Handouts put Hong Kong in some elite company
Financial Secretary John Tsang's HK$36 billion cash handout may be unprecedented in Hong Kong but it's a ploy that a number of other governments have resorted to over the past month.
Libya recently gave each family the equivalent of US$400 and increased pay for civil servants by 150 per cent. Last week Saudi Arabia handed out benefits worth US$37 billion mainly in the form of cheaper loans for Saudis to buy homes. Kuwait too has got in on the game and is giving every citizen US$3,500.
What do all these governments have in common? They are all unpopular and undemocratic and are hoping that the handouts will buy off dissent from their citizens. The Hong Kong government should be embarrassed to find itself in the same company.
Bag not all bad
We were interested to see a report by the British environment agency which says that single-use polyethylene grocery bags have a lower carbon footprint than alternative or reusable bags.
Just to make things clear, we are not advocating their use or suggesting the plastic bag levy should be lifted or anything radical like that. We should nevertheless be aware of the plastic bag's relative environmental status.