PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

The inaugural ceremony is the most special moment to me; unexpectedly, in this special moment, there is a picture in my heart. The picture has shown me that I was inside the bus and refused to give up the seat to another person. Maybe I am just a selfish man…or maybe not, when the background of the picture was not today; but was on December 1st, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, the United States. There was a 42-year-old black woman who refused to obey bus driver's order to give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger. In 1955, She knew her refusal was illegal—she knew she was

Happy New Lunar Year! & Thank you for coming to witness 2014 JCI East Kowloon board of directors' Inaugural Ceremony on 19th of January, 2014.

CHANNEL EXPRESS 2014 ISSUE2

helpless and would be isolated by the mass because of her action. Anyway, she chose to take a chance to follow her heart and to follow her dream. Today is 59 years after the picture happened, the world was changed for her adventure; in America, the black and the white people can have the balance right not only in the bus but also in their normal life.

To somebody, “Take a chance, make your change” is just a slogan forever; to me, I would like to use my whole life to prove it and to learn it. I believe It is the voice from my heart, from my life and from my soul. I am grateful I have a chance to share it to you all in 2014. Thank you.

Pong Yau, 2014 President

Mission, vision & values.

Learn more about what drives us

(http://www.ekjc.org/aboutjci/missionandvision.php)

Contact JCI East Kowloon

(http://www.ekjc.org/contactus/index.php)

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African-American civil rights activist, whom theUnited States Congress called "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement".

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African-American seamstress, refused to give up her seat to a white man while riding on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. For doing this, Rosa Parks was arrested and fined for breaking the laws of segregation. Rosa Parks' refusal to leave her seat sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and is considered the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005)

monthly e-newsletter about Chance & Change

TAKE A CHANCE ON COMMUNITY CARING

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL AND FAMILY VALUE

Thanks to Prof. Shek’s speech, we got the concept of the social capital which can be developed by our family relationship. The social capital directly affects the social structure and the behavior of each citizen. The message has shown us that promoting the family value in our city is same as building up the social capital in our sociality.

“Family Harmony” is the flagship community development project of Junior Chamber International East Kowloon launched in 2005. We believe that family education is vital for social stability; more important is for the wellness of humanity.

We will continue to promote the values, ethics and individual responsibility needed for family harmony in 2014. Family Harmony 2014will focus on the social problem of poverty families and their children in Hong Kong.

JCI EAST KOWLOON FLAGSHIP PROJECT “FAMILY HARMONY”

Project Objective

1. To emphasize the importance of family harmony on social stability

2. To educate the public on the important effect of harmonious family on individual development, including children development and couple relationship

3. To promote family core values

4. To enhance communication among family members in dealing with conflict and gaining mutual understanding

5. To improve family relationship

Want to know more about “Family Harmony”?

(http://www.ekjc.org/aboutjcieastkowloon/projecthighlights.php)

FAMILY ISSUE IN TAIWAN

✦ Family structure is changed because of the population structure changing in Taiwan.

✦ Like most Western countries, population aging is under way in Taiwan primarily due to low fertility and a prolonged life span.

✦ Divorce rate of marriage is increasing.

✦ the age difference between parents and their child is increasing.

✦ The change of economic pattern brings up another family issue as less family gathering time.

FA M I LY I S S U E I N H O N G K O N G : PHUBBING

In Hong Kong, We may see the same scene everywhere: in subway, restaurants, elevators, roads, people are watching their mobile phones. Sadly, in each family reunion, people still c o u l d n ' t s t o p checking their twitter, WeChat, facebook on the mobile phone and snubbing the persons in front completely. Phubbing trends not only to involve the young people, but also the elderly and kids. The phubbing problem has shown us that the quality of family gathering time is poor; family is less communication even if they are in gathering."Phubbing" is a newly coined term which comes from the words "phone" and "snub". It describes the habit of snubbing someone in favor of a mobile phone. The word "phubbing" was included in the Australian National Dictionary in 2012. Apparently, the indifference and rudeness of the information age are spreading globally.

Junior Chamber International Sike, Taiwan

SISTER CHAPTERS’ EXCHANGE FORUM 2014

TOPIC: GLOBAL CHINESE FAMILY ISSUEJunior Chamber International East Kowloon, Hong Kong

Mandarin Junior Chamber, Singapore How do we determine if children are in poverty? Is it when they are not able to afford what an average in their country can? ‘Poverty’; do we refer to children who have no money to even meet their daily needs or do we refer to those who are not able to fulfill their desirables to be the same as their peers?

Different countries, cities and states have their different standards of living. As such, children from developed countries are much more fortunate if they compare themselves to children from developing countries, where people literally fight to ensure they don’t starve. How do we compare our children who sulk over not having an iPhone for Christmas or Birthday as a present to those who fight to survive?

Do you know how much it cost to raise a child up to Secondary School in Singapore? Yahoo Finance has done a research in 2013 and determined the average cost to be SGD276,400.00. But, how many people globally can afford this? Material needs takes up 20% and Childcare & Education takes up 45% of the total cost.

Thankfully, our Singapore government provides subsidies for children’s education, parents are given cash gift and childcare leave for having children, and mothers are given up to 4 months maternity leave to spend time with their newborn and fathers are given paternity leaves too. These are the efforts of our government to encourage parents in fulfilling the children’s needs ad comfort, whilst minimizing the impact on their financial while spending

time with their love ones. With this much support, why do children still feel poor? Sadly, parents are too indulge in meeting the material needs and keeping up with the standards of living, often neglecting the love, care and concern that children requires.

However, there are still people who are lowly educated that forms part of the low income families. Due to the

high living standards of Singapore, children from the low income family suffers badly. When the average standards increase over the years, our government’s threshold for low income remains stagnant. Many families that should be considered in poverty are missing out on assistance.

This comes extremely important when children from low income families falls sick and requires medical treatment. Being well known for medical, Singapore’s medical bills are exorbitant. The subsidies are often insufficient and the sick child definitely requires more care and attention, draining parents off their energy and wealth. It hurts to see children in poverty suffering from bad health and parents giving up on them with no choice.

Globally, the worst of children in poverty should be those with no food to eat, who are malnutrition, with no clean water to drink and no clothes to wear. Fortunately, these will never happen in Singapore. Nonetheless, if

children from developed countries can share more of what they have with those from developing countries and children from well to do families can share a portion of what they have with those who are poorer, it will definitely make this whole world a better place.

JC Kenny Tong 童仅龙 青商2014 PresidentMandarin Junior Chamber, Singapore新加坡文华国际青年商会

A quote to share: “Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness; it has no taste.”

 ― Charlotte Brontë

Family  issue    in  Singapore  :  Children  “Poverty”  Problem

THANKS TO OC TEAM

THANKS TO PROJECT CHAIRMAN

Thank you for your support for 2014 Inaugural ceremony again. on the other hand, without the engagement of Chairman Maggie Hung and her Organizing Committee team, this event would not have been possible.

I would like to pay special thanks to them. They've devoted a lot of time to make this event fantastic, They are:

Project Chairman Maggie Hung

OC, Joanne Cheung (Her handmade cookie are wonderful!)

OC, Benjamin Tang

OC, Stanley Chan

I would also like to thank Supervising Officer Iris Lam and Adviser Past President Karlene Chan for their guidance.

Great! Chairman Maggie! She leaded her team to overcome all obstacles and made a great event!

Upcoming Events

JCI ACHIEVE - 9-FEB-2014 (SUN)

WELCOME TO JOIN JCI EAST KOWLOON The benefits of membership in JCI East Kowloon are endless. Whether your goals are to extend your network of contacts, build new business opportunities and personal skills, increase community involvement, form new friendships, or join meetings and travel internationally, JCI East Kowloon has it all. It’s up to you as to the degree of involvement you want to commit to. That being said, like anything in life—what you put in is what you get out. So get involved and see for yourself.

Ready to get in on the action? Apply now for membership and join the network of active young citizens in JCI East Kowloon. (http://www.ekjc.org/joinus/index.php)

3 DRAGON BONANZA OF 2014 - 8-FEB-2014 (SAT)