Category Archives: Blog

Hong Kong’s top civilian officials and whoever runs its police force are obviously reading from different scripts. The Financial Secretary agonizes about renewed protests harming post-pandemic economic recovery as… …fewer people patronise shops and restaurants because of gatherings and conflicts, … Continue reading →

I now definitely declare the weekend open with the rest of this week’s attention-worthy stuff… This seems to have been the week that China lost the battle to control the narrative on how it tries to control the narrative: Politico … Continue reading →

Busy lining up for one of the Hong Kong government’s ultra-sexy free crony-manufactured ‘underwear masks’ (with a view to keeping in original packing for sale as historic artefact on eBay in 30 years’ time). So an early plunge into a … Continue reading →

The Hong Kong government decides its number-one harmony-promoting priority following the virus pandemic is… pushing through the National Anthem (Compulsory Adoration) Bill. And former Chief Executives Tung Chee-hwa and CY Leung launch a ‘Hong Kong Coalition’ to counter the city’s … Continue reading →

Just as you had to let the inept kid play in a game because he owned the ball, the SCMP has to allow its editor-in-chief to write an occasional column. We might imagine hardened, normally brutal, subs treating her copy … Continue reading →

Hong Kong’s business establishment are feeling the heat as the old cozy tycoon-bureaucrat relationship gives way to direct Liaison Office control of the city. The outgoing boss of the HK General Chamber of Commerce puts on a brave face by … Continue reading →

Not one, not two, but three SCMP pieces on how China is making itself unpopular around the world, encouraging online xenophobia, unleashing rabid ‘wolf warrior’ diplomats and (eeeww) nagging Germans to say nice things about them. And a fourth, in … Continue reading →

If the Hong Kong government thinks it might be OK to send its precious staff back to work, we can assume it is probably safe to relax the city’s internal anti-virus social-distancing regime. But there are three challenges. First, can … Continue reading →

A letter to the SCMP editor welcomes the government’s recent cabinet reshuffle as a boost for diversity and meritocracy. It is tempting to say good riddance to the colonial-era type of Administrative Officer career civil servant. These lazy, blinkered, arrogant, … Continue reading →

The Hong Kong Coalition – fronted by former Chief Executives Tung Chee-hwa and CY Leung – is apparently supposed to lure the middle ground to vote for the pro-government bloc in September’s Legislative Council elections. Instead, it is a vivid … Continue reading →