Hong Kong: Why do we live here?
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Join Date: Aug 2007
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Hong Kong: Why do we live here?
I look out my window in Mid-Levels and it's what...6000m in pollution. Noxious coal dust toxic emissions. What is it doing to my child?
It has been like this for the past 5 years and getting worse every month. Its unrelenting.
Cathay and Dragon once paid OK wages but even if they counter the numbers now 'seeing the light' and leaving with a 60% payrise is all the money in the world worth this..........................
Copy from Reuters 29 Oct 2007:
Pollution blamed for China birth defects
Birth defects in Chinese infants have soared nearly 40 per cent since 2001, a government report said, and officials linked the rise to China's worsening environmental degradation.
The rate of defects had risen from 104.9 per 10,000 births in 2001, to 145.5 in 2006, affecting nearly one in 10 families, China's National Population and Family Planning Commission said in a report on its website (www.chinapop.gov.cn).
Infants with birth defects now accounted for "about 4 to 6 per cent of total births every year", the family planning agency said. Of these, 30 per cent would die and 40 per cent would be "disabled".
The World Health Organisation estimates about 3 to 5 per cent of children worldwide are born with birth defects.
China's coal-rich northern province of Shanxi, a centre of noxious emissions from large-scale coke and chemical industries, had the highest rate of defects, Xinhua news agency said in a report carried by the Beijing News.
"The incidence of birth defects is related to environmental pollution," the newspaper quoted An Huanxiao, director of Shanxi's provincial family planning agency, as saying.
"The survey's statistics show that birth defects in Shanxi's eight large coal-mining regions are far above the national average," An said.
The report said about 2 to 3 million babies are born in China with "visible defects" every year, and a further 8 to 12 million would develop defects within months or years after birth.
Officials had also linked high defect rates to poor, rural areas, and regions that suffered "high rates of illness".
About 460,000 Chinese die prematurely each year from breathing polluted air and drinking dirty water, according to a World Bank study.
The report comes as Beijing tries to improve air quality in time for the August 2008 Olympics, with high levels of small particulate matter - which are sometimes more than 200 per cent above recommended safe level - of particular concern.
China, home to some of the world's most polluted cities, has pledged to cut emissions and clean up its environment, laid waste after decades of breakneck development.
But lax local enforcement and an insatiable demand for energy to feed its booming economy continue to undermine environmental policy goals.
© 2007 Reuters, Click for Restrictions
It has been like this for the past 5 years and getting worse every month. Its unrelenting.
Cathay and Dragon once paid OK wages but even if they counter the numbers now 'seeing the light' and leaving with a 60% payrise is all the money in the world worth this..........................
Copy from Reuters 29 Oct 2007:
Pollution blamed for China birth defects
Birth defects in Chinese infants have soared nearly 40 per cent since 2001, a government report said, and officials linked the rise to China's worsening environmental degradation.
The rate of defects had risen from 104.9 per 10,000 births in 2001, to 145.5 in 2006, affecting nearly one in 10 families, China's National Population and Family Planning Commission said in a report on its website (www.chinapop.gov.cn).
Infants with birth defects now accounted for "about 4 to 6 per cent of total births every year", the family planning agency said. Of these, 30 per cent would die and 40 per cent would be "disabled".
The World Health Organisation estimates about 3 to 5 per cent of children worldwide are born with birth defects.
China's coal-rich northern province of Shanxi, a centre of noxious emissions from large-scale coke and chemical industries, had the highest rate of defects, Xinhua news agency said in a report carried by the Beijing News.
"The incidence of birth defects is related to environmental pollution," the newspaper quoted An Huanxiao, director of Shanxi's provincial family planning agency, as saying.
"The survey's statistics show that birth defects in Shanxi's eight large coal-mining regions are far above the national average," An said.
The report said about 2 to 3 million babies are born in China with "visible defects" every year, and a further 8 to 12 million would develop defects within months or years after birth.
Officials had also linked high defect rates to poor, rural areas, and regions that suffered "high rates of illness".
About 460,000 Chinese die prematurely each year from breathing polluted air and drinking dirty water, according to a World Bank study.
The report comes as Beijing tries to improve air quality in time for the August 2008 Olympics, with high levels of small particulate matter - which are sometimes more than 200 per cent above recommended safe level - of particular concern.
China, home to some of the world's most polluted cities, has pledged to cut emissions and clean up its environment, laid waste after decades of breakneck development.
But lax local enforcement and an insatiable demand for energy to feed its booming economy continue to undermine environmental policy goals.
© 2007 Reuters, Click for Restrictions
Join Date: Dec 2005
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How did you get such good vis?
6 km what a gem of a day . Sunday well that was another story, 2.5km in pure sh--t and it didn't smell much better either .
I must agree with you my departure from HK is no longer measured in years but months . All the money in the world will not prolong your life if you contract lung cancer . For the past 2 weeks every time I'm in HK I have a mildly sore throat not a great way to live
I must agree with you my departure from HK is no longer measured in years but months . All the money in the world will not prolong your life if you contract lung cancer . For the past 2 weeks every time I'm in HK I have a mildly sore throat not a great way to live
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Cathay and Dragon once paid OK wages but even if they counter the numbers now 'seeing the light' and leaving with a 60% payrise is all the money in the world worth this..........................
Let me see:
- Working for less
- Working longer patterns
- Working with min crew on board
- 'Interesting' pollution levels for family to enjoy
And the list goes on.......
Not a difficult decision really.
Live to work don't work to live.
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FACT: China currently burns 2500 tonnes of coal a MINUTE to power its cities...
This air quality problem is YEARS away from getting better and in all reality will probably get much worse..
At least the CX guys can escape it for about half of every month... For all the KA guys - well, your lungs are F#@&*d... Descending through that toxic transition layer 2 or 3 times a day into another city even more polluted than HKG just cant be good for you...
This air quality problem is YEARS away from getting better and in all reality will probably get much worse..
At least the CX guys can escape it for about half of every month... For all the KA guys - well, your lungs are F#@&*d... Descending through that toxic transition layer 2 or 3 times a day into another city even more polluted than HKG just cant be good for you...
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Gee Nancy, how long did you take to figure that one out 
I'm sure all the people here with 2 year leases, mortgages, kids in school etc will really appreciate that.
Visiting a friend in DB recently, there was a boat running in the bay, pushed up against the side of a barge ( christ only could guess why ) running for 10-12 hours a day, apparently for 2 weeks. The result, a nice bay with a nice layer of diesel all over it, just lovely.
These people have absolutely no
idea, whatsoever.
I'm sure all the people here with 2 year leases, mortgages, kids in school etc will really appreciate that.Visiting a friend in DB recently, there was a boat running in the bay, pushed up against the side of a barge ( christ only could guess why ) running for 10-12 hours a day, apparently for 2 weeks. The result, a nice bay with a nice layer of diesel all over it, just lovely.
These people have absolutely no
idea, whatsoever.
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For those of you who are toying with the idea of making the leap to Hong Kong. Please be advised that the air quality has deteriorated so extensively that an average of 300 days of the year now look like this! People surely have received danger pay for less. 
Right click on applicable icon for photo
Right click on applicable icon for photo
Last edited by Canuckian; 30th Oct 2007 at 14:13. Reason: Photo instruction
Then can someone explain how come hong kong has one of the longest life expectancy in the world???
I've been reading pprune and seeing so many ppl just bad-mouthing about hong kong to the rest of the world, just makes me feel sad.... guys, how would u feel if a bunch of ppl just constantly saying ur home town is a crap hole or a dump...let other ppl decide on where they wanna live rather than telling ppl not to come
I've been reading pprune and seeing so many ppl just bad-mouthing about hong kong to the rest of the world, just makes me feel sad.... guys, how would u feel if a bunch of ppl just constantly saying ur home town is a crap hole or a dump...let other ppl decide on where they wanna live rather than telling ppl not to come
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Well I am going to tell you how to type, no text style please my friend.
ppl on this forum would mean PRIVATE PILOTS LICENCE.
I can not see the wrong in people telling others how bad the pollution is here in Hong Kong. At the end of the day they are only writing the truth.
ppl on this forum would mean PRIVATE PILOTS LICENCE.
I can not see the wrong in people telling others how bad the pollution is here in Hong Kong. At the end of the day they are only writing the truth.
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Then can someone explain how come hong kong has one of the longest life expectancy in the world???
Proof positive of the propagandist poop fed by the government that they wish the HKG public would swallow en masse. Looks like they've already got one hooked.
So we may have the highest per capita number of centenarians. Here's the real kicker. That means they were born 100 years ago. That also means they didn't have to subject any major organs to the pea soup we have 2/3 of the year right now, for much of their lives. Not exactly rocket science. And neither are the statistics which point out the exponential rise in juvenile respiratory ailments in the last ten years.
The apathy the political leadership has for the status quo is, to say the least, a disgrace by any standard. Still though, I agree with the point made that people should come out here and see for themselves what a cesspool this place has become rather than have us tell potential newcomers about it. I mean, who are we to have an opinion about where we live? The nerve of some ppl...or people.
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Then can someone explain how come hong kong has one of the longest life expectancy in the world???
But then the poor idiot only says what those "appaling old wax-works" in Beijing wants him to say...
Welcome to looney-tune land,where prices are high,visibility is poor and people are just miserable..(ever seen anyone smiling in the streets or MTR?)
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forgot CDG
hyg,
sorry that 'your town' is getting such a hammering over the pollution. Sitting here on Lantau Island and I can't see sh!t right now. As far as feeling sorry for yourself and HK, think about those other desirable city residences around the world:
- The Big Apple - 9/11, rubber gloves at airport security, Fox News and Mc Donalds
- Paris - rioting, strikes, girls can't wear a headscarf in school, randy prime-minister (no change there) and the dog-sh!t.
- London - 7/7, Ken Livingston, river thames flooding, fog, cold and rain
- Moscow - the local Mafia, some friedly people from Chechnya, cold and snow
Every city has it's downside, it's just that some of those things can be avoided and some are not present every day. BUT, the pollution in HK is here all the time, and when it does drop to low for about 3 days a year, that's still high on the EU's scale!
On the subject of longer lifespans in HKG, that data is based not on living people, but those who have passed away in recent years. If this data was produced say in the last 5 years, then those people who died at that time have not endured much of the massive increase in pollution that we have seen from 2000 to 2007.
If you were to look at this data in 10 years time I think you will see a distinct drop in the average lifespan. Let alone the effects of eating bok choi from a certain well known supermarket with 240 times the permitted level of certain pesticides, or that fish which was only meant to be used for industrial oil production, or the daily breakfast at Mc Donalds.
Again, so sorry for giving HK a hard time, but hey, open your eyes, read the newspaper, watch the news, get informed, get out of your small world, GET REAL!
Wishing you longevity,
N1 Vibes
sorry that 'your town' is getting such a hammering over the pollution. Sitting here on Lantau Island and I can't see sh!t right now. As far as feeling sorry for yourself and HK, think about those other desirable city residences around the world:
- The Big Apple - 9/11, rubber gloves at airport security, Fox News and Mc Donalds
- Paris - rioting, strikes, girls can't wear a headscarf in school, randy prime-minister (no change there) and the dog-sh!t.
- London - 7/7, Ken Livingston, river thames flooding, fog, cold and rain
- Moscow - the local Mafia, some friedly people from Chechnya, cold and snow
Every city has it's downside, it's just that some of those things can be avoided and some are not present every day. BUT, the pollution in HK is here all the time, and when it does drop to low for about 3 days a year, that's still high on the EU's scale!
On the subject of longer lifespans in HKG, that data is based not on living people, but those who have passed away in recent years. If this data was produced say in the last 5 years, then those people who died at that time have not endured much of the massive increase in pollution that we have seen from 2000 to 2007.
If you were to look at this data in 10 years time I think you will see a distinct drop in the average lifespan. Let alone the effects of eating bok choi from a certain well known supermarket with 240 times the permitted level of certain pesticides, or that fish which was only meant to be used for industrial oil production, or the daily breakfast at Mc Donalds.
Again, so sorry for giving HK a hard time, but hey, open your eyes, read the newspaper, watch the news, get informed, get out of your small world, GET REAL!
Wishing you longevity,
N1 Vibes
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these posts are scaring the **** out of me!! i spend most of my time in the wanna be section where most people are trying to get an edge on getting on with cx. i've wanted to work for cx for years now and finally have an interview in 2 weeks. i have a wife and a 14 month old son and are planning to have another child shortly...is it a mistake to live in hong kong!? is there an area that is better than others to live in if i decide to go? no offense but i want to get good info from people living there now and not from people that lived there 5 years ago or hate hong kong all together.
thanks!
thanks!
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Well I have been here 6 years with 2 small kids and I love Hong Kong, but I am looking to get back to Europe for my kids sake. The pollution is out of control the housing is expensive and the quality is bloody rubbish.
I have enjoyed my time in HK but working for CX is DIFFERENT. Given my time again I would have done BA or Virgin etc.
Overall, HK is great if your are single and want to travel but it's not a very child friendly place. CX are a bunch of wan7ers who want to chip away at our terms and conditions where the rest of the world are trying to improve them.
This is my honest opinion. Hope it helps.
I have enjoyed my time in HK but working for CX is DIFFERENT. Given my time again I would have done BA or Virgin etc.
Overall, HK is great if your are single and want to travel but it's not a very child friendly place. CX are a bunch of wan7ers who want to chip away at our terms and conditions where the rest of the world are trying to improve them.
This is my honest opinion. Hope it helps.
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thanks for the quick reply! it does help.
coming from canada it would be nice to hear from other canadians who have made the move. the ability to work for BA and other european carriers is not available to me and the canadian industry is special to say the least. any canadian perspectives out there?
coming from canada it would be nice to hear from other canadians who have made the move. the ability to work for BA and other european carriers is not available to me and the canadian industry is special to say the least. any canadian perspectives out there?
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According to a friend, in the mining industry here in China, the Chinese are building coal powered generating plants at a rate of the entire Australian power stations put together, every 5 months. These plants are the cheapest mass produced plants you can buy and have no filters . The cost of electricity would have to double if they wanted to get anywhere near world standards. So its only getting worse with no improvement expected in our life time.
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is there an area that is better than others to live in if i decide to go?
You'll have some debate on this one but dead set...If the pollution in Tung Chung (read airport) is high/severe, Sai Kung, Central and DB will be within a couple of points! You can get more info from http://www.epd-asg.gov.hk/ but be aware the Low/High/Severe/Extreme categories have somewhat skewed limits compared to the real world. Read- your high would be a low here.
F Man out
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Bluesidedown,
I also love Hong Kong as a city.. But the honest truth is that the air quality here is at levels that will cause you and your family long term ( and short term ) health problems..
The following is an article from 2005 and things have got a whole lot worse since then...
www.iht.com/articles/2005/10/13/bloomberg/sxpollute.php
Your second interview (i think - i'm with KA ) will be in Hong Kong so come and see for youself.. Take the time to go up to The Peak and see if you are lucky enough to see Kowloon across the harbour... Most days you either wont be able to or you'll see it through a thick haze..
Hong Kong is a tiny place and it doesn't matter where you live.. The whole of China is blanketed by this layer of filth.. Hong Kong is no exception..
As for me... I am planning my exit strategy... I will not be here in 6 months and the ONLY reason is the unseen damage that this air must be causing me is not worth any amount of $$$$$... I am here as a single guy... There is no way in hell i would expose small children with developing lungs to this..
PM me if you want and i'll email you photos of good days and bad days here.. Unfortunately the bad heavily out weigh the good and the good would be a disaster in your home country or mine..
I also love Hong Kong as a city.. But the honest truth is that the air quality here is at levels that will cause you and your family long term ( and short term ) health problems..
The following is an article from 2005 and things have got a whole lot worse since then...
www.iht.com/articles/2005/10/13/bloomberg/sxpollute.php
Your second interview (i think - i'm with KA ) will be in Hong Kong so come and see for youself.. Take the time to go up to The Peak and see if you are lucky enough to see Kowloon across the harbour... Most days you either wont be able to or you'll see it through a thick haze..
Hong Kong is a tiny place and it doesn't matter where you live.. The whole of China is blanketed by this layer of filth.. Hong Kong is no exception..
As for me... I am planning my exit strategy... I will not be here in 6 months and the ONLY reason is the unseen damage that this air must be causing me is not worth any amount of $$$$$... I am here as a single guy... There is no way in hell i would expose small children with developing lungs to this..
PM me if you want and i'll email you photos of good days and bad days here.. Unfortunately the bad heavily out weigh the good and the good would be a disaster in your home country or mine..