https://www.scmp.com/rss/500472/feed Peter G. de Krassel is a strategic analyst, contemporary social commentator, author of the Custom Maid series of books, blogs and co-founder of the Pets Central Veterinary Network peter@custommaidbook.com en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com New York City Mayor Eric Adams, like Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, is a former police officer. Adams and Lee both took office last year, and they share one more thing in common – the daunting task of trying to solve a housing crisis in one of the world’s most expensive cities. Adams’ solution is focused on rezoning unused offices into flats over the next decade as New York, like Hong Kong, faces a deepening housing affordability crisis at a time when offices are severely underused. Covid-19... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3212675/hong-kong-should-emulate-new-york-solve-its-housing-crisis-rezoning-unused-buildings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3212675/hong-kong-should-emulate-new-york-solve-its-housing-crisis-rezoning-unused-buildings?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Mar 2023 00:15:09 +0000 Housing was the only policy issue Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu chose for priority action in his first 100 days. Yet, more than 200 days later, no rational long-term housing proposal has been presented. A mere 5 per cent of the roughly 240,000 households on the government’s waiting list were allocated public housing in the third quarter of 2022, according to the Housing Authority’s latest figures. The average waiting time for a public rental flat is almost six years. This brings us to the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3209151/profitable-affordable-housing-alternative-wasteful-temporary-light-housing-and-lantau-tomorrow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3209151/profitable-affordable-housing-alternative-wasteful-temporary-light-housing-and-lantau-tomorrow?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Feb 2023 00:15:11 +0000 Has the US embarked on its third revolution? This is the question in many minds after the world’s richest and most powerful democracy saw its Capitol attacked and ransacked by angry Donald Trump supporters who dispute the results of November’s presidential election. This was the first attack on the US Capitol since 1814, when British forces entered the city during the War of 1812. The invasion of the Capitol, while Congress was tallying the Electoral College votes to certify Joe Biden’s election... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3117583/could-us-capitol-invasion-signal-start-third-american-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3117583/could-us-capitol-invasion-signal-start-third-american-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Jan 2021 19:30:15 +0000 Earlier this month, Hong Kong’s first Beijing-appointed chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, made an impassioned plea to Washington for a new page in US-China relations. Addressing the annual China Conference (organised by the Post), he said the two countries should “get on with it and overcome our difficulties and work together to make the world a better place”. It is a timely call. The situation in Hong Kong has been one of the reasons Washington and Beijing are pulling apart. The United States... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3115707/improve-relations-us-china-should-rethink-its-hong-kong-strategy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3115707/improve-relations-us-china-should-rethink-its-hong-kong-strategy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Dec 2020 01:15:06 +0000 In the ongoing saga of the US presidential election, a question vital to Hong Kong looms large: will President Donald Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, restore the special trade status the city was granted under the 1992 Hong Kong Policy Act? Many in the Republican camp think he might, as they believe Biden is of a socialist mindset and has deep China connections. They purposely overlook that the US-Hong Kong Policy Act was actually signed into law by Republican president George H.W. Bush, two years... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3112504/why-us-must-restore-hong-kongs-special-trade-status?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3112504/why-us-must-restore-hong-kongs-special-trade-status?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Dec 2020 02:15:17 +0000 The global Covid-19 pandemic is dominating and dictating daily life in all countries, regardless of wealth, geography or political system. Thus, the crucial concern for many today is which system has dealt with the pandemic efficiently – real democracy, managed democracy or one-party authoritarian rule? The answer seems clouded. Both US President Donald Trump, the commander-in-chief of the land of the free, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the totalitarian master of the world’s first... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3107621/real-democracy-still-going-strong-despite-pandemic-crisis-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3107621/real-democracy-still-going-strong-despite-pandemic-crisis-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:30:17 +0000 With the US presidential election only some six weeks away, a pertinent question on many American minds is: does President Donald Trump have a plan for personal and business survival? Remember, Trump is a president who, many suspect, has much to hide. Unlike his predecessors and elected officials in general, he has refused to disclose his assets and liabilities. Thus, his decision to put himself forward as a Republican candidate in 2016 was seen as a smart marketing strategy. The Trump... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3102140/how-trumps-fear-and-loathing-mail-voting-threatens-us-stability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3102140/how-trumps-fear-and-loathing-mail-voting-threatens-us-stability?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2020 20:30:10 +0000 Watching the virtual conventions of the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States, I was blown away especially by how President Donald Trump has achieved the feat of unifying the Democratic Party. It had been clear for some time that the Democratic Party was fractured, with the progressive wing led by Senator Bernie Sanders on one side and the moderate-centrist wing, led by former vice-president Joe Biden, on the other. Nonetheless, now the party has nominated Biden, with Sanders’... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3099889/how-trump-divided-nation-united-democrats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3099889/how-trump-divided-nation-united-democrats?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2020 17:15:17 +0000 I am an American-British-Cypriot writer, lawyer and consultant who has been coming to Hong Kong since the early ’80s. I have since settled down here as a Hongkonger. My books, first published in 2004, and my blogs address all aspects of US-China relations from a Hong Kong point of view. Hongkongers are not only Chinese. We are multiracial – emigrants from all parts of the world, who came here because we can be better off here than in our homelands. Stability and security are of paramount... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3093603/uncertainty-over-national-security-law-pushing-hong-kong-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3093603/uncertainty-over-national-security-law-pushing-hong-kong-people?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jul 2020 04:15:07 +0000 The Hong Kong government does take care of business; first and foremost, the business of its billionaire tycoons. But it also deserves credit for what it has done lately for Hongkongers as a whole, notwithstanding the confidence crisis caused by ramrodding the national anthem bill through the Legislative Council and abdicating to Beijing the enactment of a national security law as required by Article 23 of the Basic Law. Nevertheless, the news on Covid-19 from around the world has me thanking my... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3087404/how-hong-kong-got-its-coronavirus-response-right-taking-care?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3087404/how-hong-kong-got-its-coronavirus-response-right-taking-care?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jun 2020 22:30:06 +0000 The lingering anti-government protests and Covid-19 pandemic have generated panic among some people and corporations in Hong Kong, who are weighing the pros and cons of staying in the city.   The economy has gone into a tailspin, after protests that started peacefully in March last year turned violent in June. By August, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was already describing the economic downturn as worse than that caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic in 2003. The... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3085695/even-protests-recession-and-coronavirus-hong-kong-better-bet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3085695/even-protests-recession-and-coronavirus-hong-kong-better-bet?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 May 2020 21:01:32 +0000 The year 2019 will be remembered as the year of a resurgence of democracy – with a vengeance. Messy as democracy is, it still works. It is preferred by many around the world to all other political alternatives. Democracy’s supporters have, thus, proven wrong commentators who claim that it is in recession or, worse, dead. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, echoing Russian President Vladimir Putin, declared, “The era of liberal democracy is over.” He may be right as to the word “liberal”, but... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3044555/despite-trump-impeachment-and-brexit-sagas-2019-was-good-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3044555/despite-trump-impeachment-and-brexit-sagas-2019-was-good-year?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Jan 2020 14:00:09 +0000 The civil disobedience movement in Hong Kong, which started in early June, has shown what makes this special administrative region of China truly special – the people. The movement, which started as a peaceful march of hundreds of thousands, brought out and rallied millions of people from all walks of life and of all ages. They differed in strategy, joining either marches or violent attacks, but were held together by a common goal: to make their voices heard and recognised. During lunchtime... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3039599/hongkongers-are-restoring-order-their-own-city-brick-brick-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3039599/hongkongers-are-restoring-order-their-own-city-brick-brick-who?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Nov 2019 01:30:14 +0000 Five months ago, people panicked when waves of protests washed from one neighbourhood to another across Hong Kong, and especially when the MTR and other public transport services stopped abruptly. Today, clashes between protesters and police are a given. People check protest schedules, MTR and bus schedules, and plan their day accordingly. Protests are the new normal. It was brought home to me on Halloween, a night of violent protests. At the nearby Mong Kok Pets Central Hospital at the corner... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3037597/protests-drag-hong-kong-people-keep-calm-and-carry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3037597/protests-drag-hong-kong-people-keep-calm-and-carry?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Nov 2019 09:00:07 +0000 Is US President Donald Trump, politically speaking, mindlessly mad or a mindful genius? It is a question I am often asked in different ways at my Sino-US relations book talks and lectures, and a question raised by many political pundits and commentators. In the interest of full disclosure, I confess that I agree with some of his policies and disagree with many – especially on climate change, immigration, and his brazen challenges to the rule of law, justice and justices. As a political scientist... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3026420/how-method-donald-trumps-madness-makes-him-political-genius?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3026420/how-method-donald-trumps-madness-makes-him-political-genius?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Sep 2019 19:00:07 +0000 Hong Kong’s street protests are into their third month and continuing, disrupting traffic and daily life. The unrest is also having an adverse economic impact. Why is there not more public anger at these disrupters? An important reason is the widespread discontent over the housing crisis, brought on by the greed of property developers and landlords who are entrenched and politically connected. Compare Hong Kong with its sister city, Singapore. Both inherited public housing systems from their... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3023639/singapore-calm-while-hong-kong-boils-and-its-down-citys-greedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3023639/singapore-calm-while-hong-kong-boils-and-its-down-citys-greedy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Aug 2019 01:30:10 +0000 Millennials in Hong Kong and Istanbul are displaying a common trend. They are using the 21st century’s disruptive technologies and messaging apps against the dictatorial ways of their 20th-century autocrat sovereigns. They have a common goal: reconfigure and restore the values of democratic liberalism for the betterment of their societies. Thus, they have become the front lines of the modern-day disruptive changes. Their achievements so far have been impressive. Citizens, young and old, rally... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3021318/fighting-democracy-front-lines-hong-kong-and-istanbul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3021318/fighting-democracy-front-lines-hong-kong-and-istanbul?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Aug 2019 12:03:46 +0000 Attempts to jump-start negotiations after the failed Donald Trump-Kim Jong-un summit in Hanoi, while North Korea reactivates its rocket and satellite launch facilities, have generated a lot of positive and negative commentaries. None have had a constructive political solution. Denuclearisation and sanctions issues aside, what is that political solution? To begin with, China needs to reverse its current strategy of retaining the status quo on the Korean peninsula. In doing so, Beijing can gain a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3005244/title-kim-jong-un-economic-zones-and-threat-force-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3005244/title-kim-jong-un-economic-zones-and-threat-force-political?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Apr 2019 01:30:07 +0000