2. Pitch Memo 1 Sample

1. “Overseas Duty Visits” by Legislative Councils members

Waterfront planning, columbarium research and fisheries investigations are just some of the overseas fact finding trips conducted by Legislative Council committee members in 2010 on taxpayer dollars. The Overseas Duty Visits made by Hong Kong lawmakers range in focus from culture, democracy and innovation to countries including Japan, Korea and Canada.

These visits are not covered closely by the media, despite the insight they give into the priorities of the Hong Kong government and the international relationships they serve to foster. This piece would cover who takes part in these trips, how much they cost and any trends in the type of visit.

Using reports provided by the Legislative Council, it is possible to see who has attended these trips and the amount budgeted for each visitor on each trip. An interesting aside for this would be the foreign trips members accept from companies or individuals which must be recorded in their interests. However, these trips are few in number and are dominated by flights on new Cathay Pacific routes or new Cathay airplanes.

Clips summary Counting the cost of Shanghai sojourn

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=5&art_id=96924&sid=27720354&con_type=3&d_str=20100415&fc=1

This piece covers the visit by Legco members to the Shanghai Expo, including their method of travel and the price of the trip.

2. Are government departments following their energy reduction pledge? Hong Kong’s addiction to blasting the air conditioning means buildings account for 89% of the territory’s energy use, yet there are no compulsory measures to limit energy use in commercial properties. An energy use building code was applied to commercial buildings in November 2010 but will only apply to new buildings. Since 1998, the code has been applied to government buildings, but to what extent are government departments cutting their electricity consumption?

This issue is newsworthy as the law was passed in November for new buildings but is yet to come fully into force and as we head into summer air conditioning will be cranked up to keep occupants cool.

Departments offer a breakdown of their energy use on their websites in various forms so I would need to apply for a more uniform report of their energy use.

Challenges for this story will include the fact that each department has a number of different buildings with varying square footage. Therefore, the energy use per square foot will have to be taken into account as opposed to simply the department’s total energy usage.

Clips summary Codes for energy use in buildings mandatory

Joyce Ng, 25 November 2010, South China Morning Post

This article explains the introduction of the new building energy codes as well as the areas they cover, public areas, lifts and escalators and air conditioning. It also reports the opposition to the law from legislators, including suggestions that the building trade had not been properly consulted. Since the voluntary code was introduced in 1998, 1,061 buildings, of which 72% are government buildings signed up to the scheme.

Cheap way to cut city's emissions Engineering firm's study offers simple solution to saving energy, meeting carbon targets

Olga Wong, 31 May 2010, South China Morning Post

Engineering firm Arup say that 2.98 million tonnes of carbon could be cut from Hong Kong’s carbon footprint by replacing air conditioning and lighting systems or by using existing systems more effectively. Buildings are currently producing 40% of Hong Kong’s carbon footprint and the article reports that building codes will only reduce that footprint by 0.37 million tonnes per year.

3. Mainland Mothers and pressure placed on Hong Kong hospitals Mainland mothers giving birth in Hong Kong are pushing up the numbers of cesareans carried out in the territory as well as changing the male-female birth ratio. With reports in December that maternity departments are bringing obstetricians out of retirement to relieve staffing problems, how has Hong Kong made changes to cope with the increase in births?

Department of Health statistics will be used to compare the number of maternity and neonatal beds in Hong Kong hospitals from ten years ago to now to see if and how hospitals have adapted to the influx of Mainland mothers. This will also look at the number of registered midwives, nurses and obstetricians, again from Department of Health figures and the hours they work to see if and how this has changed over the past ten years.

There have been a number of stories on how the sheer number of Mainland mothers having babies in Hong Kong to give birth citing numbers such as the increase from 7,180 births in 1999 to 37,523 in 2009, however, a direct look at the capacity available, in terms of infrastructure and staffing has not been assessed.

Clips summary Curbs to stem rise in births to mainlanders sparked rush to Hong Kong He Huifeng, 11 November 2010, South China Morning Post

This article reports that the history of mainland mothers travelling to Hong Kong after Hong Kong courts ruled the children of mainland parents born in the territory had right of abode in 2001, and the jump in births 2003 when mainland residents were allowed to travel on their own.

Maternity crisis plea to private specialists Part-time doctors to be hired after staff exodus Ella Lee 674 words

10 December 2010

South China Morning Post

Reporting the staffing crisis in Hospital Authority maternity wards with calls for retired

obstetricians to return to work, this piece examines the strain on the system caused by an influx of mainland mothers. Overwork is also reportedly driving staff to the private sector where salaries are higher.

4. What’s killing Hong Kong? Following the tragic loss of life during SARS, and then Swine Flu, Hong Kong is on high alert for killer infectious diseases, but 90 people dying from asthma or the 640 people with dementia as the recorded cause of death in 2009 do not cause a ripple. What do the causes of death in Hong Kong say about the general health of the population and the government’s efforts to fight preventable diseases?

The Department of Health offers clear statistics on the causes of death in. These will be used to see if the causes of death seen any dramatic changes over the past ten years and how do these killers compare to rates in the rest of the world. Does Hong Kong’s fast pace of life mean people are dying of heart attacks or other stress-related conditions?

Obtaining the data for this story is quite simple as it is clearly documented by the

Department of Health. However, the 2010 statistics are not currently available online so these may not yet have been published.

Clips summary Warning as deadly flu season hits

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?sid=30953330&art_id=107161&con_type=3&pp_cat=30

This piece issues warnings to the populace against flu with the peak in flu season. The story reports the number of deaths from Swine Flu as well as the expected number of flu outbreaks.

Look out! Hazy days are real killer

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=107252&sid=30976476&con_type=1

Reporting on how hazy days when visibility fell increased the number of non-accidental deaths in Hong Kong. This article uses data from a University of Hong Kong study to show how the haze that hangs over Hong Kong increases the risk of death from heart or respiratory causes.

5. The health of Hong Kong’s police force Following the deaths of two relatively young Hong Kong police officers in January, is the police force sickly and in need of a good rest? Both men who died had were senior officers with one having recently been transferred to a new role and another awaiting transfer.

The force’s sick leave procedures were criticized by the Audit Commission in October for incorrectly recording sick leave falling before or after weekends and holidays. These figures could be examined to see if officers are tacking sick days onto public holidays.

The Audit Commission report says that the average number of sick leave days taken by the police is lower than other civil servants at 4.64 days per year for 2009 but does not give more information than this. A further and more recent breakdown of sick leave would give a better picture of the health of the force, for example the sick leave in relation to rank. An investigation into the kinds of health checks officers must pass would also give more useful information.

In November last year, another Audit Commission report revealed that staff at the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department were taking disproportionately more sick leave than other civil servants.

Medical records for police officers would be difficult to access on an individual basis but the level of sick leave being taken by the force as a whole would be simpler to access.

Clips summary Sergeant, 41, dies after collapsing on patrol in Ma On Shan Country Park 12 January 2011, South China Morning Post

This story reports on the death of a 41-year-old police sergeant who died on patrol at Ma On Shan Country Park. A second death of a police officer is also covered, that of a 39-year-old detective senior inspector who died of a stroke while on leave.

Questions over sick leave taken by food and hygiene staff 278 words

18 November 2010

South China Morning Post

The Audit Commission found that staff from the Food and Environmental Hygiene

Department took an average of 8.85 days of sick leave a year as opposed to the 5.21 day average for other civil servants. The average number of sick days for frontline staff is recorded as 10.16. The department claimed the outdoor and labour-intensive nature of the job accounted for the discrepancy.