“Top 10 Consumer News – Year of the Rabbit” Voting Campaign JPEX Scandal Takes Top Place and “Most Gratifying” News Lifting of Mask Mandate and Launch of “Happy Hong Kong” “Most Liked” LOHAS Park Structural Wall Incident Declared “Most Outrageous”

 The results of the “Top 10 Consumer News – Year of the Rabbit” voting campaign organised by the Consumer Council were announced today (6 February). The campaign attracted a total of 4,620 voters. The high-profile JPEX scandal, which involved over $1 billion with multiple celebrities arrested, topped the list with 4,057 votes and was simultaneously voted as the “Most Gratifying” consumer news. In second place was the impactful waste charging scheme with 3,899 votes, whereas the LOHAS Park renovation incident involving the knocking down of a load-bearing wall, which received widespread attention, placed third with 3,213 votes and was also voted as the “Most Outrageous” news. Other consumer news in the top 10 included the “Happy Hong Kong” and “Night Vibes Hong Kong” campaigns, the Japanese seafood ban, skyrocketing online and phone scams, the “Happy Rainbow” game dispute, the generative artificial intelligence (AI) model ChatGPT, and the Hong Kong Island power outage. The voting results reflect the shift in consumers’ attention from chiefly pandemic-related topics back to a more versatile range of subjects, from policies, investment, to daily consumption and technological trends.

Mr Clement Chan Kam-wing, Chairman of the Consumer Council, addressed guests at the result announcement and award presentation ceremony, “It’s incredible how time flies — this is the 20th year of the ‘Top 10 Consumer News’ voting campaign. Apart from the steadfast support of our media friends, we also owe our thanks to the consumers who actively participate each year. Many policy bills were passed in 2023, such as the Taxi-Driver-Offence Points System, waste charging, regulating disposable plastic tableware, encouraging the public to reduce waste. These sustainable consumption measures are also issues that the Council has long been advocating for.”

The JPEX scandal caused quite a stir last year, with multiple well-known figures arrested and involving a total of over $1 billion. “JPEX Named in SFC Warning as Clients Unable to Withdraw Virtual Assets   Influencers and OTC Directors Arrested for Suspected Fraud” topped the list with 4,057 votes and was named the “Most Gratifying” consumer news by a landslide 3,284 votes, accounting for 71% of the total number of voters. The results showed that consumers are not only concerned about the security and reliability of virtual asset trading platforms, but also anticipate the authorities to take action against suspicious platforms to safeguard the interests of investors.

Another topic closely related to consumers’ daily life also made it into the top 3. The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Charging Scheme will be implemented this year and the public will need to purchase designated bags for holding rubbish. “Waste Charging Postponed Till 2024 with a 6-month Grace Period” took second place with an overwhelming 3,899 votes, indicating that consumers are deeply concerned with the implementation details of the new policy. As a longstanding advocate of sustainable consumption, the Council hopes that after the promulgation of the scheme, a green and eco-friendly mindset can become ingrained in everyone’s daily life as we promote a “use less, waste less” culture together.

Housing-related topics have frequented the “Top 10” list in the past years. An apartment in the private residential development LOHAS Park was discovered to have knocked down a load-bearing wall during renovation. Although it did not pose danger to the structural integrity of the building, the Buildings Department ordered the owner to restore the wall before the deadline. “Structural Wall of LOHAS Park Unit Torn Down  Buildings Department Issues Order to Restore” received the third highest number of votes (3,213 votes) and was also named the “Most Outrageous” consumer news with 1,846 votes. It sparked speculation as to whether this incident was just the tip of the iceberg, with concerns that the same situation could potentially have happened in other housing estates or flats, affecting the structural safety of buildings.

As the pandemic subsided, consumer news related to post-pandemic recovery made it into the top 10. “Mask Mandate Lifted After Almost 3 Years  Government Launches ‘Happy Hong Kong’ to Boost the Economy” ranked fourth with 3,142 votes and also became the “Most Liked” consumer news with 1,984 votes, whereas “‘Night Vibes Hong Kong’ Campaign Opens with Waterfront and Temple Street Night Markets to Stimulate Consumption” tied for seventh place alongside “Controversy Over Jumpin Gym Happy Rainbow Game  Police Alerted as Customer Claims Tokens Larger than Coloured Area”, both receiving 2,596 votes. However, as consumer activities gradually revived, scams skyrocketed in tandem. Some fraudsters even used AI technology to mimic the appearance and voice of others, which is difficult for consumers to detect. “Online and Phone Scams Surge as Tactics Diversify  Fraudsters Strike with Video and Audio Deepfakes” ranked the sixth with 2,754 votes received. Another AI-related news story, “ChatGPT AI Model Takes the World by Storm Governments, Universities and Industries Scramble for Countermeasures” ranked ninth with 2,258 votes.

Japanese cuisine is a favourite among Hong Kong people, yet since Japan started discharging radioactive water last August, the HKSAR Government swiftly responded by banning seafood imports from 10 prefectures in Japan, causing some consumers to stop patronising Japanese restaurants for fear of food safety and at the same time triggering a wave of stockpiling for salt. “Japan Releases Nuclear Waste Water  Hong Kong Bans Seafood Imports from 10 Prefectures  Residents Rush to Stockpile Sea Salt Again” took fifth place with 3,054 votes. Another news story in the top 10 was also related to the public’s quality of life — a misconnected cable caused a widespread blackout across several districts on Hong Kong Island, yet HK Electric was entitled to incentive rewards as it restored electricity supply within the designated period, prompting the Government to review the policy and introduce a new penalty mechanism for power interruption. “Human-caused Cable Misconnection Triggers Major Power Outage Across Hong Kong Island   HK Electric Receives Incentive Rewards Prompting Government to Introduce Penalty Mechanism” made the last spot in the Top 10 consumer news with 2,118 votes.

The “Top 10 Consumer News” voting campaign aims to raise public awareness of and attention to consumer rights. From the very first year, media partners have been invited as supporting organisations, collaborating with the Council to drive consumer participation. This year, the voting campaign was held from 4 to 24 January 2024 with the generous support of Cable News, HK01, Hong Kong Economic Times, Radio Television Hong Kong, SkyPost, TOPick and U Magazine. Successful voters were automatically enrolled in the lucky draw for the chance to win a Grand Prize and Consolation Prizes, among which the Grand Prize winner would be awarded a HK$5,000 gift card. The lucky draw results were announced in the South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Economic Times on 2 February and 3 February 2024 respectively.

“Top 10 Consumer News – Year of the Rabbit” Voting Results and Ranking:

Consumer News Hot Topics Results:

Fan, Chan & Co served as the honorary auditor for this voting event.

-END-