Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Apology

So will Hong Kong chief Executive CY Leung apologise to abused maid and all Indonesian people for criminal act of one individual, which is the fault of no govt enforcement  of labour laws and police inaction, as they expect from Phillipines over hostage deaths, and continue to bully them with the threat of sanctions?

Friday, January 17, 2014

Can't see the wood for the trees

No shit Sherlock!
The answer is often the simplest one, staring you right in the face, so obvious yet the least expected.
How do Western nations, especially the UK and the US rid themselves of their crippling debt?
Austerity is right, but for who?
Herein lies the answer, why take the money from those that have the least, which by definition is doomed to failure?
Take from those with the most, with a broad synchronized swoop. At times of war, this was done, why not today? The world's richest companies and the vast majority of the earth's wealth is still in these countries. A concerted skimming off the top to repay the debt is actually the only feasible and logical answer. Shareholders would suffer, but that's life, better that than the malnutrition that stalks the low earners in our society.
Nationalisation of all utilities,communication, transportation, and other corporations deemed big and rich enough.
All those above multi-millionaire status would see taxes on their savings and assets go through the roof...how much does one person, their family and their children need in reality to ensure a 'comfortable'  future?
Restrictions would immediately kick in on immigration and residency; those that move their wealth out would no longer be able to either live or do business in that country, and punitive taxes would be made to those transferring liquid assets out of the country. 
If all the G7/20 nations agreed to these measures in tandem, then there would be nowhere for the rich to go, and nowhere for them to trade. Anywhere outside of this area would also introduce 'guest' taxes and the like.
These measures would not affect the aspiring entrepreneur,  nor affect the vast majority of the working and middle classes.
This is true austerity.
The money would then be used first to provide healthcare and housing for all, with heating costs controlled, transport run for the people, and communication seen as a human right. The national debts would dissappear, which although appearing insurmountable right now are not, look at Germany and Japan post-war.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Slavery and abuse in Hong Kong

This poor woman is someone's daughter, sister, mother! Hong Kong is incapable of protecting these women and obviously doesn't care. Nearly all domestic helpers pay exorbitant fees to agencies with the full knowledge of the Hong Kong government,  Indonesians pay up to 6 months salary and work 7 days a week for years. This is modern day slavery, Hong Kong doesn't care, The Indoesian and Phillipine people and governments should.

It's time for the Indonesian and Phillipine governments to put Hong Kong on a black list and stop sending helpers to Hong Kong. I hope this news gets massive coverage in Indonesia and their government takes a very strong stance.

Indonesian helper, 23, in critical condition after alleged beatings by Hong Kong employers

Monday, 13 January, 2014, 6:52pmNews›Hong KongDOMESTIC HELPERSJoanna ChiuHong Kong police have refused to pursue an investigation into the case of an Indonesian domestic helper who has been left in a critical condition after she was allegedly abused and beaten by her Hong Kong employers.Erwiana Sulistyaningsih is currently undergoing treatment at an Indonesian hospital after leaving Hong Kong following eight months of alleged abuse, said the Hong Kong branch of the Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers.A police spokeswoman said the case has not been turned over to an investigation officer. She said, “The helper’s employment agency made a report to police on January 12 but the agency did not provide evidence to confirm where her injuries came from. We can just hope to get more details." This has drawn shock and disappointment from the city’s lawmakers and human rights advocates.“Anytime someone is physically harmed there is no reason why police should not investigate,” lawmaker Charles Peter Mok said today.Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, of the Labour Party, said: “If a person is killed and no one reports the murder, I wouldn’t think police would want to wait for someone to turn up to provide evidence before starting an investigation.”Sulistyaningsih had arrived in Hong Kong on May 13, 2013 to work for employers in Tseung Kwan O in the New Territories. She returned to Indonesia on the evening of January 10, requiring assistance from a friend to walk through Hong Kong airport because much of her body, including legs and feet, were covered in cuts and burns, according to Sringatin, spokeswoman for the Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers.Her employer had given her HK$100 and a t-shirt and asked her not to speak with any Indonesians before boarding the plane, said Sringatin. Sulistyaningsih had not sought help from airport customs officers, according to the Immigration Department. The 23-year-old is currently in a “critical condition” in Amal Sehat Islamic Hospital in the city of Sragen, Central Java Province of Indonesia, and it is unknown when she will be released from hospital, said Sam Aryadi, Vice Consul for Public Affairs for the Indonesian Consulate General of Hong Kong. Aryadi said the consulate is currently preparing a formal report for police.But advocates are calling on Hong Kong police to investigate the case immediately.“In such an extreme case of violent abuse, it would strike me as the police’s responsibility to investigate and gather evidence, not agencies to find evidence prior to the police making an investigation,” said Robert Godden, Asia-Pacific Campaign Coordinator at Amnesty International.Godden said there are elements in Sulistyaningsih’s case, such as the alleged HK$18,000 fees that she was required to pay to her employment agency, which should raise alarm about the possibility that her situation constituted a case of human trafficking. Human trafficking is defined by the United Nations as “use of force or other forms of coercion…for the purpose of exploitation.” Hong Kong should coordinate with Indonesian authorities to investigate more details of the case, said Godden.Sulistyaningsih’s employment agency, Chan’s Asia Recruitment Centre, which is based in Causeway Bay, did not respond to South China Morning Post’s requests for comment. Hong Kong law stipulates that agencies can charge helpers no more than HK$401, but Godden said it is common for agencies to charge as much as HK$21,000 and some would withhold helpers’ passports, employment contracts and bank cards until the debt has been repaid.Leo Tang Kin-wa, organizing secretary at the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, raised concerns that Sulistyaningsih was scared to file a report to police because of Hong Kong’s mandatory “live-in” policy for domestic helpers.“Why did this case just come to public attention after the helper returned to Indonesia? It is because Hong Kong has failed to provide a safe environment for workers. She was forced to live with her employers, and there were no public-funded crisis shelters for helpers that she could have escaped to. It is very hard for helpers in Hong Kong to seek help.”Mok said that the government should “revisit” mandatory live-in rules to assess whether abolishing the rule would reduce the occurrences of abuse cases, and Cheung said the government should also consider removing the “two-week” rule.“If helpers want to quit abusive environments they would have to press charges within two weeks and afterward cannot work and have no ways to sustain themselves in Hong Kong,” Cheung said. "Many choose to return instead to their home countries, saddled with agency fee debt." Last September, the employers of Indonesian helper Kartika Puspitasari, described by the presiding judge as “cruel” and “vicious”, were found guilty of systematic abuse over the span of two years.Topics: Domestic HelpersSource URL (retrieved on Jan 14th 2014, 9:58am):http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1404697/indonesian-helper-23-critical-condition-after-alleged-beatings-hong