英文報紙急!!!!!!!!!!急!!!急!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hong Kong gets rewired as it sees out 2006

Jonathan Cheng

Monday, January 01, 2007

Hundreds of thousands of revelers packed Hong Kong's neon-lit districts Sunday night to usher in the new year and to send off 2006 which will be best remembered for a scuttled sales tax, a skyline hazy with smog, a series of stock market highs and a do-it-yourself video that seemed to take on a life of its own on the Internet.
The new year will be one marked by a chief executive election, a 10th anniversary of epic proportions for the SAR, and - effective from the stroke of midnight today - a new law to ban smoking in most public places including restaurants and bars.

All across the city, local residents and overseas visitors mingled at countdown events, from the harborfront promenade in Tsim Sha Tsui and the restaurant-laden streets of Lan Kwai Fong to Hong Kong Disneyland and the shopping malls of Kwun Tong, Tai Koo and Sheung Shui.

Kenneth Ngai Kam-fai who celebrated the new year by partying with friends, said he hoped the new year would bring further steps towards democracy. "Only then will Hong Kong realize its full potential as Asia's world city," he said.

Long-distance telephone systems, already hard-pressed to handle network traffic on one of the busiest nights on the calendar, were further strained by last week's earthquake in Taiwan, which temporarily knocked out online and long- distance telecommunications connections throughout the region.

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority said Sunday services for long-distance and roaming calls to and from Hong Kong are "almost back to normal." But it noted overseas calls using calling cards were "very congested" and warned delays in delivering international text messages were inevitable. OFTA also said while Internet services had improved "most users will continue to experience slow access."

OFTA also reported two repair ships had arrived at the scene of the breach in the data cable, but that one of the ships had experienced a "major fault" and was "under urgent repair" - a process that will take about a week.

The first phase of the system repair will be completed around January 16, OFTA said, while the other damaged cables will be repaired progressively throughout January.

The telecommunication shutdown did not seem to put much of a damper on festivities within the city, however. Police officers dispatched to the busier areas in the territory like Causeway Bay were directing crowds by the late afternoon, all the while reminding partygoers to maintain order and keep public places clean while celebrating.

In particular, the government warned people to "take care" when heading to the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade. That area, a favorite for tourists looking for a perfect view of the skyline, can become notoriously crowded on special occasions.

But the new year's mood was not celebratory everywhere. Some pro-democracy activists used the milestone to remember a number of mainland lawyers whose imprisonment on the mainland made them a human rights cause in 2006.

Lawmaker and Democratic Party chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan, one of the activists, led a 24-hour hunger strike beginning at noon on Sunday to call for their freedom, saying tactics used by mainland law enforcers to convict these lawyers were "worrying."

In all, 41 activists took part in the hunger strike, including regulars like "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung, Koo Sze-yiu and Lee Cheuk-yan.

Lee, a unionist lawmaker, went on Radio- Television Hong Kong on Sunday morning to present his wish list for the new year: a pay hike for low-income earners; a better balance between work and leisure time; a fair tax regime and a more democratic government.

I celebrated the last night of 2006 in a special party at Time square,Causeway bay of Hong Kong. During the countdown, the crowds were roaring and ready with party pop up in their hands. I also held one in my hand but guess what happened when the clock stricked twelve?

The party ended quite early at just 1am, and surprisingly i found an Singapore expatriate within the crowd and we bonded quite easily.

Party with champagne, food, and lots of shouting made me wake up to the New Year of 2007 with a sore throat this morning.

Of course this is also a season to be with your loved ones too.So i made a call back home early 2007 and wished my parents Happy New Year 2007. They spent New Years eve at home and was watching the countdown TV special programme until 2007 is arrive.

2007-01-01 20:05:52 補充：
I don't know how old are you,if you are under 18,I suggestion you change the second last paragraph to the following:Party with Soft drink,fruit juice, food, and lots of shouting made me wake up to the New Year of 2007 with a sore throat this morning.

其實你可以參考一下中文報紙,然後用自己識的英文來把它變成中文,
如果你抄的話,你的父母可能會知道..............

功課要自己做