Category Archives: Blog

Beijing’s global ‘soft power’ campaign isn’t going to well right now. Not that they’re exactly prioritizing it. In an uncharacteristic fit of good taste, Facebook and Twitter are banning Chinese state-funded fake news and propaganda aimed at ‘undermining the legitimacy … Continue reading →

Hong Kong’s 11-week uprising finally starts to die down with… 1.7 million people on a peaceful march. (You can quibble over numbers, which are impossible to measure. Hong Kong demonstrations these days come in two categories – ginormous and not … Continue reading →

The Hong Kong government – enfeebled, emasculated, eviscerated and more lobotomized than ever – draws on all its powers of creativity to Be Seen To Do Something. In a dazzling display of originality, it draws on the same script used … Continue reading →

For years, members of Hong Kong’s establishment, if pressed on the subject of representative government, have wrung their hands and lamented the ‘lack of talent’ that so sadly makes democracy unrealistic here. There are multitudes of Hong Kong people who … Continue reading →

Every day – or every half-week at the very least – brings yet another bout of protest-police mayhem that is so unprecedentedly shocking that This Time it surely signifies the peak of Hong Kong’s unrest, and marks the turning point … Continue reading →

The Hong Kong government is dormant right now. Its only active – not to say frenzied – component is the police force, which seems to have been placed under Beijing’s control. Similarly, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office is … Continue reading →

Anyone thinking that this would be the weekend when Hong Kong starts to calm down was even more wrong than usual. It turns out that this was the weekend when Beijing took full control of the battle against protestors. To … Continue reading →

I spoke to someone involved in managing Hong Kong family wealth – of the serious, fairly old, US$100 million-plus variety. The investment philosophy for the dynastic fortune concerned is apparently passive, boring and very long-term. Then, last Monday, they suddenly … Continue reading →

Lost the link, but… Another day, another well-meaning column (I think from AFP) wondering why the Chinese leadership doesn’t do the obvious thing and toss a few concessions at Hong Kong. It’s simple. All they have to do is officially … Continue reading →

So did we all enjoy yesterday’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office press briefing with ‘new’ content? In case you hadn’t guessed from the 800 rounds of tear gas the police managed to fire on Monday, Beijing’s policy on Hong … Continue reading →