關於 economic condition ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

0706紐約時報

*【Covid-19實時更新】
#盧森堡首相Xavier Bettel因血氧濃度低而住院，病情“嚴重”，但狀態穩定。Xavier Bettel在上個月底參加歐盟峰會後不到 10天，即出現感染症狀被送往醫院。
#英格蘭計畫解除絕大多數疫情限制。英國首相強森表示，英格蘭將很有可能在7月19日取消與疫情有關的絕大多數限制。蘇格蘭、威爾斯和北愛爾蘭將分別行動，但時間線將基本一致。根據時報資料庫，英國是當前全球疫苗接種比例最高的國家之一，至少有一半英國人已經完成接種，在英格蘭，86%的成年人至少注射過一劑。與此同時，該國周日報告了2.4萬宗新病例，是自今年2月初以來的最高值，但住院和死亡人數保持穩定。
#德國將葡萄牙、英國、俄羅斯、印度和尼泊爾從被評為旅行風險最高的國家名單中刪除，以促進旅遊業，解除令於週三生效。
#數百名義大利醫療工作者控告當地衛生當局，因他們拒絕施打Covid-19疫苗而被停職。
#拜登總統週日表示，接種冠狀病毒疫苗是美國人可以做的“最愛國的事情”。在對參加白宮南草坪七月四日派對並在全國播出的人群發表講話時，他說美國正在走出大流行的黑暗，但強調尚未完全清除它。
#在義大利拉齊奧地區（包括羅馬）衛生當局組織的一項接種工作中，近 900 人利用夜間疫苗接種活動替“社會邊緣、最脆弱的人群”接種疫苗。
#大都會歌劇院與舞台工作人員就大流行病的薪酬達成協議。
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/05/world/covid-19-vaccine-coronavirus-updates?type=styln-live-updates&label=coronavirus%20updates&index=0&action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage#luxembourgs-prime-minister-is-hospitalized-in-serious-condition-with-low-blood-oxygen-levels

*【美國互聯網巨頭聯合致信香港政府：修訂資料安全法將考慮退出香港】
此前當局提議修改《個人資料（私隱）條例》，以打擊2019年抗議運動中對員警的人肉搜索行為。總部位於新加坡的亞洲互聯網聯盟代表蘋果、亞馬遜、穀歌和Facebook等公司表示，新規將“嚴重危及言論和通訊自由”，並使科技公司員工面臨法律風險，而免受懲罰的“唯一辦法是避免在香港投資和提供服務”。
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/05/technology/hong-kong-doxxing-national-security-law.html

*【中國打壓滴滴提醒是北京掌權】
從投資者寵兒到政府整治目標，滴滴事件說明瞭什麼？自滴滴赴美上市後，北京先是叫停了該軟體的新使用者註冊，隨後又勒令其從應用商店下架。另外兩家近期在美國上市的公司旗下的軟體也同樣面臨網路安全審查。這場監管閃電戰的最新戰線燒向了隱私和網路安全，但它背後的資訊很明確：政府有權監管企業，不管你在哪運營、在哪上市。
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/05/technology/china-didi-crackdown.html

*【技術冷戰中，中國得不到的“最複雜機器” 】
一家荷蘭公司製造的巨型機器被認為是生產最先進的晶片所必需的，業內判斷中國至少需要10年才能自主製造類似機器。特朗普政府已成功遊說荷蘭限制向中國出口該設備。
https://cn.nytimes.com/technology/20210705/tech-cold-war-chips/

*【觀點：中國已經崛起，與它競爭也許是件好事】
紐約時報編委會成員Farah Stockman寫道，與其將同中國的競爭視為一場零和遊戲，美國可以採取一種競爭方式，激勵我們對我們的人民進行投資，而這本來是我們一直應該做的。
https://cn.nytimes.com/opinion/20210705/china-us-competition/

*【日本熱海土石流已造成四人死亡，仍有超過80人失聯】
這個位於富士山附近的溫泉度假小鎮上週末遭遇創紀錄降雨，72小時內降雨量達到7月降雨量均值的170%，隨後爆發山體滑坡，100多座房屋被摧毀。視頻顯示，土石流沖入街道，汽車像玩具一樣被撞開，人們驚惶地尋求庇護所。當局表示，正在考慮公佈仍下落不明的數十人的名單，以確定他們是否受困。
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/05/world/asia/atami-japan-mudslide.html

*【黎巴嫩經濟危機惡化，貨幣貶值90%】
在貝魯特港口大爆炸和新冠大流行的雙重夾擊下，該國經濟危機進一步加深，糧食和藥品陷入短缺，失業率飆升。世界銀行指出，黎巴嫩的金融危機可能是19世紀中期以來世界上最嚴重的三次危機之一。
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/05/world/middleeast/lebanon-economic-crisis.html

*【特斯拉稱，自動駕駛儀使汽車更安全，但車禍受害者指責其有致命危險】
加州有民眾控訴，因特斯拉撞上皮卡，讓他們失去了15歲的兒子，他們提告特斯拉，聲稱該公司的自動駕駛系統該負擔部分責任。
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/05/business/tesla-autopilot-lawsuits-safety.html

*【美國的野火有多嚴重？就連夏威夷也在與災難搏鬥】
夏威夷可能擁有熱帶森林，使部分島嶼成為地球上最潮濕的地方，但它也越來越容易受到野火的影響。大雨促進了牧草大批生長，而乾燥炎熱的夏季使它們非常易燃。類似於美國西部，最近幾週發生了數十場大火，而且由於極端天氣模式和氣候變化，多年來火災季節變得更糟，今年夏天，大約三分之二的夏威夷面臨著異常乾燥的條件。最近的一些火災，特別是在大島和毛伊島，摧毀了約 10,000 英畝的地區。
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/05/us/wildfires-hawaii-drought.html

*【佛羅里達州部分倒塌的公寓樓的殘存部分將爆破拆除後恢復搜索】
佛羅里達州瑟夫賽德倒塌公寓現場又發現了四具屍體，救援人員在大樓的其餘部分被拆除後重新開始搜索，目前死亡人數達到28人。邁阿密-戴德縣縣長Daniella Levine Cava稱進入第12天的行動為“救援”，而非“恢復”，希望能找到生還者，不過目前沒有好消息。週日晚些時候，拆除專家在部分倒塌的公寓內進行內爆處理，因為擔心殘留部分的架構不穩定，可能會在熱帶風暴推進的強風下倒塌，週六暫停工作的搜救人員，再度獲准在坍塌現場進行搜救工作，還有許多痛苦的家庭，仍在等待100多名失踪者的下落。
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/05/us/miami-building-collapse-update

*【一架載有96人的菲律賓軍機墜毀】
菲律賓官員說，一架載有96名士兵和機組人員的菲律賓空軍飛機周日在南部約洛島墜毀。至少50人喪生，其中包括3名地面平民，救援人員擔心死亡人數恐會攀升。
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/04/world/asia/philippines-plane-crash.html

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底下👍點讚 + 🔗分享 + ✏留言
#邊學英文邊抽世界明信片

📰 Myanmar coup: 'Evidence' live bullets used against protesters, says UN envoy

🀄 緬甸政變：聯合國特使說，“證據”實彈用於抗議者

Myanmar's security forces have been using live ammunition against anti-coup protesters in breach of international law, the UN human rights envoy says.

📌 這篇文章關於緬甸政變Myanmar coup的新聞，根據聯合國人權使節 the UN human rights envoy，該國的保安部隊 security forces 對反對政變的示威者 (anti-coup protesters) 使用實彈 live ammunition，這是違法國際法 (in breach of international law)。

Speaking at an emergency meeting in Geneva, Thomas Andrews condemned the leaders of the coup and said there were "growing reports and photographic evidence" of wrongdoing.
He called for economic sanctions and a ban on weapons exports to the country.

📌 那位使節譴責 condemn 政變領袖並要求 (call for) 經濟制裁 (economic sanctions) 和武器出口禁令 (ban on weapons exports)。

Protests continued on Friday in defiance of a plea from the army chief. Gen Min Aung Hlaing called for "unity" to prevent "disintegration" as the country marks the Union Day holiday. Demonstrators are demanding the release of detained elected leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

📌 上週五，抗議活動繼續進行，無視 (in defiance of) 陸軍參謀長的呼籲。昂敏·赫林將軍呼籲“團結”，以防止“瓦解” (disintegration)，因為該國是聯合紀念日假期。示威者要求釋放包括昂山素季在內的被拘留的民選領導人。

During Friday's emergency meeting, Mr Andrews - the United Nations human rights investigator for Myanmar - said while investigators have been denied access to Myanmar, there was growing evidence that live ammunition had been used against protesters.

📌 在星期五的緊急會議上，聯合國緬甸人權調查員安德魯斯先生說，雖然調查人員被拒絕進入緬甸，但越來越多的證據表明，實彈已被用於抗議者。

Mr Andrews said the people of Myanmar had invested their hope in the UN, and needed more than a statement on paper. He called on the UN - through the security council - to consider economic sanctions against Myanmar, a ban on arms exports, and a travel ban on military leaders.

📌 安德魯斯先生說，緬甸人民對聯合國投入(invest)了希望，不僅需要紙上聲明 (statement)。他呼籲聯合國-通過安理會-考慮對緬甸進行經濟制裁，禁止武器出口，以及禁止軍事領導人旅行。

Earlier this week, 19-year-old Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing was shot in the head and seriously injured when police tried to disperse protesters using water cannon, rubber bullets and live rounds.
She remains on a ventilator in hospital in a critical condition. The wound was consistent with one from live ammunition, rights groups said.

📌 本週早些時候，當警察試圖使用水槍，橡皮子彈和實彈驅散抗議者時，19歲的Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing 頭部被槍打致重傷。
她處於危急狀態，仍在醫院的呼吸機上。人權組織說，傷口與實彈的傷口一致(consistent)。

The UN calls for sanctions came as protests continued on Union Day, with reports of rubber bullets fired by police in Mawlamine.
On Thursday, in a TV address to the nation, Gen Hlaing said those protesting had been "incited" and again asked them to work for the country without "focusing on the emotion".

📌 聯合國呼籲制裁的呼籲是在聯合日抗議活動繼續進行的時候發生的，有報導說警察在毛拉敏省發射了橡皮子彈。
星期四，赫林將軍在全國電視講話中說，那些抗議活動是“被煽動的”(incited)，並再次要求他們為該國工作而不必“集中精力” (focus on the emotion)。

The military marked Union Day by granting amnesty to, and ordering the release of, more than 23,000 prisoners, including 55 foreigners. Mass pardons are common on national days, often to reduce numbers in overcrowded prisons.

📌 軍方通過大赦並命令釋放23,000多名囚犯，其中包括55名外國人，來紀念“聯合日”。大規模赦免在國慶節很普遍，通常是為了減少人滿為患 (overcrowded) 的監獄的人數。

Union Day celebrates the signing in 1947 of an agreement between the government under Ms Suu Kyi's father, Aung San, and the Shan, Kachin and Chin people that marked the unification of the republic.
A student activist in Mandalay, Tayzar San, told the BBC he feared the prisoners were being released to attack protesters.

📌 工會紀念日慶祝1947年Suu Kyi女士的父親昂山 (Aung San) 領導下的政府與標誌著共和國統一的Shan邦，克欽邦和欽邦人之間簽署協議。曼德勒的一名學生活動家Tayzar San告訴英國廣播公司(BBC)，他擔心囚犯會被釋放以襲擊示威者。

"The people have a very bad precedent. In 1988, the military junta released the pro-military prisoners and they disturbed our people's peaceful demonstrations," he said.

The crackdown on the 1988 pro-democracy uprising is believed to have left thousands dead.

📌他說：“人民有一個非常糟糕的先例。1988年，軍政府釋放了親軍囚犯，他們打擾了我們人民的和平示威。”

據信，對1988年民主運動的鎮壓使數千人喪生。

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📮Ching Ching
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今早為Asian Medical Students Association Hong Kong (AMSAHK)的新一屆執行委員會就職典禮作致詞分享嘉賓，題目為「疫情中的健康不公平」。
感謝他們的熱情款待以及為整段致詞拍了影片。以下我附上致詞的英文原稿：

It's been my honor to be invited to give the closing remarks for the Inauguration Ceremony for the incoming executive committee of the Asian Medical Students' Association Hong Kong (AMSAHK) this morning. A video has been taken for the remarks I made regarding health inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic (big thanks to the student who withstood the soreness of her arm for holding the camera up for 15 minutes straight), and here's the transcript of the main body of the speech that goes with this video:

//The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, continues to be rampant around the world since early 2020, resulting in more than 55 million cases and 1.3 million deaths worldwide as of today. (So no! It’s not a hoax for those conspiracy theorists out there!) A higher rate of incidence and deaths, as well as worse health-related quality of life have been widely observed in the socially disadvantaged groups, including people of lower socioeconomic position, older persons, migrants, ethnic minority and communities of color, etc. While epidemiologists and scientists around the world are dedicated in gathering scientific evidence on the specific causes and determinants of the health inequalities observed in different countries and regions, we can apply the Social Determinants of Health Conceptual Framework developed by the World Health Organization team led by the eminent Prof Sir Michael Marmot, world’s leading social epidemiologist, to understand and delineate these social determinants of health inequalities related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to this framework, social determinants of health can be largely categorized into two types – 1) the lower stream, intermediary determinants, and 2) the upper stream, structural and macro-environmental determinants. For the COVID-19 pandemic, we realized that the lower stream factors may include material circumstances, such as people’s living and working conditions. For instance, the nature of the occupations of these people of lower socioeconomic position tends to require them to travel outside to work, i.e., they cannot work from home, which is a luxury for people who can afford to do it. This lack of choice in the location of occupation may expose them to greater risk of infection through more transportation and interactions with strangers. We have also seen infection clusters among crowded places like elderly homes, public housing estates, and boarding houses for foreign domestic helpers. Moreover, these socially disadvantaged people tend to have lower financial and social capital – it can be observed that they were more likely to be deprived of personal protective equipment like face masks and hand sanitizers, especially during the earlier days of the pandemic. On the other hand, the upper stream, structural determinants of health may include policies related to public health, education, macroeconomics, social protection and welfare, as well as our governance… and last, but not least, our culture and values. If the socioeconomic and political contexts are not favorable to the socially disadvantaged, their health and well-being will be disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Therefore, if we, as a society, espouse to address and reduce the problem of health inequalities, social determinants of health cannot be overlooked in devising and designing any public health-related strategies, measures and policies.

Although a higher rate of incidence and deaths have been widely observed in the socially disadvantaged groups, especially in countries with severe COVID-19 outbreaks, this phenomenon seems to be less discussed and less covered by media in Hong Kong, where the disease incidence is relatively low when compared with other countries around the world. Before the resurgence of local cases in early July, local spread of COVID-19 was sporadic and most cases were imported. In the earlier days of the pandemic, most cases were primarily imported by travelers and return-students studying overseas, leading to a minor surge between mid-March and mid-April of 874 new cases. Most of these cases during Spring were people who could afford to travel and study abroad, and thus tended to be more well-off. Therefore, some would say the expected social gradient in health impact did not seem to exist in Hong Kong, but may I remind you that, it is only the case when we focus on COVID-19-specific incidence and mortality alone. But can we really deduce from this that COVID-19-related health inequality does not exist in Hong Kong? According to the Social Determinants of Health Framework mentioned earlier, the obvious answer is “No, of course not.” And here’s why…

In addition to the direct disease burden, the COVID-19 outbreak and its associated containment measures (such as economic lockdown, mandatory social distancing, and change of work arrangements) could have unequal wider socioeconomic impacts on the general population, especially in regions with pervasive existing social inequalities. Given the limited resources and capacity of the socioeconomically disadvantaged to respond to emergency and adverse events, their general health and well-being are likely to be unduly and inordinately affected by the abrupt changes in their daily economic and social conditions, like job loss and insecurity, brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak and the corresponding containment and mitigation measures of which the main purpose was supposedly disease prevention and health protection at the first place. As such, focusing only on COVID-19 incidence or mortality as the outcomes of concern to address health inequalities may leave out important aspects of life that contributes significantly to people’s health. Recently, my research team and I collaborated with Sir Michael Marmot in a Hong Kong study, and found that the poor people in Hong Kong fared worse in every aspects of life than their richer counterparts in terms of economic activity, personal protective equipment, personal hygiene practice, as well as well-being and health after the COVID-19 outbreak. We also found that part of the observed health inequality can be attributed to the pandemic and its related containment measures via people’s concerns over their own and their families’ livelihood and economic activity. In other words, health inequalities were contributed by the pandemic even in a city where incidence is relatively low through other social determinants of health that directly concerned the livelihood and economic activity of the people. So in this study, we confirmed that focusing only on the incident and death cases as the outcomes of concern to address health inequalities is like a story half-told, and would severely truncate and distort the reality.

Truth be told, health inequality does not only appear after the pandemic outbreak of COVID-19, it is a pre-existing condition in countries and regions around the world, including Hong Kong. My research over the years have consistently shown that people in lower socioeconomic position tend to have worse physical and mental health status. Nevertheless, precisely because health inequality is nothing new, there are always voices in our society trying to dismiss the problem, arguing that it is only natural to have wealth inequality in any capitalistic society. However, in reckoning with health inequalities, we need to go beyond just figuring out the disparities or differences in health status between the poor and the rich, and we need to raise an ethically relevant question: are these inequalities, disparities and differences remediable? Can they be fixed? Can we do something about them? If they are remediable, and we can do something about them but we haven’t, then we’d say these inequalities are ultimately unjust and unfair. In other words, a society that prides itself in pursuing justice must, and I say must, strive to address and reduce these unfair health inequalities. Borrowing the words from famed sociologist Judith Butler, “the virus alone does not discriminate,” but “social and economic inequality will make sure that it does.” With COVID-19, we learn that it is not only the individuals who are sick, but our society. And it’s time we do something about it.

Thank you very much!//

Please join me in congratulating the incoming executive committee of AMSAHK and giving them the best wishes for their future endeavor!

Roger Chung, PhD
Assistant Professor, CUHK JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, @CUHK Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong 香港中文大學 - CUHK
Associate Director, CUHK Institute of Health Equity

Can you imagine the life of Salad Mom owning more than 230 dogs and 30 cats under her own animal shelter? This short documentary video gives you a brief understanding of MCCC, which registered as an NGO in 2018. MCCC are facing undue economic pressure. Not only the financial burden, but also the worsen health condition of the owner.