https://www.scmp.com/rss/265293/feed Francis Moriarty is an independent journalist and a regular columnist for the Berkshire Eagle newspaper in the US, writing mainly about Asian issues. He was formerly the chief political correspondent for Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The moving train wrecks involving the trials of US President Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chief Paul Manafort, and his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, remind us to think carefully about our choice of words. I’m pondering “collusion”. Is it the right word for whatever has been going on? Eerie echoes of the Richard Nixon-Watergate era resound in this saga. As in Watergate, these are two of the president’s men. Nixon proclaimed, “I’m not a crook.” Trump proclaims, “No collusion.” People... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2161852/trump-and-russia-why-fall-manafort-and-cohen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2161852/trump-and-russia-why-fall-manafort-and-cohen?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Aug 2018 20:00:30 +0000 Thanks to land purchases made largely by mainland Chinese developers, who have been paying eye-watering prices, Hong Kong’s latest budget forecast total fiscal reserves to stand at HK$952 billion (US$122.52 billion) by the end of March 2018. Add in various piles of cash the government has scattered about and it’s closer to HK$1.8 trillion, and none of this includes reserves held separately by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. What this means in practical terms is the government has enough money... https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2085785/hong-kongs-nearly-hk2tr-fiscal-reserves-should-be-spent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2085785/hong-kongs-nearly-hk2tr-fiscal-reserves-should-be-spent?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Apr 2017 16:00:30 +0000 There are times when talents gather in a certain place, drawn as filings to a magnet. That's how it was in the San Francisco Bay Area of four decades ago, a time of circus clowns and cyclotrons, activists and accelerators, particles and poets. I write of this now because someone very special, even by the standards of that era, has just died. The first time I saw Robin Williams was in one of the comedy clubs that were proliferating in vacated corner stores and the back rooms of old spaghetti... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1572826/day-i-saw-robin-williams-his-element?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1572826/day-i-saw-robin-williams-his-element?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2014 07:15:45 +0000