to charities will be devasPersonal Computer to the most popular portable tating and demands the government to contelecommunication device, their very existence all duct a review. Critics also suggest that this will owe a great deal to Steve Jobs. The globe grieves have a terrible effect on charities. the lost of a world-changing, ingenious revolutionImage Source: BBc ary, who passed away on October 5th 2011. We would like to thank him for the great advancements he has brought to this world. Rest in peace Steve.

UNITED KINGDOM 2000 Charities Funding Cut

NORWAY PM CALLS FOR

Norways Prime Minist that the country shou sion at the parliame and his fellow colleag

For

steve Jobs,

please visit our website.

FRANCE: Millions to fund Libya Rebels The Government of France announced that it has transferred $259 Million in frozen fund from the Libyan government leader Muammar Gaddafi to the rebels National Transitional Council. The fund will be used for humanitarian purposes such as food and medicine purchases, said the Foreign Ministry of France in a statement. ITALY

25 BODIES OF LIBYAN REFUGEES FOUND

Image Source: France 24

Italian coastguards have found 25 bodies in a boat near the Island of Lampedusa. Official media reports that the 25 men died from suffocation in the boats engine room. They appeared to be Libyan refugees seeking asylum in Image Source: aFP the European Union. Italian investigators believe that the refugees were already dead when the boat was in international waters. The Island of Lampedusa has been the biggest gateway to the European Union for refugees from North Africa, with a vast amount of Libya refugees who fled their country amidst the civil war.

10

PALESTINE The state of the State of Palestine Palestine refers to the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Historically, this patch of land was inhabited by the Canaanite tribes. Later came the Jews, Romans and Arabs who each in turn captured it and ruled it. After WWII when the Jews returned to the land after approximately 2000 years of diaspora, they tried to establish a Jewish state of their own on the same territory as historical Palestine. The problem here was, Palestinian Arabs who have been living on this land all this time did not want to share their homeland with the newly arrived Jews. The Jews; however, believed they are the descendants of the people of Israel and felt they had the right to reclaim it. Although the extent of the ancient Jewish kingdom of Israel under King David and King Solomon, on which the above statement is based, endured for only about 73 years. Even if we allow independence to the entire life of the ancient Jewish kingdoms, from Davids conquest of Canaan in 1000 B.C. to the wiping out of Judah in 586 B.C., we arrive at only a 414 year Jewish rule. Wars were fought and in 1948 modern Israel was formed. The expelled Palestinians were forced out of their homeland and confined to a small area of land under Israeli blockade within the State of Israel known as the West Bank and Gaza. The stateless Palestinians now want to create a state of their own, known as the State of Palestine. The border of which is still under debate. The Palestinians are trying to get recognition from the United Nations of their State and of their proclaimed State boundaries. Israel, US and France are against it. No matter how this turns out, Im sure the last thing everyone would like to have is more bloodshed. SWITZERLAND Fickle Physics redefined In Physics, the speed of light is known as the universes ultimate speed limit. Einstein believed that once an object reaches the speed of light, it can actually travel through time and space. This fundamental principle has been challenged by a recent calculation made by CERN (Conseil Europen pour la Recherche Nuclaire), the worlds largest physics lab. Located in Geneva, Switzerland, the team sent a beam of Neutrino particles through an underground tube/tunnel/ laboratory to Gran Sasso, Italy where another underground lab would detect its arrival. It took the neutrinos 0.0024 seconds to travel that 723 km, stretching from Switzerland to Italy, the result was 0.00000006 seconds faster than expected. To many this may be an amount too trivial to matter, but to many others, especially physicists, it is a small step that can lead to a giant leap for mankind, enough to change the many things we have taken for granted. For example, time travelling, teleportation the possibilities are endless. But before you get excited, I am obliged to tell you that many scientists have doubts about the result and believe it could merely be a human error yet to be detected.

FOR RESTRAINT AND TOLERANCE

Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, addressed to the public should not start a witch-hunt. In a special sesament, Mr. Stoltenberg urged citizens, politicians olleagues to show restraint and tolerance.
Image Source: aFP

: aFP

Neutrino

11

Source: tccmau.com

Chinas Wenzhou Railway Incident: The cost China pays for her rise to power

Tom Leung

hree months ago, we were shocked by one of the most serious railway accidents in Chinas modern history. On the 23rd of July, two high-speed trains in Wenzhou collided due to signal problems, killing 40 people and leaving 192 people injured (and those are figures from the Chinese government). While we pay our condolences to those who are related to the unfortunate victims, we cant help but wonder why such a horrible thing could have happened. Isnt the new railway, equipped with advanced technology and emergency systems, supposed to be safe? And shouldnt the governments railway ministry be able to prevent the accident from happening, or at least be able to conduct an efficient rescue operation after its occurrence? These doubts lead to one question: was the Wanzhou crash really an accident? Chinas new high-speed conventional railways have had safety issues before. I can still remember vividly not so long ago, the claim that the highest train speed by the railway department was 350km/h, which exceeded the maximum operational speed set by the technology provider of the train models (300km/h). By raising the maximum speed to 350km/h, the train had set the record for the fastest commercial train in the world. Yet rumour has it that even the officials of the ministry did not dare to board the train. Although train speeds were later lowered back down to around 300km/h, the railway departments disregard for passengers safety is still a serious threat.

ciently in the sense that after only a little more than a day, services in that exact rail route was resumed, with all signs of the wreckage cleared off and buried the night before. Have they carried out enough safety tests to ensure that another accident wont happen again? No one knows for certain. The most unbelievable part of it all was probably when a girl who was still alive was found on the remains of a train cart after the cart was ordered earlier to be sawed off the bridge. If it werent for the officer who refused to execute the order, that girl would have died, not knowing that her rescuers were responsible for her death. This exposes the railway ministrys values: that lives are unimportant when pitted against the greater good of national development. Also, much can be seen from the not-surprising media censorship carried out by the government after mainland news and commentaries began pointing out faults of the government on the management of this incident. On the first few days after the crash, there was wide media coverage of this event, including the broadcasting of Premier Wens speech saying that the first priority in dealing with accidents like these is always saving lives. However, after the railway incident became too eye-catching to a degree where it could constitute as a threat to the government, the Publicity board then instructed the media not to broadcast negative news/opinions on the incident, and only allowed them to report directly according to information provided by the Xinhua agency. Editors were forced to remove pages of news and feature articles previously prepared, leaving blank holes in their newspaper.

After the Wenzhou Railway incident, the rescue and cleanup were handled quickly and efficiently: quickly in the sense that the rescue operation ended after a mere 8 hours, instead of the golden 72 hours that Despite the censorship, many of the more daring lomany major rescue operatives adhere to; and effi- cal newspapers expressed their criticism and objec-

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tion indirectly by blanking the front page, blackening their newspaper, publishing commentaries early before they were banned, or even directly disregard the taboo. They also criticised the government by quoting specific parts of the Premiers speech. They demanded the truth to be told, and the railway ministry to be held responsible. Despite their attempts, many of the editors are now facing impending prosecution. The deputy editor in charge of the Shanghai Youth Daily has already been dismissed, along with a producer in CCTV, whose programme had raised questions on the motive of the railway department wiping out all traces of the crash so early.

The Wenzhou incident has shown us, as numerous past incidents have shown us, a repeated fact: that China is developing with heavy cost. China in the modern era has risen to a height unseen in her modern past. She is the second largest economy in the world and plays an increasingly powerful role in international affairs. But, on her way to greatness, many things are left unattended, issues are left unresolved and basic rights are left abused. Without solving these problems, history will only repeat itself. We can no longer ignore the imminent need for freedom and rights; China must act to change if true greatness is to be achieved: truths need to be uncovered, responsibilities need to be taken, and lives need to be respected.

The official crew clearing up the train with large machineries.

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h am S

Francis Wong

s s! e le

July 2011 is destined to be the most shocking month of the British media industry. People are being arrested and accused of being involved in several phone-hacking scandals, including Rupert Murdochs protg Rebekah Brooks, who is the chief executive of News International Limited, a publishing division of News Corporation owned by Rupert Murdoch. Whilst the operation is still under strict supervision of the British Government, police officers of the London Metropolitan Police are said to have taken bribes in exchange for inside stories. Key figures of Scotland Yard including Commissioner of the Met has resigned for being linked with these issues. The closure of the newspaper, News of the World, sparked another round of hot debate on whos-to-blame. Will the closure of one newspaper help the whole corporation restore its own core values and ethics? Clearly, it wont. There are preceding phone-hacking scandals related to News Corp. Back in 2002, it has been reported that News of the World hacked Milly Dowlers cell phone (Dowler was an abducted and murdered 13-year-old English schoolgirl). Though the Information Commissioners Office investigated the issue in 2003, the unorthodox method of obtaining inside stories has never been halted. Families of the Royal family, showbiz celebs as well as the relatives of victims who suffered terrorist attacks were being phone-hacked. No one is safe now; whenever you communicate through telephone, someone will eventually produce a transcript of what you said. On 16th and 17th of July, Rupert Murdoch published a full-page apology in major British newspapers under the name of News International saying they are sorry, realised that simply apologising is not enough and will take further concrete steps to resolve these issues. Regrettably, we see no steps are taken to resolve the public backlash, let alone the concreteness of those steps. While admitting saying sorry alone is not enough, the two Murdochs acted quite differently when they were summonsed to a hearing held by the Culture, Media and Sports Committee of the House of Commons. James Murdoch repeatedly said that he is not in-

But, pray, how did you get those stories?

volved in the issue and has permitted no illicit techniques to be deployed. The two-hour hearing was very much a waste of time. Rupert Murdoch is the most powerful and influential media mogul in the world. As TIME magazine had stated, his business touches every corner of the media universe. Millions read newspapers and watch television programmes that are under his ownership. It is true that the scandal is not just one single event anymore; these unaccepted techniques in obtaining materials had expanded to an industrial scale. This is a common practice for many Murdoch-owned media. Mr Rupert Murdoch created his very own media culture, but it went astray. It seems that the two Murdochs, as seen from the parliamentary hearing, are being defensive and in denial. Rupert Murdoch claimed that there are people who should be held accountable rather than himself. His heir apparently denied knowing the use of unorthodox practices before the media reported them. To restore a business ethic standards is never an easy job. Especially when it comes to a multinational corporation like the News Corp. What the Murdochs are doing is neither the right way to resolve the scandal nor the correct method to re-establish a reputation. To be honest, one can hardly provide any solution to such a tremendous disgrace. Business is business; the media industry is getting more and more competitive. Journalists are urged to get scoops to boost the sales. These vigorous competitions ultimately aggregated the shameful practices into a common practice amongst the industry. It has never been easy to establish a widely-acclaimed reputation; this scandal surely taught News Corp. a lesson. As the worlds largest media corporation, it is most important that the News Corp take concrete steps to abandon such practices, as to institute an example for her counterparts to follow.

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To hoNour? or To empower?
By Anonymous

It is not titles that honour men, but men that honour titles. - Niccolo Machiavelli

uring the closing ceremony of each school year, the school gives out academic prizes to those who ranked in the top 3 places of each subject. Many see these awards as a recognition of their academic achievement, and many believe the laureates are worthy of them.

HKUGA College Magazine - "Renaissance" would like to express our gratitude to whoever wrote this letter. Thank you for making our magazine much more interactive.

At the start of the next academic year, I was re-assigned to the alleged elite class of that subject. Immediately I realised how superficial and ignorant I once was. Many of my fellow classmates performed overwhelmingly better than me. If I could get a prize on that subject, then why couldnt they? It was then that I knew, I should strive with all my might to make However, on the topic of whether or not those prizes myself more deserving of that academic award. can really reflect upon ones academic ability, many still have their reservations. A year elapsed. This year, I received no academic award for that subject. But looking back, I did make I came third on an arts subject a few years ago, and at huge improvements that surpassed any other subthat instance, I felt my hard work had really paid off. jects that year. At class, I stood head and shoulders above my classmates; I always did well in exams, quizzes and home- Maybe those academic awards arent really based work. So I took it as a well deserved honour. on ones ability, but aim to work up your potential by giving you an encouragement. This years award Feeling proud and joyful, many schoolmates loathed winner for that subject is controversial; many said me for getting the prize, saying the prize has no con- that person should not be given an award. I didnt nection to ones ability on that subject. At first, I dis- feel offended when I heard the news; instead, I am missed those comments with a laugh, thinking that glad that another huge encouragement was given to their hatred stemmed from pure jealousy only. one more student.

Crosswords!
Across 1. On an upper floor 6. Drunkards 8. Make an accusation 9. Quantity 10. Pulpy 11. Nurture 13. One who belongs to a group 15. Equine sounds 17. Smart 19. Resembling a mouse 22. Dreary 23. Acquire 24. Faculty head 25. Reformist Down 2. Visible image 3. Not easily broken 4. Frozen treats 5. Direct light of the sun 6. Warrior of feudal Japan 7. Rows 12. County Down town 14. Inhabitant of Belgium 16. Not friendly 18. That group 20. External 21. Carnivorous mammal

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HAVE YOUR SAY!


We highly recommend all students of HKUGA College to contribute their work to our publishing club. Anything will do: articles, poems, short-stories, letters to someone, even paintings, comic strips and photos! You can pick your own topic (well, as long as it doesnt involve too much gore, smut or vulgarity) and write in either English or Chinese. Feel free to voice out your opinions, express your feelings, and let your creativity flow! Please submit your work through our email: hkugac.renaissance@gmail.com We look forward to see your masterpieces published in our school magazine. (Renaissance maintains the right to revise the manuscripts submitted)

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StaFF LISt!
SchooL aFFaIrS DePartment
Ben Kong S5HL Tweety Cho S5CT Katrina Poon S6LL Priscilla Chan S6LL

gLoBaL ISSueS DePartment


Francis Wong Tom Leung S5HL Ben Kong S5HL Richard Wong S5HL Curtis Wong S5NS Eunice Li S5HL Tweety Cho S5CT Fatina Pong S5LY Anson Lau S5CT

aeSthetIc anD DeSIgn DePartment technIcIan anD WeBSIte maIntenance


Yoyo Fung S5CH Adrian Lee S5HL Johnny Chan S5CH Lok Poon Peter Ng S6LW

Priscilla Chan S6LL Jonathan Cheung S5CH John Leung S6LW

artS anD cuLturaL DePartment

Executive Editor: Ben Kong S5HL Editor in Chief: Priscilla Chan S6LL Editors: Alistair Wong S5HL Karen Shum S5CT Ben Kong S5HL Katrina Poon S6LL Priscilla Chan S6LL Francis Wong Ms. Wanda Huang

eDItorS

FounDerS

chIneSe DePartment

teacher In charge

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