What’s News In This Story?
–Located right in the middle of a neighborhood, The Open Awareness Buddhist Center has been open and aware for about 15 years.
-Run by Lama Karma Chotso, the center is located in a house in El Portal.
-For dozens of members, it is a place of real refuge.
-It is located right on the banks of The Little River.
-The center started in 1996, when it was located in a Hollywood bungalow.
-A patron gave the group money to purchase the property from a fellow member in 2003.
-According to Lama Chotso, there was some controversy at the time about having a Buddhist Songha in the middle of a residential street- but she was able to win over the neighbors.
-The center offers yoga sessions as well as other Buddhist related activities- including Sunday services.
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This Miami Beach Synagogue Is About To Make History
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Marco Loves Obamacare: Rubio Enrolled Under Government Exchange
To hear him tell it, no one is a bigger critic of Obamacare than Florida Senator and presidential candidate Marco Rubio. Except, that is, when he’s making decisions about his health insurance plan. Rubio campaign staffers confirmed to NBC late Thursday that he continues to accept a $10,000 federal subsidy reserved for congressional members under an… Read More
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This Online Platform Is Revolutionizing Hong Kong Sex Education
By Jessie Pang
The Millennial Intel In This Story:
-Sex education in Hong Kong is woefully inadequate.
-Traditional Hong Kong culture looks down on casual sex, even in committed relationships.
-A 24 year old millennial named Julia Sun Wai-han is using tech to help young Hong Kongers learn about sex and it is working really well.
“Talking about sex should be as comfortable as talking about food but the experience can be quite scary to young people even though it’s good for them,” Julia Sun Wai-han the 24 year old founder of Sticky Rice Love said.
Sticky Rice Love is the food name of a Chinese rice ball dessert that literally means “sugar will not come off” from dumplings made of boiled sticky rice.
But in this context, it is also an online sex education platform for young people in Hong Kong.
“It is [our] hope to remind people that food and sex are both basic human needs and avoiding the awkwardness people usually face when they refer to a sex health educational website”, Sun said in an interview with RISE NEWS.
Sticky Rice Ball’s platform publishes articles about sex and hosts an online forum for young people to discuss sex anonymously.
It has filled a gap in sex education for young people across the island.
Everyone can post a question which they don’t feel comfortable to ask about on the forum and will receive a prompt reply or advice from volunteers who have received proper sex health training.
A look at the website of Sticky Rice Love. (Screen grab)
Sun’s idea was inspired by her experience as a teaching assistant in a local high school to start the platform.
“Sex education in Hong Kong is really inadequate and lagging behind. Apart from a lack of school hours, resources and the right people to teach students about sex, most people usually hold a traditional and negative view towards sex,” Sun said. “For instance, the best way to avoid pregnancy is to avoid having sex, which is impossible for people in a relationship. Such education has tremendous consequences on the young people. Some still find it uncomfortable to have sex after marriage. Hence, I decided to do something to change it,” Sun said.
Read More: Hong Kong Slut Walk Draws Many In Effort To Rid City Of Sexual Assault
Seeing there’s no need for people to meet face to face and the set-up cost is low, Sun found that the Internet is a perfect place to realize her dream.
At first, she was frightened that she might faced viral opposition as people were not familiar with her mission: empowering the youth to make their own choice on sex and relationships.
“Our role is neutral. We are not telling them what’s right or wrong but simply offering them comprehensive information they need and want to know about. It can be quite vague and controversial to some people,” says Sun.
To her surprise, there was overwhelming support from the public and the mainstream media interviewed her about the venture.
A couple enjoying the movie “An Autumn’s Tale” in the Clear Water Bay Film Studio.
Photo: Goooood SecretsThe platform also holds some offline activities, such as visits to some local sex toys shops and co-organized screenings of an X-rated movie to several hundreds people at the Clear Water Bay Film Studio, which is rarely open to the public with Goooood Secrets.
“Both online and offline sex education have advantages,” Sun said. “It’s not about online or offline but more about how you do it.”
Despite the success of the platform, Sun still wants to do more but long-term financial resources remain as a problem.
Read More: Hong Kong Is Already More Independent Than Any EU Country
“I really hope to design interactive online courses on sex education for young people to dig into the topics they are interested in, but it’s hard to do fund-raising as people are not confident in a youth- led organization,” Sun said. “They prefer to back adults or experts more.”
Yet, Sun remains optimistic as the society becomes more and more receptive to the idea of promoting sex education.
For instance, sex secret groups are very popular among high schools and universities and everyone changed their Facebook profile picture to rainbow color watermark to show their support to the legalization of same sex marriage in USA.
“It’s hopeful that young people won’t need our platform and can talk about sex as freely as it should be in the coming future,” Sun said.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
You can also like our RISE NEWS Hong Kong Facebook page to stay engaged with our local coverage.
Cover Photo Credit: Jessie Pang
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Hong Kong Slut Walk Draws Many In Effort To Rid City Of Sexual Assault
By Paulus Choy
HONG KONG- “Slut walk” was held for the fifth time at Chater Garden in Central this Sunday, with protesters expressing concerns over recent sexual assaults in Hong Kong.
This event originated from Toronto, where a police officer said women should dress less “slutty” to avoid sexual crimes, sparking outcries and subsequent protests, according to the Hong Kong Slut Walk’s website.
Protests turned into a global movement, with Slut Walks happening in several places including Germany, Korea and now Hong Kong.
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America’s very controversial personality Amber Rose, also organised her own Slut Walk, which occurred on 1st October this year.
The movement encouraged participants to dress in a provocative way, rebelling against social expectations and condemning gender violence on women.
Hong Kong’s Slut Walk organisers Sally Tang and Angie Ng discussed about gender violence before the march began, they talked about recent sexual assaults against women, they pleaded for societal and legal changes to better protect the rights of women.
Read More: Hong Kong Is Already More Independent Than Any EU Country
They talked about a rape case involving an owner of a nursing home and a mentally-challenged girl, as the girl’s evidence was accepted by the Court, the owner was later acquitted.
Another case they talked about was a pub owner who drugged a girl and allegedly raped her.
He was sentenced to 240 hours of community service, as the judge found him to have an entrepreneurial mind and does not wish to harm his future.
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Different concern groups came forth to give speeches, including migrant worker association Gabriella, and several political party-affiliated groups.
The protesters convened at around two in Chater Garden at Central, and started marching towards the High Court, ending their demonstration at Lan Kuai Fong district, which was a famous bar and clubbing spot for Hong Kongers.
Protesters shouted out pleads during their march, yelling out “my body my choice”,” my dress is not a yes.” and other slogans to express their concerns, which were also shown on their banners.
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People of different races and nationalities came out to support: there was an Irish student, who talked about how women in Ireland is stripped of their rights to abortion; there was another student from the US, who came here to support the movement.
There were speeches as well as live performances throughout the protest; a group of students performed a poem in front of the High Court, some even painted pleads on their bodies, to express their anger.
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There were roughly around a hundred people marching through Central.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
You can also like our RISE NEWS Hong Kong Facebook page to stay engaged with our local coverage.
Photo Credits: Paulus Choy
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