Category Archives: Blog

Jessie Lau in Prospect on the 10th anniversary of the film Ten Years… Now banned in Hong Kong and Mainland China, Ten Years captured Hongkongers’ anxieties in 2015 over what their home may become by 2025, in a series of … Continue reading →

Chief Executive John Lee took just under three hours to deliver his policy address. He mentioned a few major initiatives – notably the ‘Northern Metropolis’ – that aren’t new. Some minor positive measures, including free high-tech prostheses for amputees, and … Continue reading →

Just time for a link for history types – an Asia Times article by Francesco Sisci comparing the impact of geography on political, military and philosophical development in ancient China and Rome. (Also, some wacky nationalistic Chinese ranting in the … Continue reading →

I think this was supposed to be kept under wraps before tomorrow’s policy address. Either way, this Bloomberg story is a sign of desperation among Hong Kong officials trying to reposition the city’s economy… Hong Kong is in talks with … Continue reading →

We ease ourselves gently into another week with a sneak preview of Wednesday’s policy address: the CE’s neckwear.  For decades, policy addresses and their attendant ‘consultations’ have been heavy on ritual rather than substance, not to say quantity over quality. … Continue reading →

A quaint way to put it: Hong Kong lacks the ‘necessary conditions’ to do the Lantau mega-reclamation… The exorbitant [HK$580 billion] price tag for the reclamation has raised concerns, especially amid three consecutive years of government deficits. It would total … Continue reading →

HKFP on LegCo’s rejection of a government bill to recognise same-sex partnerships… …with just 14 out of 86 lawmakers voting in favour. A total of 71 lawmakers voted against the bill on Wednesday, while one legislator, Doreen Kong, abstained. It … Continue reading →

Samuel Bickett’s NY Post piece (here)  on conditions in Hong Kong prison’s doesn’t go down well with the city’s Corrections boss, who says it is ‘completely false, baseless and malicious defamation’… In his letter, Wong [Kwok-hing] stated the department is … Continue reading →

Chief Executive John Lee declares Sunday’s subsector by-elections for the Election Committee as ‘fair, just, honest, smooth, safe and orderly’, adding that the Committee is ‘broadly representative’ and showcases ‘balanced participation’. Some stats. There were 3,534 voters – a 97.33% … Continue reading →

‘Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds’. Except in Hong Kong. Yet another day when the whole city shuts down because a passing cyclone is … Continue reading →