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Albert Cheng
Ir. Albert Cheng is the founder of Digital Broadcasting Corporation Hong Kong Limited, a current affairs commentator and columnist. He was formerly a direct elected Hong Kong SAR legislative councillor. Mr Cheng was voted by Time Magazine in 1997 as one of "the 25 most influential people in new Hong Kong" and selected by Business Week in 1998 as one of "the 50 stars of Asia".
Cancelling flights in peak season, cutting standards for its pilot captains and entering the budget flights market, Cathay is struggling to find its feet post pandemic and can no longer be considered a premium airline.
Pro-Beijing critics of foreign judges on Hong Kong’s top court are misguided. Beijing is keen on preserving Hong Kong’s status as a financial hub and getting rid of the foreign judges would be detrimental to the city’s interests.
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee 2004 interpretation set out a five-step process for amending the chief executive or Legco election process. These rules should not be bypassed by a pro-establishment camp eager to please Beijing.
With the jobless rate rising and unions seeing a need to support out-of-work Hongkongers, the government must respond. It’s also a good time to steer local business towards good corporate governance, to protect labour and environmental standards.
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It is a good idea to revamp the park’s business model by opening the lower area to the public for free. But outsourcing retail and entertainment businesses to private companies will take the park further from its primary mission as a non-profit organisation.
Given the number of Hongkongers who hold a foreign passport, it could spark a mass exodus and create a crisis we can ill afford. Regina Ip’s call for the national law disallowing dual citizenship to apply in Hong Kong ignores the historical context.
A new party led by mainland-born businessmen has fuelled fears over Hong Kong’s changing political scene. With anxiety over the national security law expected to spark a wave of migration, the political order could be about to change.
The NPC resolution to oust four pro-democracy legislators leaves Hong Kong legislature dominated by the pro-establishment camp, which Lam needs to remember answers to the Communist Party, not her.
It would be unwise to characterise Biden as pro-China, especially if Hongkongers hope to gain the support of Western democracies. Hong Kong’s own democrats should take note of Biden’s acceptance speech, end their bitter divide and get the city back on track.
The socialist-leaning party’s triumph means its economic policies of higher taxes, regulation and restrictions on real estate investment are likely to remain in place. On the political front, Hongkongers should not put much hope in an NDP-run British Columbia or a Liberal-run federal government to take a hard line against China.
Supporting the US president in his re-election bid puts Hong Kong’s democracy activists in the awkward position of backing an anti-democratic candidate. Moreover, the US Democratic Party has consistently supported Hong Kong and is likely to continue to do so.
In addition to regulatory hurdles and, more recently, the pandemic, HSBC has been caught up in the US-China tussle. Rumours that the bank may be placed on China’s ‘unreliable entity list’ have done the bank’s stock and its many local investors no favours.
Although separation of powers is not mentioned in the Basic Law, it is the de facto principle that underlies the independence of the city’s judiciary. The pro-Beijing camp must stop its attacks on the courts’ credibility.
Public anger over a police superintendent’s attempt to write off the violence on July 21 as a fight between two groups of people, despite widely seen footage showing otherwise, can only be pacified by an independent investigation into what happened.
If the opposition legislators who have been disqualified from the elections stay, they will be condemned by localists. But if the pro-democracy camp boycotts Legco, who will speak out against controversial government proposals?
Beijing’s threat to revoke recognition of the BN(O) passport as a travel document has raised fears it may soon strip holders of their Hong Kong residency and other privileges.
Hongkongers have in the past sought foreign citizenship as an insurance policy. The UK’s offer to almost half of Hong Kong is unlikely to give rise to a wave of migration. Conversely, it makes people more willing to stay in Hong Kong.
Most Chinese Canadians couldn’t care less about the new law – some even think it’s a good thing. Hongkongers who hope to rally support from Canada’s people and government, or expect a warm welcome should they leave, will be disappointed.
Given the pandemic’s challenges and unforeseeable factors, the Hong Kong government should rethink existing development plans and be flexible, focusing on those that are vital to the city’s survival and in the people’s best interests.
Some in Hong Kong have rallied round Donald Trump, whose call for military action against protesters in the US sparked outrage. If protesters want an independent inquiry into Hong Kong police actions, they should really be showing solidarity with the US public.
With the enactment of a national security law for Hong Kong, most people will eventually give up struggling and accept their destiny. Only some idealistic young people will continue to fight for the impossible dream of full democracy.
The government should consider real estate sector lawmaker Abraham Shek’s proposals on using brownfield sites and redeveloping old residential buildings. But first, the public and private housing markets must be delinked.
A judge’s sentencing remarks in a stabbing case have disturbing implications for Hong Kong’s rule of law. While the Court of Final Appeal has maintained its independence, it is not enough. In September, voters must help elect more pan-democrats to the legislature.
The HK$80 billion employment support scheme does not help the unemployed. Employers are being subsidised for six months, but remain free to let staff go. The scheme is extremely business-friendly. What are the chief executive’s intentions?
Canada’s coronavirus aid package includes subsidies for small business employers and benefits for workers affected by the outbreak. In Hong Kong, the government has done little to make regular people feel secure about staying at home
In focusing on Covid-19, it is easy to miss the bigger picture. The West is largely responsible for worsening the outbreak. If the world is to become a better place, selfish Western capitalists must change their ways.
Hongkongers must see Jimmy Lai’s arrest for what it is: a clampdown on the city’s cherished freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Equally ominous is the government’s bundling of the HK$10,000 cash handouts with more police funding.
The central government recently shuffled officials related to Wuhan and Hong Kong but the axe is unlikely to fall on the chief executive. Beijing will find it hard to find a replacement who can rally enough support from a divided city.
Given that the theme park is far from residential areas, its use as a quarantine site would cause less resentment. Ultimately, the failing park should be used for residential housing and marine education but, right now, Carrie Lam has a duty to protect public health.
Hong Kong has reported the first cases of the Wuhan coronavirus infection, but the initial lack of a health declaration protocol at train stations has hampered contact tracing. The government must do better to show it has learned from Sars.
