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ATLANTA – A week after a deadly shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rattled the nation, Atlanta residents flooded the streets again Saturday morning to protest against the Trump administration’s research cuts and promotion of public health misinformation.
Gathering in Midtown Atlanta at the intersection of Peachtree and 10th Streets, attendees of “Sound Science Saves Lives” held signs and American flags, chanting, “Don’t believe the lies! Science saves lives!” As with past rallies reported by The Xylom, protesters directed their ire at U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who in early August slashed over $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine development from partners such as Atlanta’s Emory University.
Protesters believed that Kennedy, who has frequently promoted baseless conspiracy theories about the safety of mRNA vaccines, influenced the CDC shooter, Patrick Joseph White, who blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for his depression and suicidal ideations.
In an interview with Healthbeat days before the rally, many CDC workers expressed fears that the ongoing multipronged attack on public health would make the country less safe and its healthcare more expensive.
“We planned this protest many months ago before the attack on [the] CDC even happened,” said Aryn Backus, an organizer with Fired but Fighting, a coalition of current and fired HHS employees. “But after [Patrick Joseph White] fired 500 rounds at the CDC because he believed in misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines, we felt it was even more important to come out and protest because it’s not just the budget cuts. It’s the misinformation and the lies that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is spreading.”
Before Backus was terminated from her position as a health communication specialist at the CDC’s Office of Smoking and Health in February, she worked on programs such as the Tips from Former Smokers campaign, which showcases stories for people who have been affected by smoking. Her office also had strong existing partnerships with the Asian Smokers’ Quitline, which offers services and resources in Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Korean, in addition to Smoke Free Chinatown, which did events in Chinatowns across the U.S. to promote anti-smoking messages.
Backus is worried about the future of public health programs serving Asian Americans. “The Asian Smokers’ Quitline receives a lot of funding from the CDC; with the Office of Smoking and Health gone, we’re not sure if that Quitline will be able to fill in the funding gaps that the CDC left.”
Organizers estimated the total number of protesters to be roughly 300-500. Apart from fired CDC workers like Backus, other attendees included researchers, health professionals, labor organizers, and concerned citizens.
Dr. Irene Yang is a Korean American and Canadian registered nurse. She is also a health researcher who looks into oral health and its relationship to the rest of the body. Although she emerged unscathed from funding cuts, many of her colleagues were not as fortunate.
“Constant cutting of good science is eventually just gonna erode all of the progress that we made in terms of disease treatments and interventions and public health,” she said.
Dr. Jill Penn agrees with Yang’s sentiment. An Associate Professor of Biology and Biochemistry at Georgia Gwinnett College and Treasurer of United Campus Workers Southeast, a union that represents all the higher education employees in the Southeastern United States, she serves one of the most diverse counties in the country, including the largest Asian population by far in the state of Georgia.
“A lot of my students are applying for graduate school and professional programs; many of them have done all the right things [...]their four or five years of college,” she said. “And then they apply to do something that they’ve loved their entire life, working in the field of science, and all of a sudden it just doesn’t exist anymore.”
“It’s like the world’s been turned upside down. It’s unrecognizable from what this country was one year ago,” she lamented.
As with previous public rallies around science, public health, and democracy, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, and Atlanta City Councilmembers, who are up for reelection this November, are absent. (The qualifying period for Atlanta municipal elections begins Monday, Aug. 19th.) Although many of the protesters’ signs evoked the late Rep. John Lewis, his successor, Rep. Nikema Williams, did not attend any of the rallies either.
However, two suburban Democratic candidates vying for statewide office in 2026, Georgia Sens. Jason Esteves and Josh McLaurin, joined protestors.
“We need state leaders to stand up and fight for our public health workers and to protect them from what is nothing short of domestic terrorism,” said Esteves, who is aiming to become the first Afro-Latino to be elected Governor of Georgia.
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Running on a platform of recruiting healthcare providers who are from those communities they serve, fully expanding Medicaid, and establishing clinics all across the state, Esteves faces a crowded primary field that includes former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, and Georgia Rep. Derrick Jackson, among others. (McLaurin is currently unopposed in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor.)
The rally wrapped up peacefully at around noon without any incidents or counterprotests. Participants vow to keep fighting and voicing their opposition.
“I think a lot of times scientists might want to just put their head down and try to do what they can within their sphere. I think it’s really important for us as Americans to speak up and speak out,” said Yang. “I hope my fellow Asian Americans, whether they’re in science or healthcare, will also speak out. I know that they recognize the danger.”
Atlantans Sound Alarm Over Federal Cuts, Misinformation, Deadly CDC Shooting
HONG KONG – Hong Kong is full of contradictions: as the city with the most skyscrapers in the world, it has 40% of its land designated as country parks. It is the city with the second-highest concentration of billionaires in the world, yet its local government has seen a budget deficit for five of the past six financial years. The average Hong Kong resident uses less than half the energy of the average American and one-fifth that of the average Singaporean. However, over 60% of Hong Kong’s carbon footprint can be attributed to electricity generation by fossil fuels.
Rooftop solar promises to thread the needle, taking advantage of Hong Kong’s dense, vertical landscape to provide clean, reliable, affordable energy.
“Solar energy is a green source of electricity, and I can earn income from it,” said Yintung Cheung.
A former elementary school teacher, Cheung is now a fundraising consultant who counts Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund among his former clients. He is a resident of Fairview Park, a suburban gated neighborhood in the northwestern New Territories, just a stone’s throw away from the Shenzhen border. Of the 5,000 semi-detached houses in the sprawling development, a rarity in the city, roughly one-tenth of them are equipped with solar power systems.
Residents, schools, and non-government entities have been actively installing rooftop solar systems since the government introduced fifteen-year financial incentives via the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Scheme in 2018. Those living in detached houses, like Cheung, have been especially keen: The solar panels reduce air-conditioning use by insulating rooftops, cooling room temperatures by up to 5˚C (9˚F) if properly installed. It took Cheung less than four years to recoup the cost of his own 20kW solar power system; had the FiT Scheme not existed, it would have taken him three decades.
Yet, according to the most recent data released by the Hong Kong government, less than 0.5% of the city’s electricity came from solar energy. At the halfway point of the FiT program, Hong Kong’s solar energy production still lags behind most developed countries or regions, clocking in at a quarter of the levels of Singapore, a region of comparable population density and solar irradiation.
“I’m sometimes disappointed that the government is not being intentional about increasing renewable energy use. They only take the low-hanging fruit of importing electricity from Mainland China,” said Cheung.
How Does the Scheme Work?
Under the Scheme, from 2018 to 2033, individuals or non-governmental bodies can sell solar or wind-generated electricity to utility companies at rates higher than what utility companies charge customers, with the highest FiT rates being granted in small, household-scale systems (≤10 kW) to compensate for economies of scale. This means that those who install solar on their rooftops can use it as a source of income, paying only the prevailing rates for their electricity consumption (around $0.13/kWh).
Unlike similar Biden administration-funded rooftop solar programs in the United States, the program is not means-tested, and there is no annual quota. Because the electricity generated from solar panels goes directly into the grid, Cheung also doesn’t need to install batteries and replace them every few years.
The Hong Kong government has signed decade-long agreements with two shareholder-owned utility companies, CLP Power and HK Electric, with options to extend the agreements for an additional five years. The recent agreements have included the FiT Scheme and reduced the companies’ profit margins from 9.99% to 8%, far below the average of 10.62% requested by American power companies.
To offset part of the cost, the utility companies can sell renewable energy certificates to buyers (such as banks) who wish to claim their businesses or activities are carbon-free. The utility companies are also allowed an extra profit margin for renewable energy produced by them or their customers.
In the ten years before 2018, only 200 non-governmental renewable energy systems were connected to the grid. Since then, as of March 2025, around 26,800 FiT applications have been approved, and around 25,000 systems have been connected to the grid. Most applications are for solar energy systems, and more than 80% of applications are for small-scale systems — mainly in detached houses.
In the ten years before 2018, only 200 non-governmental renewable energy systems were connected to the grid. Since then, as of March 2025, around 26,800 FiT applications have been approved, and around 25,000 systems have been connected to the grid.
Installing solar panels in high-rise apartment buildings or commercial buildings often faces more challenges compared to those in detached houses. For one, high-rise rooftops often have practical functionality.
“In Hong Kong, most rooftops have already been occupied by facilities such as equipment rooms, pipelines, outdoor air-conditioning units, suspended platforms, landscaping, recreation spaces, and fire refuge areas,” a spokesperson of the government’s Electrical and Mechanical Services Department told The Xylom.
The other challenge is shade: tall buildings cast long shadows that block sunlight from reaching solar panels of nearby buildings. Integrating solar panels into the facade and external walls of a building, known as building-integrated photovoltaics, has not been widely applied either, due to cost and administrative concerns.
That said, data obtained from the government’s Environment and Ecology Bureau by The Xylom shows that although nonresidential entities completed less than a fifth of total FiT applications, they have installed half the capacity of solar power under the scheme. In 2024, the government launched a pilot scheme on transparent building-integrated photovoltaics at its Electrical and Mechanical Services Department offices to explore the relevant applications.
Schools and non-profits also benefit from the FiT Scheme. By installing solar panels on roofs, these organizations can earn income to cover part of the electricity fees or enhance environmental education.
“We are a Catholic school; by default, we should be an environmentally friendly school and be good stewards of this planet. We touch on environmental issues in our science and religious classes. We thought it would be great to promote climate education through installing solar panels,” said Sammy Shum, principal of Aberdeen Technical School.
The school has installed a 44 kW solar PV system on its historic campus, which meets the annual average electricity demand of 11 households. FiT earnings are used for education, such as training students to introduce guests to the school’s solar power system and the power generation mechanisms behind it.
Technical Challenges and Additional Costs
Despite its benefits, the FiT Scheme is no silver bullet. Residents, experts, and organizations interviewed for the story told The Xylom that the first barrier to widespread solar power adoption is the technical, financial, and administrative challenges during the installation process.
The first major concern is to determine whether a building is structurally sound enough to support solar panels. The main building of Aberdeen Technical School just turned 90 years old this year.
“Some members of our management committee were alumni, who became very concerned about our campus’s Grade III historical building designation. Would [the solar panels] affect its appearance? Would there be liability issues?” Shum said. The Aberdeen Technical School had to test the loading on the roof before making the decision.
“We are a Catholic school; by default, we should be an environmentally friendly school and be good stewards of this planet.”
The second major concern is potential roof leaks. At first, fixing the solar panels on the roof required drilling directly through the roof, which would result in leaks if the holes were not properly sealed. Some installation companies later improved their installation methods, but Cheung, the fundraising consultant and homeowner, still recommends waterproofing before installing solar PVs, especially in aging buildings. (Cheung himself spent nearly $8,000 on waterproofing, amounting to nearly a fifth of the total installation costs.)
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Shum said Aberdeen Technical School spent between $500,000 and $640,000 on waterproofing — more than twice what the school receives from the government for building upkeep and maintenance.
“We were thinking, should we spend three years on waterproofing before installing solar panels?” Shum said. Fortunately, the Education Bureau helped the school advance a few years of its repair and maintenance funds to cover the waterproofing cost. After two years of preparation and communications with the government’s Antiquities and Monuments Office, the solar panels were finally installed.
Residents in particular face challenges in upgrading their power systems and finding reliable installation contractors. Most households in Hong Kong, as well as light commercial customers, receive electricity through a single-phase system using one live wire and one neutral wire. However, to make 10 kW or larger solar power systems viable, customers must upgrade to a three-phase system that uses three live wires and allows for a more efficient and consistent delivery of electrical power.
“If you only have single-phase power, you can only install a 2-3 kW system. That is not worth the investment,” said Kent Fung, the owner of a solar power system installation company and a Fairview Park resident. Not only would a smaller 2-3 kW system not cover the whole roof or provide heat insulation, but there would be minimal installation savings in terms of prevailing wages.
“You will need more than 10 years to recover the costs,” he added.
With the latest technology, Fung said the work of changing to three-phase power could be done mainly outside the house and would cause little nuisance indoors. However, the additional six to nine months, as well as the high cost of up to $6,000, could become a source of dispute between customers and contractors.
Compared to residential consumers, schools and NGOs receive more governmental and expert support in handling technical issues.
“I do not feel burdened as we received help from [CarbonCare InnoLab staff]. If I have to do it myself, I will find it difficult and my teaching time reduced,” said Tsang Chi Yeung, a teacher of Aberdeen Technical School.
CarbonCare InnoLab is one of the nonprofits that helps schools and other NGOs install solar PV systems. The organization not only helps with the application process and maintenance, but also holds climate education activities for the school.
“We place a great emphasis on [our multi-pronged strategy] on educating the public and young people on climate,” said Ivy Leung, Executive Director of CarbonCare InnoLab. “We have a lot of solar system tours. We hope schools and members of the public can understand the mechanisms of solar PVs and how they can help with Hong Kong’s 2050 carbon-neutral goal.”
What Happens When the Scheme Weakens?
Publicly available data from utility companies revealed that the number of new applications has cratered since 2022, when the Hong Kong government lowered FiT rates as previously planned. It further declined when the Hong Kong government concluded the Solar Harvest Scheme, which provided one-stop services for solar installations in schools and NGOs, in 2024.
Cheung thought at the time these lowered rates were reasonable, as the original intent of the scheme was to allow residents to recover their costs within seven to ten years of installation, while solar technology became cheaper as the technology matured. In reality, Fung, the solar panel installer, found that the price of a 10 kW system installation has remained stable over the years, at around $19,000.
“The price of solar panels has dropped slightly, but that of other components, such as inverters, has gone up. Wages have gone up, too,” he said.
“Even if you had a highly efficient system [like mine] that could recover the cost in three to four years, the real amount of time you could earn income if you installed now is at most another three to four years, and that doesn’t factor into the risks of system breakdown,” Cheung said.
Items | Cost (in USD) |
Installation cost | 19,000 |
Waterproofing (if needed) | 4,000 |
Changing to three-phase electricity (if needed) | 4,000-6,000 |
Maintenance cost (per year) | 410 |
Replacing the inverter (every 5-15 years) | 1,300-2,500 |
FiT earnings (per year) | -6000 |
Table: Lifetime costs of a 10 kW solar power system
In response to The Xylom’s enquiry, the Environment and Ecology Bureau countered that Hong Kong’s FiT rate “was still one of the most attractive in the world” when compared to local power rates.
“As renewable energy technologies are maturing, the trends in China and the world are to gradually reduce and cease subsidies for renewable energy,” said a spokesperson from the Environment and Ecology Bureau. They added that Hong Kong’s FiT Scheme would “unlikely” be extended beyond 2033. If that were to happen, owners of renewable systems could use the electricity generated for their own consumption.
Cheung and Fung agree that as the FiT program nears its halfway point, the lack of clarity about what happens after 2033 is a big factor that prevents people from installing solar PVs.
“No one knows what the plan is after 2033,” Cheung said. “Will the utility companies buy electricity from me at prevailing rates? Or should I buy storage batteries? That’d be wasteful.”
Cheung points to the United States’ regulatory and policy uncertainty as a cautionary tale:
“[Democrats] are supportive of solar energy, so a lot of these facilities were built. The moment [Republicans] replace them and support oil and gas development, all these solar panel investments […] go down the drain,” he lamented.
On August 5th, The New York Times reported that the Trump EPA announced plans to claw back $7 billion in grants for solar energy, including the “Solar for All” program in Georgia, where The Xylom is based, and one of six states Trump flipped in the 2024 Presidential election. (500 households registered for a randomized drawing in the 24 hours since its application portal opened on August 4th.)
The Path Ahead
At present, Hong Kong’s electricity mix consists mainly of natural gas (55.5%), nuclear energy (less than 24.5%), and coal (20%). Renewable energy only accounted for 0.8% of the electricity mix as of 2022.
Although a government-commissioned study in 2019 estimated that Hong Kong’s rooftop solar energy can at most account for 1.1-2% of its electricity use at 2016 levels, experts at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University estimated that rooftop solar PVs alone could account for more than 10% of Hong Kong’s electricity use, meeting the Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050’s goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix to 7.5% to 10% by 2035, the first step to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.
El Paso solar cooperative helps homeowners save thousands on rooftop solar. It may be back next year.
Several nonprofits are running a solar cooperative in El Paso, Texas, that helps homeowners come together to buy and install solar panels in bulk, which makes them more affordable.
Fung, who has been running his small solar installation business since 2018, said that as solar panels can insulate rooftops from the sun and act as canopies for the roofs of detached houses, some residents are still interested in installing panels despite lower financial returns. But hesitance remains in the market, and customers are dwindling: his company lost money last year after turning a profit in the previous two.
“No one knows what the plan is after 2033.”
With the trend of decreasing FiT installations, even the most optimistic projections won’t see Hong Kong reaching the modest target of generating up to 2% of electricity from solar power by 2035.
“We really hope the government can look at the pace of renewable energy development in Hong Kong before deciding when to stop the Feed-in Tariff Scheme,” Leung of CarbonCare InnoLab said. She urged the government to provide more flexibility in the Feed-in Tariff Scheme, such as offering longer-term contracts for new installers, instead of setting a hard sunset provision in 2033.
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In Fairview Park, Cheung has actively promoted solar PVs to his neighbours. He said residents share information on company pricing, new technologies, and maintenance, and help ease one another’s concerns. In the street where his house is located, 13 out of 30 houses have installed solar panels. However, he is not holding out hope for a meaningful energy transition in Hong Kong.
“If the government doesn’t have policies that go hand-in-hand [with residents and businesses], and it chooses to sunset the FiT program instead,” Cheung said, “Hong Kong won’t have a shot at meeting renewable energy goals.”
Reporting for this story was supported by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.
Rooftop Solar Power Is Struggling to Take Off in Hong Kong. What Went Wrong?
NEW YORK – Every Wednesday at 10 a.m., a group of home care workers gather outside the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) building in Manhattan, holding big red signs saying “STOP THE 24 HR WORKDAY NOW.”
For the past six decades, CPC has served Asian Americans, immigrants, and low-income communities in the United States through various programs such as after-school classes, family support, and economic empowerment programs.
CPC’s Home Attendant Program is one of the largest not-for-profit home care service agencies in New York City, employing 4,500 home care workers and providing services to 2,500 patients. Licensed in 1998 by the New York State Department of Health as a home care service agency, it is part of New York State’s Medicaid program.
Despite CPC’s mission to “promote the social and economic empowerment” of Asian American communities, they have played a role in enforcing 24-hour workdays for home care workers with only 13 hours of pay. Protestors complain that the “stolen” wages of 11 hours a day, now amounting to over $90 million in lost wages, have been used to build the 30-storey luxury tower in Manhattan that they now hold signs in front of.
“This building was built with our blood and sweat,” said Liyi Chen, who worked as a home care worker for 22 years before retiring.
Currently, 80 workers are assigned to 39 cases that require 24-hour shifts, while 152 workers are assigned to 38 cases that require 12-hour split shifts, according to a statement made by CPC on Mar. 5, in response to a protest outside the CPC’s 60th Anniversary Gala event that took place on Wall Street.
According to the New York State Department of Labor, 24-hour shifts require compensation for only 13 hours of work, provided the aide is afforded 8 hours for sleep (with at least 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep) and 3 hours for meal breaks. However, in practice, home care workers say they don’t get any time of uninterrupted rest.
“I had to get up every hour at night, they get up frequently to go to the bathroom or drink water, so I couldn’t sleep at all,” said Yali Le, a retired home care worker. “There was even a bell installed next to my bed, and I jumped up when the bell rang, which made me neurasthenic; my body couldn’t take it anymore.”
“This has truly destroyed our lives,” Le said. She now suffers from chronic pain from the lack of afforded rest during her home care days. “The pain is indescribable.”
Several home care workers share similar stories of chronic illnesses as a result of the long hours at work.
“I have long-term headaches and insomnia, and I would suddenly wake up when I was sleeping at my own home, wondering if it was my patient calling me,” Chen said.
In its March 2025 statement, CPC declared that while they fully support home care workers in their efforts to stop the 24-hour workday, those shifts are mandated by state law and determined by insurance companies. Therefore, “CPC does not have the power to split 24-hour shifts on our own and has been advocating for State reform for years, alongside our advocacy for Fair Pay for Home Care.”
“On the one hand, they use that money to build a luxury building, and on the other hand, there’s nothing they can do,” said Zishun Ning, an advocate affiliated with Ain’t I a Woman?!, a coalition that started the movement to end the 24-hour workday. “But they won’t stop sucking workers’ blood.”
Until state laws are changed, there are not too many choices for workers but to work 24-hour shifts.
"If we don’t, they say there’s no work for us,” said Yuying Lin, who has been a home care worker for more than 10 years. “We rely on this job to make a living."
Home care workers also face consequences if they refuse to work 24-hour shifts. “They punish you, they’ll assign you to a patient who lives far away, it takes three hours just to get there,” said Yolanda Zhang, an advocate affiliated with Ain’t I a Woman?!
Home care workers’ allegations against CPC go back years. In 2021, an explosive 103-page report released by David Lee, legislative director of New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim, alleged that the CPC was engaging in rampant wage theft and abusing Chinese immigrant home care workers using a prolonged forced-arbitration scheme, which the home care workers were asked to sign away their right to sue without told how much they will be paid, blocking them from getting justice in court.
According to the report, the CPC works with 1199SEIU, one of the largest labor unions in New York, to block workers’ access to courts, diminishing their chances of winning back wages.
“CPC and the 1199SEIU colluded to trick the workers into signing an unequal arbitration agreement, and asked the union to modify the union contract to protect its interests,” said Zhang. “90 million is just a conservative number and calculated based on the average working hours of 24-hour workers in the past 6 years.”
While the Department of Labor enforces wage laws, the Department of Health manages reimbursements for the agencies that employ home care workers. Without simultaneous reform of both systems, workers will not be able to get an increase in wages.
New York City Council member Christopher Marte has introduced a bill to ban 24-hour shifts entirely and instead require 12-hour split-shifts. However, City Council speaker Adrienne Adams, who finished fourth in June's New York City Democratic Mayoral primary election, has refused to support the bill, saying that the law can only be changed at the state level.
A survey conducted by the United Coalition of Downtown Democratic Clubs shows that New York City’s mayoral candidates resoundingly support the “No More 24” Act; yet, as the 2025 NYC mayoral race heats up, this issue remains noticeably absent from the public conversation. None of the candidates mentioned it during the final Democratic debate in the primary for mayor of New York City on June 12th.
When The Xylom reached out to CPC for comment, their communications director, Alice Du, emphasized that the organization wants to split 24-hour shifts, but current state regulations and insurance reimbursement rules limit their ability to change the rule independently.
“If CPC’s Home Attendant Program could split 24-hour cases on our own, why wouldn’t we?” said Du. “It would be better for the organization, workers, and clients.”
Du says that CPC currently has only 39 cases of 24-hour shifts out of nearly 2,500 shifts in total, and has spent nearly $6 million on overtime, bonuses, and worker reimbursements in the past year, paying their home care workers $19.50 per hour, which is more than the State’s hourly wage for home care workers.
However, home care workers don’t think this is enough. “They act like they’re being generous to them, to me, they look down on women,” Ning said. ”They say Chinese people just want to be slaves, that we’re willing to work 24 hours straight.”
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Several immigrant communities across New York City are suffering due to the 24-hour shifts.
“It’s not just a Chinese issue, a white issue, a black issue, a brown issue,” said Tej Budhram, who works at the Flushing Workers Center, an organization that fights for better conditions for workers. “It’s truly affecting all workers, but specifically women of color.”
As Trump's return puts Medicaid on the chopping block, the amount of funds states like New York will receive for home care programs is now under threat.
But these workers do not plan to stop the protests until they get the justice and the change they deserve.
“We come together every Wednesday to protest,” Chen said. “To release the pain of 24-hour work, to find strength in unity, and to demand justice.”
