On January 20, the International Monetary Fund’s report on Hong Kong recommended various initiatives for the city to implement. The government has been adopting a Keynesian approach during the challenges that the 2019 protests, followed by Covid-19, created. However, a shift to a supply side approach is clearly warranted. We have 1.6 million residents living below the poverty line – around 20 per cent of the population. We have a minimum wage of HK$37.50 per hour – without a cap on how many hours a person can work, which is absolutely insufficient in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Germany is considering raising the minimum wage from €9.82 (HK$86) per hour to €12. In the context of Hong Kong’s minimum wage, Germany’s minimum wage could be increasing from 2.3 times our minimum wage to nearly three times. Some US states and companies are paying a minimum of US$15 an hour, which is three times our minimum wage. Increasing the minimum wage for hourly workers to a level that begins to correlate to the high cost of living in Hong Kong will only benefit the economy and society at large. While bosses might be perturbed, the economic and societal benefits far outweigh their potential concerns. Higher disposable income will create a higher propensity to consume which in turn will boost aggregate demand, aggregate supply and ultimately gross domestic product, not to mention pulling many out of the vicious circle of the poverty trap. Let’s hope our newly instated Legislative Council can see one easy way to improve the quality of life for Hong Kong. Simon Constantinides, Pok Fu Lam Economically disruptive cyberbullying must be outlawed Cyberbullying and doxxing are of grave concern to Hong Kong today. Some social media influencers have hurt certain businesses by smearing them in the name of politics or under the guise of striving for human rights. Some of them have even profited from these actions by then promoting the “yellow economic circle” . Those who are not aware of the relationship between these influencers and “yellow” merchants inadvertently end up supporting their campaign. One of these pages, Dare Media HK, terminated some of its activities in the beginning of January after its adverse moves were exposed. Another page, sayno4tvb2.0, which targets television advertisers, was banned by Facebook, but a backup page was published immediately after this ban. This nuisance will not be stopped by self-regulation. Economic freedom is important to Hong Kong. Online behaviour that hinders normal business operations would significantly harm the city’s prosperity and disrupt the local social media environment. Every social ecosystem requires both freedom and regulation. Legislative councillors like Paul Tse Wai-chun are looking into whether new laws could help tackle the problem. In the meantime, people should not compromise but rather condemn cyberbullying, as well as fraudulent behaviour, before the authorities can improve the legal system. Cyberbullying is especially pernicious because young people may take part in it without realising the consequences of their actions or the risks of breaking the law. Louis Chen, committee member, All-China Youth Federation, and member, Election Committee (fifth sector)
