Author Archives: biglychee

Replacing civil society

In 2021, many pan-democrats were purged from Hong Kong District Councils for taking part in the July 2020 primary elections and/or oath-taking technicalities (here and here). The authorities then started to hear complaints that the friendly young people who used … Continue reading

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Mainland graduates find life is tough in HK

The SCMP begins a series on Hong Kong’s talent-attracting visa initiatives, which in effect target mostly Mainlanders… Kira Xiong, a 23-year-old finance graduate with degrees from universities in Melbourne and Sydney, arrived in Hong Kong in July full of hope. … Continue reading

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Is poverty relative or absolute?

The government stops using a ‘poverty line’ to measure the number of hard-up households… Hong Kong’s labour minister has said using a poverty line to measure inequality was “inadequate,” after pausing the publication of statistics after 2020 despite opposition from … Continue reading

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Take a deep breath

The government wants to make better use of the Kai Tak cruise terminal… In last week’s Policy Address, Chief Executive John Lee said the SAR will publish an action plan on developing cruise tourism to enhance the terminal’s role as … Continue reading

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Horse-racing for kiddies. (We’re not desperate!)

Hong Kong is cutting the tax on high-end liquor in order to somehow boost tourism. And now it’s thinking about reducing the minimum age for admission to horse-races… Secretary for Culture, Sports, and Tourism Kevin Yeung on Monday told an … Continue reading

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A viewing and listening day

A 40-minute Law and Disorder legal podcast in which British civil rights lawyer Helena Kennedy and others interview Lord Jonathan Sumption about his decision to leave Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal. As the person who sends me the link … Continue reading

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A couple of links for the weekend…

Boston Review links economic inequality with Hong Kong and Taiwan’s declining faith in Beijing. This downplays the historic, identity and cultural aspects – which makes a change, perhaps… In 2014, [older Hong Kong pan-democrats’] cautious approach was superseded by a … Continue reading

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No ideas please…

The CE’s policy address reflects the usual paucity of ideas, or an inability to admit that old ones don’t work, or a dread of embracing new ones. Eliminating subdivided apartments by requiring them to have a window, a toilet and … Continue reading

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The mystery of the deceased simians

Officials investigate a sudden outbreak of death among monkeys at the little zoo section of the Botanical Gardens. Nine – the latest being a white-faced saki – have died in recent days. The Standard adds that ‘another De Brazza’s monkey … Continue reading

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Back

Still recovering from: a) jet lag; b) surprise at how nice Yorkshire is (they could turn up the heating, but otherwise lovely places and people); and c) an aversion to clicking on Hong Kong news to see what’s going on.

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