https://www.scmp.com/rss/500118/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The Asia-Pacific region is at a crossroads today. It could further break down or break through to a greener, better and safer future. Since the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) was established in 1947, the region has made extraordinary progress and emerged as a pacesetter of global economic growth that has lifted millions out of poverty. Yet, as ESCAP celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, we find ourselves facing our biggest shared test amid cascading and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3178234/covid-19-climate-change-and-conflict-have-left-asia-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3178234/covid-19-climate-change-and-conflict-have-left-asia-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 May 2022 19:30:17 +0000 Across Asia and the Pacific, students and parents are breathing a sigh of relief as schools reopen and in-person classes gradually resume. But now comes the reckoning: failure to make up for students’ significant education losses during the Covid-19 pandemic could diminish their lifetime earning potential and substantially damage economic equity throughout the region. With the new academic year in many Asian countries starting in a matter of months, governments must urgently mitigate these... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/asia/article/3176721/asia-must-close-pandemic-education-gap-tackle-long-term-wealth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/asia/article/3176721/asia-must-close-pandemic-education-gap-tackle-long-term-wealth?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 May 2022 01:45:12 +0000 There are growing calls in mainland China to issue direct stimulus payments to consumers – like those that have been distributed in Hong Kong and the United States – to boost the economy that is being increasingly strained and tested by the nation’s zero-Covid strategy. Beijing has made repeated efforts to reverse the trend of sluggish consumer spending since the pandemic hit more than two years ago, but economists say that more must be done to get people to open their wallets. Consumer... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3175882/china-urged-give-cash-handouts-its-economy-and-most?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3175882/china-urged-give-cash-handouts-its-economy-and-most?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Apr 2022 14:30:17 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3174403/philippine-election-pink-wave-brown-face-drama-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3174403/philippine-election-pink-wave-brown-face-drama-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Apr 2022 08:24:05 +0000 Although the gender pay gap in the US – and notably, around the world – persists, women are becoming more vocal in standing up against discrimination. In the case of Hollywood, female celebrities are also speaking out on wage differences – here are 10 A-listers that have fought for equal pay. 1. Jessica Chastain told Variety she “drew a line in the sand” when she turned down a role with a wage gap in 2017 Chastain described a phenomenon where film studios would use whatever money was left over... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3173268/10-celebrities-who-fought-equal-pay-women-jessica?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3173268/10-celebrities-who-fought-equal-pay-women-jessica?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Apr 2022 10:20:14 +0000 Jacky Wang is an entrepreneur in China, but like many of his peers he is trying to recalibrate what that should involve. This year, he has bought two Mercedes-Benz cars and given 3 million yuan (US$470,000) to a social cause, after being urged to donate by his local government in the eastern province of Jiangsu. His cement company has been performing averagely, but he has spent money rather than plough his funds into business growth. “I know business prospects may turn good this year, because... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3171169/does-chinas-goal-common-prosperity-leave-room-super-rich?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3171169/does-chinas-goal-common-prosperity-leave-room-super-rich?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Mar 2022 05:00:24 +0000 “Common prosperity” may be on the lips of officials across China, but many local authorities are struggling to put the plan into action. After Beijing announced last year it had eliminated extreme poverty, it turned its attention to addressing social and economic inequality, with the goal of achieving so-called common prosperity by 2050. But beyond the big pronouncements, implementation – especially at a grass roots level – is being hampered by confusion about how best to help poor... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3170136/chinas-common-prosperity-drive-hits-snag-local-officials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3170136/chinas-common-prosperity-drive-hits-snag-local-officials?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Mar 2022 04:00:25 +0000 Six months after losing his job at an online education firm amid an industry-wide crackdown, Michael Zhao now makes a living linking mainland students with foreign English tutors – albeit on the sly. China banned classes with overseas tutors last summer and ordered private education companies to switch to non-profit status, part of an overhaul in the sector aimed at reining in runaway investment, easing students’ workloads and reducing financial pressure on families. The clampdown on the private... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168082/chinas-middle-class-worries-about-future-under-xi-jinpings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168082/chinas-middle-class-worries-about-future-under-xi-jinpings?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Feb 2022 15:00:22 +0000 Erlyn, 18, stopped going to school after the death of her asthmatic brother in 2019. Her friend Daisy, now 16, lost her mother in 2017, the cause of death unclear as the poverty-stricken family had no cash for medical tests; they still blame witchcraft for their loss. Devastated and needing money, Erlyn began working as a masseuse where she met a man in his early 30s who quickly became her husband, while Daisy left home at 15 to live with her boyfriend, now husband, the same age as her and also... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3166722/teen-pregnancies-philippines-soar-young-mums-struggle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3166722/teen-pregnancies-philippines-soar-young-mums-struggle?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Feb 2022 04:00:27 +0000 The World Health Organization and the Commonwealth of Nations issued a joint plea on Monday for vulnerable small states to get better access to Covid-19 jabs to help revive their economies. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland met at the UN health agency’s headquarters in Geneva to sign an agreement focused on ending the pandemic and combating vaccine inequity. “The impact of the pandemic will be felt for decades, especially among the most... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3166161/who-commonwealth-make-covid-19-jabs-access-plea-vulnerable-small?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3166161/who-commonwealth-make-covid-19-jabs-access-plea-vulnerable-small?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Feb 2022 14:25:56 +0000 The world’s income and wealth inequality is said to have reached an “alarming” level two years into a global pandemic that has killed at least 5.5 million people. The disparity has proved particularly challenging for Asian countries, forcing Beijing, Tokyo, Bangkok and others to provide more policy support, according to analysts. The wealth of the world’s 10 richest men has doubled to about US$1.5 trillion since the coronavirus pandemic began, but the incomes of 99 per cent of humanity are worse... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3164291/chinas-wealth-inequality-has-worsened-pandemic-highlighting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3164291/chinas-wealth-inequality-has-worsened-pandemic-highlighting?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Jan 2022 12:00:20 +0000 With the world suffering from Covid-19 containment fatigue, the star-studded Netflix comedy Don’t Look Up provides a satirical and relatable reality. The film cleverly draws attention to our climate emergency, shaming leaders for failing to respond appropriately. A parallel can be drawn to the world’s collective failure in handling the Covid-19 pandemic. An important takeaway is that the absence of leadership and social justice is a guaranteed path to destruction. A lack of decisive pandemic... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164136/covid-19-and-climate-crises-have-sparked-outcry-social-justice-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164136/covid-19-and-climate-crises-have-sparked-outcry-social-justice-will?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jan 2022 17:30:12 +0000 Once in a while, a person dies whose life happens to mirror in almost every detail the lives of millions around him. Salil Tripathi’s fate was to be that person, to be that death. Last Saturday, as heavy rain lashed the Indian capital in one of the heaviest downpours in 25 years, most people remained indoors. But Tripathi zipped up his jacket and grabbed his helmet to go out and drop off food as a delivery “executive” for Zomato, a food delivery platform. “I told him not to go out in such bad... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3163548/india-salil-tripathis-hardworking-life-was-typical-millions-determined?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3163548/india-salil-tripathis-hardworking-life-was-typical-millions-determined?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jan 2022 05:00:19 +0000 The received wisdom of 2021 is that, in the larger global context, the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change will be the biggest challenges to human security. The numbers tell their own story. At the end of 2021, global cases of Covid-19 were estimated at around 292 million with almost 5.5 million deaths. This translates to almost 700 deaths per million among the global population. With the emergence of the rapidly transmissible Omicron variant, the number of daily global cases has surpassed 1.5... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3162084/climate-change-and-pandemic-loom-large-world-leaders-obsess-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3162084/climate-change-and-pandemic-loom-large-world-leaders-obsess-over?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jan 2022 19:30:28 +0000 Democracy, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. When US President Joe Biden held the virtual Summit for Democracy in December, he recognised in his closing speech that “democracy is what makes it possible for hope and history to rhyme”, but also that democracy must deliver and be accountable. This last view coincides with China’s white paper on democracy. It says that, “there is nothing wrong with democracy per se. Some countries have encountered setbacks and crises in their quest for... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3161665/whats-driving-crisis-democracy-around-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3161665/whats-driving-crisis-democracy-around-world?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Dec 2021 19:30:23 +0000 The United Nations has declared 2022 to be the Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture. However, 2022 should be celebrated as the Year of Hope in light of the Covid-19 outbreak of 202o-21. The key priority for all nations in 2022 will be to continue the unrelenting fight against Covid-19 and its variants. Less than half of the global population has received two doses of the vaccine, with just 58 per cent having received at least one dose. Until at least 80 per cent of the world is fully... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3161537/what-needs-happen-2022-be-year-hope-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3161537/what-needs-happen-2022-be-year-hope-world?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Dec 2021 16:30:12 +0000 About 4.37 million of China’s smallest businesses permanently shut their doors in the first 11 months of the year – more than three times the number of new ones that opened during the same time, according to data obtained by the Post. Figures from a public registry tracking firm also show that, for the first time in two decades, the rate of deregistration among micro and small businesses surpassed the number of those newly registered in China. The data is particularly relevant given that Beijing... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161554/chinas-smallest-firms-failing-historic-pace-437-million-close?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161554/chinas-smallest-firms-failing-historic-pace-437-million-close?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Dec 2021 12:30:13 +0000 The accusations started in October and gathered steam throughout November into early December. In a series of videos published on a range of platforms, social commentator Sima Nan accused Lenovo, China’s largest PC maker, of selling state assets on the cheap. He also accused the company of paying top executives unreasonably high salaries and threatening national security by having foreign nationals make up more than half its 27 senior executives, among other things. As the posts rolled in, his... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3160691/when-chinese-tech-firms-lenovo-get-caught-nationalist-social?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3160691/when-chinese-tech-firms-lenovo-get-caught-nationalist-social?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Dec 2021 04:00:21 +0000 The year 2021 marked a new paradigm for the Chinese economy. China is shifting from a model championing gross domestic product growth above all, to one emphasising efficiency, consumer welfare and protection, climate-change mitigation and environmental protection. Chinese companies’ growth will be less unbridled, and more regulated and monitored. The goal of building a global manufacturing powerhouse has evolved into the pursuit of techno-nationalism. China’s leaders believe their country is on... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3160148/common-prosperity-china-can-avoid-excesses-unrestrained-western?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3160148/common-prosperity-china-can-avoid-excesses-unrestrained-western?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Dec 2021 22:45:08 +0000 Life is unfair but what can we do about it? The world continues to tolerate the growing injustice of inequalities in income, wealth and, most recently, vaccine distribution. French political economist Thomas Piketty and his colleagues at the World Inequality Lab has just published the World Inequality Report 2022, a gold mine of data and insights. I found at least three nuggets. First, inequality is primarily a political issue. We can all do something about it, but since politics has been... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3159998/world-needs-summit-tackle-climate-and-wealth-inequalities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3159998/world-needs-summit-tackle-climate-and-wealth-inequalities?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Dec 2021 17:30:22 +0000 On the face of it, Hong Kong is a rich, peaceful city admired by many. But it wasn’t always so. Young children in my generation, back in the 1950s or 1960s, would string beads or thread plastic flowers to help make ends meet. Most young people then struggled to afford leisure, never mind lead an easy life. But how is it that in our rich city today, there are still 274,000 children living in poverty, according to government statistics? Young children should all be happily going to school, playing... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3156764/if-hong-kong-so-rich-why-are-our-children-selling-scrap-cardboard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3156764/if-hong-kong-so-rich-why-are-our-children-selling-scrap-cardboard?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Nov 2021 22:00:12 +0000 I write in response to Jason Tang’s letter on Squid Game and your report on schools warning parents about its impact on children (“Squid Game warning issued by schools to parents after children as young as six years old act out scenes from Netflix smash hit”, October 30). The series is set in a dystopian world where desperate people at the edges of society play a sequence of childhood games. There is only one winner at the end who will walk away with 45.6 billion won (US$38.5 million) in prize... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3154878/squid-games-cry-despair-must-not-be-allowed-take-root-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3154878/squid-games-cry-despair-must-not-be-allowed-take-root-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Nov 2021 22:30:11 +0000 While China’s property sector is already on a downward trend, plans to expand the property tax will probably only add to the housing market’s woes. The market is wondering why Beijing is sticking to its property tightening amid intensifying economic headwinds and, more importantly, whether further deterioration in the property market will endanger financial stability. There have been rumours about a new round of property tax pilot programmes for some time now. President Xi Jinping’s essay in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3154473/why-beijing-will-endure-property-taxs-drag-housing-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3154473/why-beijing-will-endure-property-taxs-drag-housing-market?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Nov 2021 20:30:17 +0000 The Netflix sensation Squid Game has taken the world by storm, coming out tops in viewership in multiple regions and becoming the talk of the town – and even the globe – despite being a TV drama not in English. The nine-episode series transcends language and culture, mesmerising audiences from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds. This fictional story follows a bunch of cash-strapped debtors who, at the invitation of an enigmatic organisation, partake in a competition where they play... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3154132/squid-game-asks-big-questions-about-capitalism-and-humanitys-dark?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3154132/squid-game-asks-big-questions-about-capitalism-and-humanitys-dark?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Oct 2021 17:00:23 +0000 Perpetual inequality will only increase if we always look the other way. This is especially so if, as some predictions suggest, the global population hits 10 billion in 2050, with more than 5 billion in Asia alone. Just as the 2008 financial meltdown oozed over the world with volcanic heat and the 1997 Asian financial crisis unhinged otherwise stable economies, so the grinding dynamic of widening inequality threatens our humanity, sense of justice and psychic equilibrium. As the French economist... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3152731/can-asia-lead-global-fight-cure-poverty-pandemic-us-lags-behind?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3152731/can-asia-lead-global-fight-cure-poverty-pandemic-us-lags-behind?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Oct 2021 17:30:09 +0000 Which government is working to reduce income inequality, raise wages, improve welfare for workers, get companies and financial investors to pay their fair share of taxes and improve the environment? China? The United States? Japan? Britain? Germany? The answer is all of the above. Among these, though, China has been in spotlight this year with a flurry of regulatory changes aimed at achieving “common prosperity”. These include improving income equality, controlling home prices for better... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3152315/global-shift-towards-greater-equality-shows-chinas-common?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3152315/global-shift-towards-greater-equality-shows-chinas-common?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:30:15 +0000 Are you a Squid Game fan? Did you binge the entire series in a single sitting like I did, or did you have the restraint to space out your viewings? When it was first released in mid-September, I resisted watching this dystopian thriller K-drama, the reason being that I loathe herd mentality and often find films or TV series that have mass appeal disappointing, as they are not necessarily genuine masterpieces. Plus, commercial success and artistic recognition are not mutually inclusive. However,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3151601/hong-kong-people-would-easily-win-squid-game-contests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3151601/hong-kong-people-would-easily-win-squid-game-contests?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Oct 2021 03:00:18 +0000 The conventional wisdom is that the Hong Kong people have been totally disenfranchised in their own city and the wealthy elite from Beijing are in control. But a closer look tells a very different story. For a start, it’s certainly not the case that the same old pro-Beijing voices are taking over the electoral process in Hong Kong. About 70 per cent of the 1,247 candidates for the city’s revised Election Committee are new faces, and they are Hongkongers, not northerly folk who have jetted in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3148745/best-thing-about-hong-kongs-electoral-reforms-they-strike-blow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3148745/best-thing-about-hong-kongs-electoral-reforms-they-strike-blow?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Sep 2021 00:30:09 +0000 “Common prosperity” is the latest buzzword for China’s markets. The term has been mentioned by over 70 major Chinese companies in their latest earnings reports and by President Xi Jinping in over 60 speeches this year, up from 30 last year and just six in 2019. It is part of a series of political priorities, including dual circulation, environmental protection and family values, that is driving major shifts in Chinese markets. But they are having trouble digesting this latest priority. In stark... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/asia/article/3148193/winners-and-losers-common-prosperity-reshapes-chinas-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/asia/article/3148193/winners-and-losers-common-prosperity-reshapes-chinas-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Sep 2021 06:30:13 +0000 Top central bankers are meeting virtually in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this weekend to discuss “macroeconomic policy in an uneven economy.” Everyone is eagerly awaiting Jerome Powell’s comments about the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policies in the wake of global and national imbalances. Central bankers carry the aura of cardinals since they manage money mysteriously through the creation of central bank reserves. For nearly 25 years, the Fed’s balance sheet was around 6 per cent of national gross... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3146545/central-bankers-can-no-longer-deny-moral-consequences-keeping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3146545/central-bankers-can-no-longer-deny-moral-consequences-keeping?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Aug 2021 17:30:18 +0000 China’s recent white paper celebrating the end of extreme poverty will be dismissed by critics as propaganda or PR fluff. Yet what cannot easily be dismissed is the evidence that mainland China has indeed made extraordinary economic progress over recent decades, and that its leaders have achieved much of what they set out to do in eradicating absolute poverty. The speed with which draconian measures were introduced to curb the spread of Covid-19 is also telling. Those living elsewhere, including... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3130803/chinas-anti-poverty-playbook-should-inspire-hong-kong-act?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3130803/chinas-anti-poverty-playbook-should-inspire-hong-kong-act?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Apr 2021 00:45:12 +0000 In the lobby of Bangkok’s Pullman Grande hotel, medical teams clad in full-body protective gear shuttle back and forth, greeting well-heeled coronavirus patients as they arrive by ambulance for treatment. About 250 rooms in the five-star hotel have been repurposed as a temporary extension of the capital’s Thonburi private hospital amid a rapid surge in new Covid-19 infections – with one-third of Thailand’s more than 45,000 total cases being reported this month alone. In addition to field... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3130281/thailands-rich-covid-19-patients-get-hospitel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3130281/thailands-rich-covid-19-patients-get-hospitel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Apr 2021 08:06:13 +0000 The speed at which Hong Kong plans to have sweeping electoral reforms approved and implemented is impressive. A bill was introduced to the Legislative Council last week and officials hope to have the changes in place by May, in time for elections in September, December and next March. That Beijing has orchestrated the overhaul to ensure the city is governed by patriots is the reason for the haste, but the dedication of local officials to carrying out the order raises serious questions. If such... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3130019/can-hong-kongs-electoral-overhaul-spur-meaningful-change-street?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3130019/can-hong-kongs-electoral-overhaul-spur-meaningful-change-street?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Apr 2021 22:45:17 +0000 Just as some patients recovering from Covid-19 suffer long-lasting symptoms, it is becoming clear that the same will be true for the global economy once this year’s V-shaped rebound fades. While US$26 trillion worth of crisis support and the arrival of vaccines have fuelled a faster recovery than many anticipated, the legacies of stunted education, the destruction of jobs, war-era levels of debt and widening inequalities between races, genders, generations and geographies will leave lasting... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3129994/coronavirus-set-scar-world-economy-decades-amid-uneven-unequal-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3129994/coronavirus-set-scar-world-economy-decades-amid-uneven-unequal-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Apr 2021 02:02:05 +0000 I am writing to add my voice to concerns about the housing crisis in the city (“Where are the Hong Kong patriots who will ease the housing crisis?”, March 26). Scarce land resources have caused the city’s population of 7.5 million to be densely packed into a space of just about 1,100 square kilometres, and the lack of affordable and decent housing has only become more serious in the last decade or two. Home prices have been on a steady upwards trajectory, and the city was recently named the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3127752/time-hong-kong-paid-heed-social-costs-poor-housing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3127752/time-hong-kong-paid-heed-social-costs-poor-housing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Mar 2021 22:15:10 +0000 The world is emerging from the biggest social and economic shock in living memory, but it will be a long time before the deep scars of the Covid-19 pandemic on human well-being fully heal. In the Asia-Pacific region, where 60 per cent of the world lives, the pandemic revealed chronic development fault lines through its excessively harmful impact on the most vulnerable. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) estimates that 89 million more people in the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3127404/coronavirus-recovery-asia-pacific-must-focus-three-areas-its-post?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3127404/coronavirus-recovery-asia-pacific-must-focus-three-areas-its-post?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Mar 2021 19:30:08 +0000 With vaccinations raising hopes for an end to the pandemic, predictions about the post-Covid-19 world are multiplying fast. From envisioning a reordered economy to forecasting how people will live, work and play, experts are doing their best to extrapolate from developments the coronavirus has put into motion. In the United States, most forecasters are fixated on the likelihood of higher US economic growth following mass vaccination and a new US$1.9 trillion recovery package. Fortunately,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3127114/upbeat-post-pandemic-forecasts-mask-real-dangers-political-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3127114/upbeat-post-pandemic-forecasts-mask-real-dangers-political-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Mar 2021 17:30:14 +0000 It would be tempting, if futile, to dwell on what has happened over the past two years in Hong Kong. More constructively, perhaps, we should look towards the future and grapple with the present political reality. Three straightforward questions, then, should be answered by those governing Hong Kong. This would enable us to move forward collectively, rather than buckling under the weight of unresolved grievances. First, for all the talk of socioeconomic reforms, what will they look like – and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3125543/can-hong-kong-be-run-patriotic-officials-who-are-not-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3125543/can-hong-kong-be-run-patriotic-officials-who-are-not-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Mar 2021 22:45:08 +0000 It all kicked off on a Facebook page recently when a property agent in Sai Kung, in Hong Kong’s New Territories, advertised a village house for a monthly rent of HK$44,000 (US$5,670) with a “helper’s shed” in the garden. Scandalised readers called the use of language offensive and inappropriate, saying the notion of putting a domestic helper in a shed demonstrated the brutal inequality of living conditions for migrant workers in Asia’s World City. Others gamely defended the ad. One pointed out... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3125168/hong-kong-real-property-agent-advertises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3125168/hong-kong-real-property-agent-advertises?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Mar 2021 00:15:17 +0000 An award-winning Chinese schoolteacher has been discharged from duties after discriminating against students based on the incomes and positions of their parents. The middle school teacher surnamed Xiao, from China’s eastern Tianjin municipality, was voted the “most beautiful” teacher by the school in 2014 for her outstanding performance in teaching mathematics, but had her working licence revoked last week when an audio recording of her demeaning students was released online, prompting a social... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3123890/most-beautiful-chinese-teacher-who-discriminated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3123890/most-beautiful-chinese-teacher-who-discriminated?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Mar 2021 07:09:24 +0000 Goh Cheng Liang, one of Singapore’s richest men, recently reaped windfall gains to his already considerable wealth when his Wuthelam Holdings finally acquired a majority stake in Japan’s biggest paint maker, Nippon Paint Holdings. Worth US$12 billion, the stake isn’t only a boon to Wuthelam, but to the Goh family’s fortune as well, which has seen its wealth increase by US$8 billion to US$24 billion. The Goh family’s massive accumulation of money in one quick stroke is reinforcing the old... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3123711/spiralling-inequality-its-time-highlight-billionaire-givers-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3123711/spiralling-inequality-its-time-highlight-billionaire-givers-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Mar 2021 21:15:19 +0000 Rising inequality, both within economies and between the world’s richest and poorest nations, has aroused mounting concern since the global financial crash of 2008. So it is not really surprising to discover that the global pandemic – and the rush for vaccine protection – is twisting the inequality screw even more tightly. While the stark realities of “vaccine inequality” and “vaccine nationalism” are clearly unjust, they are also ridiculously wasteful and counterproductive.  Research from Duke... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3123123/if-worlds-poor-lose-race-covid-19-vaccines-we-will-all-pay-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3123123/if-worlds-poor-lose-race-covid-19-vaccines-we-will-all-pay-it?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Feb 2021 14:00:09 +0000 If ever there was a barometer of China’s rich and poor divide, it is a new report on how much people spend on entertainment and leisure activities. Almost 45% of the population - equivalent to 620 million people in China – spend less than US$153 on entertainment for the entire year, a new survey reveals. About 4.1% of respondents said they spent nothing on leisure. “The last time I went to a wedding reception in a neighboring village, I spent 80 yuan (US$12) on a gift,” said Luo Xiu, who is in... https://www.scmp.com/society/entertainment-spending-highlights-chinas-great-wealth-divide/article/3115686?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/entertainment-spending-highlights-chinas-great-wealth-divide/article/3115686?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Dec 2020 10:43:01 +0000 Every Tuesday and Thursday, Inkstone Index features one important number about China to give you insight into the rising power. Two-thirds: How much of the nation’s wealth was controlled by China’s richest 10% in 2015.  In around 40 years, China has risen to become the world’s leading emerging economy. But the country’s exponential economic gains have been poorly distributed at home, creating a wealth gap almost as big as that found in America.  When the former leader Deng Xiaoping opened... https://www.scmp.com/society/inkstone-index-china-almost-unequal-united-states/article/3104209?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/inkstone-index-china-almost-unequal-united-states/article/3104209?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Oct 2020 03:45:43 +0000 Every Tuesday and Thursday, China Trends takes the pulse of the Chinese social media to keep you in the loop of what the world’s biggest internet population is talking about. No money, no problems? Chinese internet users have criticized a state media report for suggesting that, based on a survey, people with high incomes are not necessarily happier than people who make less money. According to the survey conducted by state broadcaster CCTV, about 60% of respondents who made 1 million yuan... https://www.scmp.com/society/china-trends-income-survey-mocked-and-pregnant-coronavirus-patient-takes-flak/article/3091995?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/china-trends-income-survey-mocked-and-pregnant-coronavirus-patient-takes-flak/article/3091995?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jul 2020 08:51:57 +0000 Warning: The video contains graphic content that some may find disturbing. The pursuit of freshness is sweeping across China. In the past decades, rural farmhouses called nongjiales have been popping up all over. They cater to the growing urban desire for fresh food and air, and they’ve been heavily promoted by the government as a way to bridge the income gap. We visited a couple of these farmhouses and got the inside scoop. And killed a chicken while we were at it. Written by: Clarissa... https://www.scmp.com/videos/we-killed-and-ate-chicken-jungle-china/article/2160897?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/we-killed-and-ate-chicken-jungle-china/article/2160897?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:10:14 +0000