I don’t normally read the South China Morning Post, but I came across an actual printed copy so I glanced through it, and what a delight it continues to be.

Oxfam Haiti sex scandal arose from arrogance, but cuts to funding are not the answer

The Oxfam sex scandal has highlighted sexual abuse and exploitation by staff at the British-based charity in Haiti, after an earthquake ravaged the country in 2010. It also exposes the arrogant culture and lack of accountability in the aid sector.

The reason the sector is so vulnerable to such allegations is that it is too often consecrated. Oxfam uses “ending poverty” as slogan to rally for funding and support. As a charity, it is often seen as a representation of the “good” and “sacred”. It was not expected to do harm to society. This explains why it has fallen so far from grace recently.

Such an incident reveals not only that aid workers have been sexually abusive in local fields, but that they are using their position to exploit the most vulnerable.

Believe it or not, this is not an isolated incident.

I was expecting some revelation here.  There is nothing.

When aid workers from the developed world are sent into the developing world, this possibly breeds a sense of exceptionalism. Coming from the “better” outside world, as well as under the aim of “saving the world”, aid workers are inclined to do things differently than they otherwise would do back home.

Well, that’s hardly a revelation.  I am sure many people behave differently when away from home.

Some even believe that they are godlike saviours for the locals, reinforcing the image of white fantasies with the mission of civilising the global south. They are left to their own devices to operate freely in such yet-to-be-liberated spaces. Some even perceive themselves as above the local norms and laws.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

Amid such a power hierarchy, incidents such as these are probably only the tip of the iceberg.

Probably.  Probably!

Still, a few black sheep do not justify cutting off funding to Oxfam and the entire sector. Cutting off funding will not help curb sexual exploitation by workers on the ground, but mostly affect the vulnerable populations who require help.

This under-supervised industry requires a structural overhaul. It is also important to realise the overhaul shall not be based on an event, but be a long-term process of constant evaluations.

The way forward is not only to improve the transparency of the organisation and sector, but for the management in these organisations to articulate new and renewed commitments, to their process, the core vision and values.

Neville Lai, Ho Man Tin

Why does the SCMP print letters from people who have no particular insight into a subject?  What’s the point?

And then there was this:

Hong Kong reaps HK$380 million bonanza thanks to overseas visitors at Sevens

…and even more visitors could be among the 40,000-strong crowd each day this weekend (April 6-8) as the Cathay Pacific/HSBC-sponsored showpiece is sandwiched between Easter and Cheng Ming Festival when many Hongkongers tend to travel abroad.

The Rugby Sevens are after Ching Ming (which is on Thursday).  So, not sandwiched at all.  Do carry on.   

[..] Tickets sold out for the 13th year in a row despite initial fears over the event’s proximity to major public holidays.

“We had a few concerns over the Easter break [March 30 to April 1] and Cheng Ming Festival [also known as Tomb Sweeping Festival, April 2],” said McRobbie after the unveiling of an enormous “floating” rugby ball in Victoria Harbour. “But it has not been as negative as we thought it would be at one point.

That’s Thursday 5th April, by the way.  And it’s normally called Ching Ming.

Then there was this totally baffling headline:

EFFORTS TO REACH
DEAL WITH HOLY
SEE STILL ON

That’s just a random jumble of words (if you need a clue, “Holy See” means the Vatican). 

In the online version they abandoned all efforts to write a snappy headline and went with the extremely verbose "Controversial bishops deal could still be on track after Beijing signals it hopes for progress in Vatican talks" which even I can understand.

I am not sure whether the SCMP simply doesn’t understand (see also the so-called “Sha Tin to Central” link) or whether they really love clickbait. 

Fees at ESF schools in Hong Kong could rise by as much as 25 per cent next year

South China Morning Post | 28 March 2018 | Peace Chiu

The biggest group of international schools catering to English-speaking children has proposed fee increases of up to 24.7 per cent as the loss of its government ­subvention affects Primary Three level.

This means that the English Schools Foundation could charge parents of Year Three pupils HK$111,200 for the school year starting in August, compared with HK$89,200 this year.

It’s nonsense, of course.  The actual increase is about 4.5%.

Why?  Because you need to compare the fees for students who are currently in year 2 with fees for the same students when they transfer from Year 2 to Year 3 at the start of the new school year in August.

If you compare students in next year’s Year 3 with current Y3 students then, yes, they are paying higher fees.  That’s because of the long-drawn out way that the government is withdrawing the subvention.  But no student will be paying 25% more than they are currently paying.  The SCMP report does go on to mention what’s really happening:

CEO Belinda Greer explained in a letter to parents that HK$17,300 of the planned increase was due to the loss of the subvention, which started being phased out two years ago and will last for a period of 13 years.

Indeed.  But that HK$17,300 “increase” is something that all parents will have known about when they enrolled their children in an ESF school.  Not a surprise at all. 

The ESF runs 22 international schools for about 17,700 pupils from more than 60 nationalities.

“[The] government subvention will continue for all students in Years Four to 13 in 2018-19,” she said.

“A new fee structure applies to students who joined ESF Year One in August 2016 and August 2017, and to students joining ESF Year One in August 2018.”

For Years One and Two of its primary schools, including the Jockey Club Sarah Roe school, the foundation plans to raise fees from HK$106,500 to HK$111,200. For Years Four to Six, the proposed increase is from HK$89,200 to HK$93,900. For Years Seven to 11 of its secondary schools, including the Jockey Club Sarah Roe school, the foundation plans to raise fees from HK$122,900 to HK$128,400. For Years 12 and 13, the proposed increase is from HK$129,100 to HK$135,000.

Greer told parents: “I want to assure you that our financial planning takes careful account of the need for financial prudence, as well as the impact that any fee increase has on our parents.”

She said the average increase was at the minimum level needed to meet rising costs while maintaining the quality of education.

Oh, and then there are the comments.