Two strange things to start the week

Our Hong Kong Foundation, a think-tank/lobby backed by property/construction tycoons, has another go at convincing us we need to spend half a trillion bucks on the Lantau Mega-Reclamation White-Elephant Vision. First time round, it tried a direct appeal – let’s fill in the sea to get decent housing. Now it gets subtle and, in a nice twist, frames its self-interested ‘research’ as hip-and-trendy-sounding criticism of the government, for miscalculating housing needs.

But no mention that under-supply of housing as policy goes back to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, who is OHKF founder. Nor of the inflow of Mainland immigrants, vacant military and farm land, or the government-developer interplay that creates the overpriced land/luxury apartments. Strange!

If you want to read a fawning South China Morning Post article that repeatedly reminds you that developer (and, goes without saying, OHKF member) Ronnie Chan knows Henry Kissinger – here you go. According to the well-connected tycoon, Western wonk-types he hobnobs with have gone nuts over the last year or so. They used to be sensible mild Panda-huggers, but now they’re suddenly turning skeptical about China. (Latest example.) He does see technology as a bigger issue than just trade, but avoids getting into the Huawei-type stuff. The profound thinker puts it all down to… Donald Trump’s tweets.

No mention of South China Sea, threats against Taiwan/HK, a million Uighurs in camps, Belt and Road debt-traps, holding Canadians hostage, United Front activity, or Xi Jinping in general. Nor of Ronnie’s own role in furthering Beijing’s influence (here and here). Strange, again!

 

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5 Responses to Two strange things to start the week

  1. Docta Proctoscope says:

    I’d sooner hug a Panda than a Trump.

    Keep up the Sinophobia. It’s quite funny in fact! Always there, like BBC Radio 3.

  2. Chinese Netizen says:

    Does being a toady (Ronnie Chan, Patrick Ho, Maria Tam, etc) really also require one to physically resemble a toad??

  3. Old Newcomer’s Law: the extent to which a tycoon brown-noses the PRC is directly proportional to the scale of his investments in the country.

    And after the Vietnam War, does anyone still value Henry Kissinger’s advice on anything?

  4. old git says:

    Ronnie Chan was a member of the Enron audit committee.

  5. Headache says:

    Chinese Netizen, imagine what Orwell could have done with this lot.

    Meanwhile, the Party-owned Alibaba Morning Post staggers onward with its ‘China story’, less credible than the independent competition, less connected than Xinhua, about as useful and significant as a ‘third way’ politician, and making big losses as soon as property value appreciation is removed from the equation.

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