Author Archives: biglychee

Not logical, not surprising

A court rejects an appeal against a conviction for ‘inciting blank or invalid votes’ in the 2021 legislative election… [Jacky So] argued the magistrate who handled his case in 2022 had made a mistake by ruling that the provision did … Continue reading

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Shouldn’t one be called ‘First World Taxis’?

Five new fleets of taxis totalling 3,500 vehicles will be coming onto the streets in the next few months. Apart from their nasty liveries (one fleet is day-glo pink) and silly names (eg Syncab), there’s nothing especially noteworthy about the … Continue reading

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Have a ‘Pandastic’ Monday!

HKFP interviews citizens who wonder why civil servants seem to be relatively unaffected by the government’s attempts to reduce its budget deficit. They also question the point of the cuts to older folks’ transport subsidies – and not without good … Continue reading

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Further to the Budget…

…a chart from The Collective showing ‘projected bond issuances and debt repayment by the Hong Kong government over the next 5 years. By 2029-30, cumulative bond issuance will exceed HK$1 trillion, but it will also need to repay a total … Continue reading

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Build it and they won’t come

Budget overview here. More details here. Whole thing here. If an organization decides not to sell land as part of its annual budgeting process, you would assume it must be a real-estate company. Or, it’s the Hong Kong government. This … Continue reading

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A solution to illegal parking

Transit Jam is being charged with public disorder, apparently for complaining to cops about illegally parked vehicles.  The government might raise the fine for illegal parking from HK$320 to HK$400, which won’t make any meaningful difference to either revenues or … Continue reading

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The 1,518th day of imprisonment

The Jimmy Lai verdict – the NatSec trial started in December 2023 – is expected in October… Lai has pleaded not guilty to two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed national security law, and a third … Continue reading

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Budget coming Wednesday

From AFP via HKFP, a look at Hong Kong’s  ‘mammoth’ budget deficit… The Chinese finance hub last saw a string of deficits after the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s — but their scale was a fraction of the … Continue reading

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Fight against ‘external forces’ continues

The government plans to make sure independent Hong Kong unions do not pose a NatSec or foreign-influence risk… The Hong Kong government has proposed legislative amendments to permanently bar those convicted of national security offences from serving in labour unions … Continue reading

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Time to fold

The Democratic Party considers disbanding. Along with other pan-dem groups, they are barred from participation in what was once a semi-representative electoral process for the legislature and district councils. In a system that does not recognize the independent voices of … Continue reading

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