A ban on the sale (but not use) of e-cigarettes will only push young people to black markets, or perhaps to traditional tobacco products that may be even less healthy.

There’s no need to read fortune sticks to know what looks really ominous for the city this year: Lam’s mishandling of various government proposals, from elderly welfare to toll adjustments, is dashing hope for change.

The government’s ‘we know best’ attitude to policymaking did it no favours in the Year of the Dog. The Lunar New Year should herald a more humble and consultative approach.

While the chief executive stressed the importance of building an inclusive society, at the World Economic Forum, the government’s callous attitude to the poor and the elderly is evident in its recent handling of welfare payments.

The chief executive once congratulated herself for improving relations with Legco, but her changes to elderly welfare payments have instead united rival legislators against her.

Carrie Lam’s pending hike in the welfare age limit caught lawmakers off guard, and they may take out their frustrations on the justice secretary she has sheltered.

Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen made a provocative New Year’s Day speech following Trump’s commitment to arms sales to the island. Xi Jinping responded with fighting talk, urging Taipei to accept ‘one country, two systems’, though Hong Kong is still struggling with it.

The justice minister wanted the public to focus on her department’s work, not her illegal structures scandal. Now, ironically, after the saga of the CY Leung case, she’d rather they didn’t scrutinise her work too closely.

Hong Kong must recognise that it needs to do more for children suffering from depression, kids on welfare, and even gifted children. But how much of the educational system is the city ready to change?

Hongkongers have been unhealthily obsessed with the Huawei executive’s three Hong Kong passports. But this diversion from the trade war actually reflects a crisis of faith in the Hong Kong government.

When Hong Kong penalises women for becoming mothers, we shouldn’t be surprised when an increasing number say they don’t want to have a family. It’s up to the government do more to change attitudes in society

Chinese scientist He Jiankui’s shocking creation of genetically edited babies has finally woken up the world to the dangers of DNA editing – and of leaving important issues in the hands of a few.

Officials’ failure to foresee the disruptive visitor influx from the newly opened Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge boggles the mind, but is hardly the only example of government incompetence. Think Typhoon Mangkhut travel chaos, for one

The UN Human Rights Council rightly took Hong Kong to task over its handling of the advocacy of democracy and autonomy in the city. But it is the government’s failure to address the everyday racism here that is most galling.

Hongkongers lost their way after the handover, becoming complacent even as the rise of mainland China chipped away at Hong Kong’s confidence.

The infighting in both the pan-democrat and pro-establishment camps results in a parade of the same old faces and issues come election day. Repeated by-elections are leading to voter fatigue that will ultimately set back the city’s political development.

• The chief executive’s work ethic is not in question, but her interest in the people and their opinions is another matter.

Two of Hong Kong’s former chief executives clearly have it in for the city’s current leader. One is trumpeting his own think tank’s land reclamation plan while the other might be trying to mount a political comeback.

China bashing is back in fashion, months into the US-China trade war. Ill-behaved Chinese tourists and Beijing’s calls for national rejuvenation make things worse for ethnic Chinese overseas.

The analysis by Hong Kong Vision of the root of the problems is spot on, and at least two of the recommendations – to formalise the liaison office’s responsibilities in Hong Kong, and initiate work on both Article 23 legislation and political reform – are worthy of consideration.

One in five Hongkongers lives below the poverty line, while one in seven is a millionaire and the government has an embarrassment of riches. So, why isn’t it doing more to help those in need?

Yet another survey result of unhappy Hong Kong children begs the question why parents who are dismayed by the news still continue to pile on pressure for their kids to excel.

The MTR chairman, the transport minister and the pro-Beijing bloc have all promoted a ‘cult of expertise’ to avoid accountability for shoddy construction work on the Sha Tin-Central link, but this scandal has demonstrated that even technicians can fail.

With the upcoming additions to legislator Eunice Yung’s family, the Legislative Council needs to address its lack of formal leave time for new parents.

The way that both mainland police and Hainan Airlines tried to help a Hong Kong film director’s attempted rapist dodge legal consequences shows the extent authorities will go to harass victims of sexual assault into silence.