Hong Kong is gonna introduce a real-name system for phone numbers. Under the new policy, anyone buying a new SIM card must give their Chinese name and English name, copies of their ID card and their date of birth. Users registered anonymously before the policy takes effect will have one year buffer period to supply the missing information and after that phone numbers without real-name information will be cancelled. Offenders will be subject to fines up to $1 million and those providing false information face up to 14 years in jail. Each user can only register a maximum of three phone numbers with each telecom service provider and those under the age of 16 must register with a parent or a guardian. Critics slam the move as a further clampdown on the public freedom, privacy and security. The government insists that it’s a part of the global trend to combat crimes with anonymous phone number use and is in line with similar reforms introduced by 155 countries and regions around the world.[Audio]

Hong Kong is gonna introduce a real-name system for phone numbers. Under the new policy, anyone buying a new SIM card must give their Chinese name and English name, copies of their ID card and their date of birth. Users registered anonymously before the policy takes effect will have one year buffer period to supply the missing information and after that phone numbers without real-name information will be cancelled. Offenders will be subject to fines up to $1 million and those providing false information face up to 14 years in jail. Each user can only register a maximum of three phone numbers with each telecom service provider and those under the age of 16 must register with a parent or a guardian. Critics slam the move as a further clampdown on the public freedom, privacy and security. The government insists that it’s a part of the global trend to combat crimes with anonymous phone number use and is in line with similar reforms introduced by 155 countries and regions around the world.[Audio]

Recently, cases of COVID-19 here have been surging again. The government has conducted sweeps, as well as several abrupt lockdowns of some residential areas where many cases of it had earlier been found. In fact, just yesterday morning, an entire apartment building was suddenly placed in lockdown, and all the residents had to undergo compulsory testing. Afterwards, the results were released, and it turned out that all the people who had been tested were negative. In reaction, some medical specialists have heavily criticized the government for not only wasting the taxpayers' money, but also wasting the residents’ time.[Audio]

Hi I am Jeff from Hong Kong and a serious English learner. Please leave me a message if you really want to find a language partner.

It’s sunny and cloudy today. The sky is full of gray clouds. It is perfect to go to beach. The weather changes all the time. As it’s hard to get such a good day, I enjoy outside with my family. +-+

It’s Saturday today. I am very happy for no need to get up early and being able to go run or play ball. As Chinese New Year approaches, I am not that motivated to work. Have a nice weekend, everybody!