It's a Hong Kong phenomenon many people could do without: Cellphone maniacs so attached to their communications gadgets that they can't shut up -- not in a movie, in the library or even in church.
Amid much frustration at the endless ringing and chattering, the Office of Telecommunications said yesterday it may restore silence to some public places by installing mobile-phone jamming systems.
Details aren't yet in place, but many ordinary Hong Kong citizens welcome the idea.
Christine Lam, who works in a trading firm, was caught up in the suspense of the mountain-climbing drama Vertical Limit when the audience was rudely interrupted. "A man behind started talking very loudly on his cellphone, arranging to meet his friend afterward," said Lam, 48. "I find it very disturbing that these people have no regard for others."
Hong Kong's 6.9 million people have more than 5.2 million mobile phones -- more than three phones for every four people -- making it one of the most densely cellular places on the planet.
Perhaps realizing any restrictions could leave numerous mobile users unhappy, telecommunications officials are carrying out a public consultation before deciding on the cellphone jammers.
Jeff Lam, operations manager at a major local chain of movie houses, the UA Cinema Circuit, likes the idea of some regulations ensuring peace for the movie-goers. "The audience should be free from the disruption from other people's phone calls while they are watching a film," Lam said.
His company recently surveyed 6,000 patrons of its eight movie houses but has not yet tabulated the findings.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2