KIDS FINE WITH SEX FOR MONEY
Hong Kong.
Nearly a quarter of Secondary two and three studants in Tseung Kwan O believe sex for money is acceptable,according to a survey.
Conducted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong,the survey of 1,265 junior secondary studants found 4.1 percent thought adolescent prostitution was acceptable,while another 2.6 percent also thought so but would keep it from friends.
Together with 17.3 percent who said they condoned peers engaging in prostitution,some 24 percent took a rether casual attitude toward sex,ELCHK service officer Maggie Cheung Yin-Lei said.
"The mass media seldom mention the consequences of early sexual behavior.studants are not mature enough to have independent thinking skills needed to deal with these situations,"she said.
About 16.5 percent said it was acceptableto have sex without love and other 16.5 percent had no qualms in having more than one partner at a time.
Despite the fact that sex for people under 16 is illegal,14 percent did not think this was an issue.
An overwhelming pecentage of youths still entertained notions of traditonal sexual piety while 30 percent expressed fears of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
The survey found 27 percent saying they had falling in love-42 percent of them doing so in primary school.
'SPIDER MAN' in HONG KONG
French "Spider man"Alain Robert yesterday completed his second assault on the 62-story Cheung Kong center to raise awareness of global warming.
He was publicizing website onehundredmonths.org,which is counting down the dayuntil efforts to rein in global warming pass the point of no return.
The 46-year-old from bourgogne scaled the tower in 40 minutes,watched by thousandsof onlookers and switching between the building's east and north facades just 10 stories from the roof to avoid heavy winds.
Robert said the stant was part of a three-year campaign leading up to the global warming summit in denmark at the end of the year.
He said he would do two-to-three more climbs.
Robert fell into the clutches of security guards at the top of the 283-meter building and was later released.
He previously scaled the far east finance center in 1996,the cheung kong center in 2005 and the four seasons hotel last year.
Robert complimented Hong kong authorities as"much more civilized"compared to those in new york,where he dodged a conviction for trespassing and rekless endangerment last year after he climbed the new york Times building.
POPULATION IN HONG KONG
Hong kong's population has passed the seven million mark.
The number of people living here was 7,008,900 at the end of 2008,up 56,100 or 0.8 percenton the previous year,according to the Cencus and Statistics Department.
The figure included 78,700births,41,300 deaths and 18,700 newcomers,mostly from the mainland.
Births and inflows of one-way permit holders were up to 74 percent year on year at 41,600.
The numbers of births and deaths increased last year.The 78,700births represented a 140 percent year-on-year increase,while the 41,300 deaths were 74 percent more than in 2007.
Hong kong has one of the world's lowest fertility rates,with less than one baby born for every woman of chlid-bearing age.
The population has grown by 211,200 over the pass five years,and the government says it could hit 8.38 million by 2033.
Hong kong university social work and social administration professor Joe Lung Cho-bun urged the government to formulate population policies.
He said most new mainland residents come from lower social strata,while more Hong kong people are moving across the border.
"The overall quality of Hong kong population is deteriorating and cannot cater to the needs of the economy.We need of the comprehensive population policy to maintain our competitiveness in asia,"he said.
BRITAIN STRUGGLES WITH TEENAGE PREGNANCY ISSUE
Britain's youngest father,13-year-old Alfie Patten,has reignited the debate about teenage pregnancyafter his 15-year-old girlfriend gave birth to a daughter .
Alfie,whose voice has not broken,became an unlikely celebrity after the sun revealed he had fathered Maisie Roxanne with Chantelle Steadman.
The boy was 12 and Chantelle 14 when they conceived after a bout of unprotected sex.
the shy Alfie told The sun that he and Chantelle decided against bortion when they found she was pregnant-by then three months-because "i thought it would be good to have a baby."
They kept it a secret for six weeks,fearing thier patrents' reaction.
"we didn't think we would needed help from our parents,"said Chantelle,who lives with unemployed parents Steve,43,and Penny,38and four younger brothers.
"You don't really think about that when you find out you are pregnant.you just think your parents will kill you."
Asked what he would do to support the child financially,Alfie ask in a high-pitchedvoice:"what's financially?"
Still,police and child services officers in Eastbourne,southeast England,said they were offering support to both young people.
The girl was taking birth controlpills but miss one,the sun reported.
Alfie father,Dannis,who has nine childrenand is separated from the boy's mother,Nicola,said his son did not really understand the enormity of his situation.
"When i spoke to him about the pregnancy he started crying.He said it was the first time he'd had sex,that he didn't know what he was doing and of the complications that could come."
Maisie's birth has been greeted by widespread criticisem.Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith said it was a tragic example of Britain's social decline.
As for prime minister Gordon Brown,he said:"i don't know the individual details of the case,but of course I think all of us would want to avoid teenage pregnancies."
Britain has one of highest teen pregnancy rates in europe.about 39,000 girls under age 18 became pregnant in 2006.more than 7,000 were youger than 16.There were 27 birth per 1,000 girls age 15-19 between 2000 and 2005.
Comparable figures are 10 per 1,000for spain,eight in 1,000 in France,and five in 1,000for the Netherlands.
Britain's teens pregnancy rate,however,is far below that of the United States,with 44 births per 1,000 girls age 15-19.It is more in line with countries such as Australia and New Zealand,which respectively have 17 and 27 births per 1,000 girls age 15-19.
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