https://www.scmp.com/rss/7417/feed Australian-born Peter Kammerer has lived and worked in Hong Kong for more than 30 years, joining the Post in 1988. He is a long-time editorial writer and columnist, as well as a former foreign editor. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com In the age of the gig economy, I am a dinosaur. I worked continuously for this newspaper for 34 years and three months, joining at 25 and, as of this column, ceasing full-time employment with retirement. Such occasions can be turning points, but my thoughts are only of a much-needed break and exercise – for how long, I can’t tell. Of one thing there is certainty, though: Hong Kong is my home. Friends overseas and acquaintances express surprise when I tell them I’m staying in Hong Kong. I could... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3191283/why-im-staying-hong-kong-high-mobility-low-crime-green?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3191283/why-im-staying-hong-kong-high-mobility-low-crime-green?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Sep 2022 22:45:11 +0000 The word “progress” is defined as “development towards an improved or more advanced condition”. I’ve lived in Hong Kong since the late 1980s and while technology has made life easier, I can’t say things have got better for the majority. The problems of then still seem to be largely with us now, with the economy at the top of the heap, followed by housing, care for the elderly and disadvantaged, and the search for talent, and extending through matters like racial discrimination, rubbish disposal... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3189653/hong-kongs-covid-19-rules-are-symbolic-wider-obstacles-progress?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3189653/hong-kongs-covid-19-rules-are-symbolic-wider-obstacles-progress?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Aug 2022 22:15:23 +0000 Thank you, Nancy Pelosi. Those of us who wish the Taiwan issue would be resolved once and for all have the United States speaker of the House of Representatives to be grateful to for making their dreams come true. By ignoring Beijing’s repeated warnings not to visit the island and going ahead with her trip last week, she has given reason for a resolute show of People’s Liberation Army force. Things will never be the same for those who have played the game of “strategic ambiguity”. The subsequent... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3188021/thanks-pelosi-us-has-taken-dangerous-step-towards-strategic-clarity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3188021/thanks-pelosi-us-has-taken-dangerous-step-towards-strategic-clarity?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Aug 2022 05:30:22 +0000 The top student in my year at high school became a doctor. But that was 43 years ago and advances in science and technology have opened wide vistas for the best and brightest young minds. Perhaps not in Hong Kong, though. Of the eight who got perfect marks in university entrance exams, six have opted to study medicine at local universities. For all Hong Kong’s claims to be a forward-looking city, it has a remarkably conservative and traditional nature. Doctors, lawyers and bankers are perceived... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3186450/hong-kong-needs-tech-talent-young-people-still-prefer-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3186450/hong-kong-needs-tech-talent-young-people-still-prefer-be?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Jul 2022 01:15:20 +0000 Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, Beijing has stressed that tough preventive measures are necessary as nothing is more important than life. In Hong Kong, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has also made national security and housing priorities. What then, of public healthcare and diseases that kill and sicken far more people than the coronavirus each year? For one, providing free cancer screening could save and prolong thousands of lives. The speed at which vaccines were developed to lessen or... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3184740/hong-kong-should-offer-free-breast-cancer-screening-life-saving?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3184740/hong-kong-should-offer-free-breast-cancer-screening-life-saving?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jul 2022 22:45:24 +0000 Anyone following Chinese and Western media knows there are two Hong Kongs. The former says that, with the city now being ruled by patriots, stability and good governance are guaranteed, along with protection of rights and prosperity. From the other side, the narratives are of doom and gloom, freedoms having been all but stripped away and the good times being over. Here at ground zero on the 25th anniversary of the end of British colonial rule and the return to the motherland, it is difficult to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183116/hong-kong-city-duelling-narratives-deep-down-we-know-truth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183116/hong-kong-city-duelling-narratives-deep-down-we-know-truth?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jun 2022 22:45:16 +0000 The Hong Kong government’s failure to publicly acknowledge the platinum jubilee of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth smacks of ignorance. Across the city are the vestiges of royal links, from building, street and place names to commemorative plaques. Globally, the monarch is praised for her dignity, poise and diplomacy. The connections run deep and we should be celebrating the legacy of one of the world’s most recognisable women, not pretending we don’t know her. President Xi Jinping congratulated the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3181410/hong-kongs-uncomfortable-silence-queen-elizabeths-platinum-jubilee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3181410/hong-kongs-uncomfortable-silence-queen-elizabeths-platinum-jubilee?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jun 2022 22:45:22 +0000 Until Beijing gives the order, Hong Kong’s connections with the rest of China and the world aren’t going to loosen up significantly. The travel, transport, tourism, exhibition, convention, and retail and catering sectors will continue to suffer as a result of the mandatory week-long hotel quarantine for arrivals. But I’m convinced that the more than two years of enforced rules to keep out and prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the community are having a more lasting and harmful impact on the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3179557/when-hong-kongs-pointless-covid-19-rules-mean-its-just?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3179557/when-hong-kongs-pointless-covid-19-rules-mean-its-just?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 May 2022 22:45:12 +0000 The “normal” life Hong Kong authorities have promised as the number of Covid-19 cases eases is happening as promised. Swimming pools and beaches have reopened and, on Thursday, restaurant hours are due to be extended to midnight while bars, nightclubs and karaoke venues can resume operations with a 2am closing time. I’ve missed swimming and being able to listen to live music. But these are just incremental steps; scrapping face masks in public and ending quarantine for overseas travellers are... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3177791/hong-kong-has-covid-19-under-control-its-time-drop-mask-mandate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3177791/hong-kong-has-covid-19-under-control-its-time-drop-mask-mandate?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 May 2022 01:45:18 +0000 A damaged reputation takes years to rebuild. In the wrong hands, perhaps it can never be repaired. Hong Kong’s has taken a battering, being buffeted and torn by the winds of anti-Chinese sentiment in the West and tough anti-pandemic regulations that have made it unattractive to businesspeople and tourists alike. Who knows when normal times will return but, when they do, authorities have some serious work to do. I’m no public relations expert, but I know that what worked before has a slim chance... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3176168/reviving-tourism-means-making-hong-kong-more-welcoming-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3176168/reviving-tourism-means-making-hong-kong-more-welcoming-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 May 2022 22:45:13 +0000 Hong Kong is surely one of the best-positioned places on Earth for someone with travel lust to live. In less than a day, almost any part of the world can be reached by air, often without requiring a stopover. For someone on the verge of retiring and with plans to spent weeks and months getting to know cities of dreams in depth, it is an ideal base. Yet here I am, wondering if I should stay or go, trying to work out if restrictions the government claims are about keeping the Covid-19 pandemic out... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3174554/those-dreaming-international-travel-hong-kong-now-has-little-offer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3174554/those-dreaming-international-travel-hong-kong-now-has-little-offer?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Apr 2022 22:45:16 +0000 Hong Kong’s attraction for many foreigners has been its East-meets-West vibe and location in the centre of Asia on mainland China’s doorstep, a happy point of cultural immersion that requires only dipping in as far as is desired. There is no need to go “native” and learn the language unless you want to and, if Chinese food of all sorts is not a pleasure, other Asian and Western options abound. Sizeable enough communities of many nationalities exist for those who are homesick for culture and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3172969/hong-kongs-worrying-turn-city-once-welcomed-foreigners-open-arms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3172969/hong-kongs-worrying-turn-city-once-welcomed-foreigners-open-arms?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Apr 2022 22:45:17 +0000 The latest fitness centre shutdowns, work-from-home arrangements and self-imposed isolation have added 5.5kg to my weight. To say I’m frustrated only scratches the surface of my emotions; for too long I’ve been paranoid about what I can and can’t do and pessimism abounds with the roadmap for relaxing Covid-19 restrictions announced by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. This is, after all, a government that has fumbled and flip-flopped its way through the more than two years of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3171033/lets-just-admit-it-hong-kongs-covid-19-strategy-farce?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3171033/lets-just-admit-it-hong-kongs-covid-19-strategy-farce?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Mar 2022 22:45:22 +0000 Omicron was bound to rampage through Hong Kong, just as it has everywhere else. What I didn’t expect was the government’s incompetent response. Sticking firmly to its belief that it can vanquish the coronavirus in all its forms from the city’s boundaries, it ignored the ample evidence from overseas of what could be expected. But while it is tempting to blame officials for the resultant chaos, those really at fault are the people who refused to get vaccinated. The death toll from the fifth wave... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3169393/ultimately-vaccine-refuseniks-are-blame-omicrons-deadly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3169393/ultimately-vaccine-refuseniks-are-blame-omicrons-deadly?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Mar 2022 22:45:21 +0000 As far as model citizens go in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, I believe I have done a first-rate job. With the announcement of each vaccine roll-out, I have promptly got a jab. When I was recently notified there were cases in the building I live in, I was among the first in line for a test the following morning. If I’m asked to scan the QR code on my Leave Home Safe app or show my vaccination record, I have no qualms. As self-congratulatory as I am, though, I am not exceptional among the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3167723/hong-kong-testing-public-patience-even-stricter-covid-19-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3167723/hong-kong-testing-public-patience-even-stricter-covid-19-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Feb 2022 22:45:14 +0000 Letting others know your Chinese zodiac sign is a fairly accurate way of telling your age. In a tiger year, I can’t help but reveal that I am that king of beasts. I was born in a water tiger year, which comes around every five cycles and is once more upon us. That is another way of saying I am now in my sixth decade and, by the reckoning of some people, considered elderly. I do not consider myself “elderly”. For me, the word conjures up images of people using walking frames and wheelchairs, just... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3166001/covid-strategy-retirement-age-show-hong-kongs-treatment-elderly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3166001/covid-strategy-retirement-age-show-hong-kongs-treatment-elderly?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Feb 2022 22:45:15 +0000 Covid-19 has been with us for two years, but I have only met two people who have been infected. One is my son who lives in Paris, who has just come down with the virus for a second time. The first time was the Alpha variant and now it’s Omicron. It’s hardly surprising given that there are an average of 320,000 cases in France each day, meaning that every person in the country of 67.3 million will potentially have had one type or another in 210 days. France, like many other countries, has decided... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164473/if-hong-kong-continues-its-zero-covid-policy-it-will-become-shell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164473/if-hong-kong-continues-its-zero-covid-policy-it-will-become-shell?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jan 2022 22:45:19 +0000 How out of touch with citizens are Hong Kong officials? If they had been the slightest bit aware of how important the daily dim sum ritual is for many elderly people, the city’s Covid-19 vaccination rate would, in all likelihood, have attained herd immunity months ago. As it is, only now, with a scheme requiring proof of inoculation having been announced, are retirees finally rushing to get jabbed. Let’s set aside the dozens of officials and legislators who, in the midst of the city’s first... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3162681/who-knew-dim-sum-ban-was-all-it-would-take-get-our?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3162681/who-knew-dim-sum-ban-was-all-it-would-take-get-our?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Jan 2022 22:45:18 +0000 The Kammerer household isn’t a terribly festive place around Christmas. There isn’t a tree or decorations and the only difference from any other day is a German fruit and nut loaf known as a stollen and box of traditional mince pies on a shelf. The ritual of gift-giving with family and friends was absent, lunch was at an Indian restaurant and my only goodwill gesture was writing a cheque to a non-profit organisation that supports the disabled, elderly and needy. But being largely indifferent... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3161139/my-wish-new-year-hong-kong-finally-embrace-change-and-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3161139/my-wish-new-year-hong-kong-finally-embrace-change-and-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Dec 2021 22:45:20 +0000 Hong Kong should be in the grip of election fever. The “improved” electoral system put in place by Beijing will ensure, we have been told, that the city can finally get done what the broken process before would not allow. But, even though voting for the Legislative Council election is just days away, I don’t feel excitement in the air. There aren’t any heated discussions on the streets or in the media of the virtues of the various candidates and whether the platform of one is better than the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3159402/even-lacklustre-legislative-council-election-huge-do-list-awaits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3159402/even-lacklustre-legislative-council-election-huge-do-list-awaits?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Dec 2021 22:45:22 +0000 By the Hong Kong government’s latest reckoning, the city’s future lies to the north in the New Territories, in a 300 sq km area abutting Shenzhen, its nearest mainland neighbour. The grand plan is that the two will merge to create a technology-driven powerhouse to push forward Beijing’s Greater Bay Area idea. The vision, designated the Northern Metropolis by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in her policy address in October, involves transforming a sleepy, largely rural, backwater with... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3157666/how-solve-hong-kongs-persistent-housing-issues-think-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3157666/how-solve-hong-kongs-persistent-housing-issues-think-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Nov 2021 22:45:20 +0000 I’m not a fan of spiders or snakes. But even more scary to me is the thought of retirement. As that moment of my life fast approaches, the fear is heightening. It’s why I’m seeing a therapist to help prepare me for the inevitable. There is no shortage of people I can call on to ask what it’s like being retired. There are three types: the person who goes all-out and heads for a beach or mountaintop; the half-glass-full variety, who opt for part-time work, often doing the same as they had before... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3155974/why-thought-retirement-frightens-me-so-much?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3155974/why-thought-retirement-frightens-me-so-much?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Nov 2021 22:45:16 +0000 Hong Kong used to want the best and brightest people for the city. Now, all we hear from Beijing and local officials is that it’s “patriots” above all else who are important. There’s obviously nothing wrong with being proud and protective of your country. But as important, and perhaps more so for the sake of a stable, fair and inclusive society, is to also stress morality, integrity and honesty. I am hopeful authorities have not been so remiss as to ignore these basics when deciding who is a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3154434/patriotism-gone-awry-chinas-fragile-little-pinks-are-dangerous?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3154434/patriotism-gone-awry-chinas-fragile-little-pinks-are-dangerous?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Nov 2021 22:15:12 +0000 It’s been 20 months since I last left Hong Kong. This is by far a record for me; having lived in the city for more than three decades before the pandemic, I was used to taking overseas trips three or four times a year. I’m eager to travel again; I want to buy an apartment in Australia. But like most residents of Hong Kong, I’m grounded, as the city’s compulsory Covid-19 quarantine orders banish thoughts of any such journey. Hongkongers are often cited among the world’s most frequent overseas... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3152654/hong-kongs-backward-zero-covid-policy-threatens-kill-all-our-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3152654/hong-kongs-backward-zero-covid-policy-threatens-kill-all-our-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Oct 2021 22:45:10 +0000 A patriot I am apparently not. When Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and others in her administration speak of national security and related issues, their language is unfamiliar to me. Their speeches are peppered with phrases and ideas that I don’t hear other Hongkongers utter. Expressions like “foreign interference”, “external forces” and “black hands”; this is mainland-style terminology that is alien to a city that has been used to bland bureaucrat-babble. In the past few months, the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3151032/are-hong-kongs-leaders-speaking-same-language-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3151032/are-hong-kongs-leaders-speaking-same-language-people?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Oct 2021 22:45:21 +0000 Communist regimes have long fascinated me. My first experience of a communist country was visiting the former Soviet Union as a tourist in 1985. The following year, I joined a seven-city group tour of China from Hong Kong. Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam followed in short order. My impression at the time was that they were not as developed as their Western counterparts, their governments had a fondness for slogans plastered on giant billboards or blaring from tinny speakers, and some had an affinity... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3149263/national-security-law-im-finally-getting-taste-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3149263/national-security-law-im-finally-getting-taste-life?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Sep 2021 22:45:17 +0000 History is fluid, being shaped over time by research and interpretation. A saying that it is “written by the victors” is also partly true. Knowing that should have prepared me for a visit to the Hong Kong Museum of History. Still, I was surprised to read in the section on British colonial rule that “through three unequal treaties, Britain succeeded in illegally occupying the entire area of Hong Kong”. It can’t be disputed that the Qing dynasty was in a weak bargaining position in the face of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3147698/patriotism-should-not-lead-single-beijing-approved-view-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3147698/patriotism-should-not-lead-single-beijing-approved-view-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Sep 2021 22:45:20 +0000 Hong Kong is addicted to domestic helpers – and it’s harming society. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Indonesia and the Philippines two of the worst-affected countries, it’s also dangerous – given that they are also the source of most of the city’s foreign helpers. Flights were sensibly suspended to prevent local outbreaks, but employers seeking cheap labour helped persuade the authorities to have them resumed. The government was bound to cave in as the resulting shortage had led to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3145825/covid-19-hong-kongs-addiction-domestic-helpers-becoming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3145825/covid-19-hong-kongs-addiction-domestic-helpers-becoming?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Aug 2021 22:45:09 +0000 “True patriots”, “love China”, “national security” – these are the terms Beijing has been bombarding Hong Kong with for the past year. It’s all about being one with the rest of the nation, loving the country and, ultimately, showing respect for the Chinese Communist Party. But then along came the Tokyo Olympic Games, and the city’s stellar performance under its own flag rather than the national one, and it’s as if the two were separate entities. Local pride swelled appreciably with each new... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3144277/hong-kongs-olympic-success-shows-one-country-two-systems-very-much?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3144277/hong-kongs-olympic-success-shows-one-country-two-systems-very-much?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Aug 2021 22:45:07 +0000 Hong Kong has serious demographic problems, with an exceedingly low fertility rate and a fast-ageing population. High rents, cramped living conditions and rising costs have long discouraged people from having children, the proliferation of pet dogs in prams being a telltale sign of what is considered preferable and affordable. Packed check-in counters at the airport, with older generations tearfully saying farewell to sons, daughters and grandchildren beside piles of luggage, are therefore... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3142324/what-kind-future-awaits-hong-kong-amid-official-apathy-over-exodus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3142324/what-kind-future-awaits-hong-kong-amid-official-apathy-over-exodus?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jul 2021 22:45:18 +0000 Beijing and its Hong Kong government proxies have given all manner of reasons for the national security law. The provisions covering secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers implemented a year ago are not enough, we are now being told, and enacting Article 23 of the Basic Law, long-delayed local legislation protecting Beijing from subversive, treacherous acts, is now firmly on the agenda. There would seem to be a lot of overlap in existing domestic laws, including those... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3140637/if-national-security-about-silencing-dissent-why-not-make-it-clear?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3140637/if-national-security-about-silencing-dissent-why-not-make-it-clear?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jul 2021 00:30:05 +0000 I have been asked of late why I remain in Hong Kong despite not liking the ever-greater erosion of my values by Beijing’s rules. Why do I continue writing a column that more often than not is political in nature when others have determined that expressing such opinions are no longer worth the risk? The scope of the national security law seemingly knows no bounds; even on the first anniversary of its introduction, I am still unsure precisely what constitutes a violation. My Western upbringing and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3138914/why-im-still-hong-kong-and-still-writing-despite-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3138914/why-im-still-hong-kong-and-still-writing-despite-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Jun 2021 22:45:06 +0000 History often has several versions of events, depending on which side is telling the story. Two years on, the protests that for months brought Hong Kong to a standstill are portrayed by Beijing and its supporters as being a violent “colour revolution”. I remember them differently; they began as huge, peaceful demonstrations centred on democratic ideals that in their later stages were hijacked by a minority of radicals with ulterior motives. To represent the movement that brought hundreds of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3137138/hong-kong-protests-colour-revolution-or-peaceful-demonstrations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3137138/hong-kong-protests-colour-revolution-or-peaceful-demonstrations?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jun 2021 22:45:00 +0000 The regularly-voiced response from some readers to political opinions in this column, “if you don’t like it here then go home”, is somewhat problematic for me. Hong Kong is where I have lived for more than three decades and I have few connections to the place of my birth, Australia. My father was from Germany and my only links to that country are relatives I met for the first time two years ago. Tell me to go back to where I am from and I can only shake my head. This is no doubt mystifying to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3135264/westerners-me-who-have-lived-hong-kong-long-time-now-have-identity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3135264/westerners-me-who-have-lived-hong-kong-long-time-now-have-identity?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 May 2021 22:45:10 +0000 A government official telling people to get vaccinated doesn’t work; if it did, we would already be approaching blanket Covid-19 immunisation in Hong Kong. Instead, almost three months after the first free vaccines became available, the figures are woeful. Just 18 per cent of Hongkongers have had one shot and 12.3 per cent have had both. Authorities have so far been unable to convincingly define what a patriot is, but I would suggest that being one requires enough love for the city and the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3133631/us1-million-vaccination-lottery-might-just-convince-hongkongers-get?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3133631/us1-million-vaccination-lottery-might-just-convince-hongkongers-get?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 May 2021 22:45:15 +0000 My full name, Hong Kong identity card number, fingerprints and face scan – I’m protective of them all. Yet the government wants each one if I register to use its iAm Smart app, a so-called “one-stop personalised digital services platform” to enable convenient access of data and information. I didn’t read the instructions closely enough before trying to install it, but the alarm bells rang at the facial recognition part. I bailed out when instructed to have my picture taken with mouth closed,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3131955/hong-kongs-harvesting-personal-data-covid-19-fight-must-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3131955/hong-kongs-harvesting-personal-data-covid-19-fight-must-be?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 May 2021 22:45:05 +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 Unquestioning obedience is not in my DNA, culture or journalistic training. It is not the way of the typical Hongkonger, either; generally, they are open-minded and unafraid to criticise. Therein lies the problem with Beijing’s efforts to silence fault-finders and detractors. A worldly, internationally connected city of well-informed and highly educated people cannot so easily be turned into a place of slavishly loyal sycophants. Many of Hong Kong’s most prominent and popular pro-democracy... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3128211/hong-kong-democracy-beijing-will-struggle-make-proud-feisty-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3128211/hong-kong-democracy-beijing-will-struggle-make-proud-feisty-city?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Apr 2021 00:30:07 +0000 Today, I get my first Covid-19 vaccine jab. Unlike many others in Hong Kong, I have no qualms about pulling up my sleeve and getting immunised. I don’t know what sort of reaction I will have, nor do I especially care. What is important is that life for me and this city can get back to pre-pandemic normalcy. Besides, I have for inspiration an 80-plus-year-old acquaintance who is a staunch advocate of vaccination. Not enough Hong Kong people are coming forward for free vaccines. They either don’t... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3126330/who-can-convince-sceptical-hongkongers-get-vaccinated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3126330/who-can-convince-sceptical-hongkongers-get-vaccinated?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Mar 2021 22:45:12 +0000 Here’s a lesson in what it means to be free to express your views. Under national security laws in Hong Kong, it could be a crime to criticise President Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party and Beijing’s hand-picked local proxy, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. What exactly it takes to cross that red line isn’t clear; any one of a number of articles, among them 21, 22 and 29, could be used to make an arrest and lay a charge for disrupting government, undermining unification or... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3124426/hong-kong-becoming-dangerous-place-be-australian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3124426/hong-kong-becoming-dangerous-place-be-australian?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Mar 2021 22:45:11 +0000 Efficacy rates. Herd immunity. Transmission prevention. None of these terms bothered me a month ago. With Hong Kong expected to begin Covid-19 vaccination on Friday, they suddenly seem important. But I’m no scientist and I want to have a normal life again. I intend to get a shot, no matter where it comes from. That may seem a rash decision. The vaccines Hong Kong intends to use, by China’s Sinovac, the United States-German partnership Pfizer-BioNTech and the British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3122548/many-questions-remain-covid-19-vaccines-theyre-best-option-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3122548/many-questions-remain-covid-19-vaccines-theyre-best-option-now?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Feb 2021 22:45:09 +0000 I was listening to a song that had the lyrics, “I put my headphones on and turned the real world off” and got wondering: what if I was 25 again, as I was in 1988 when I came to Hong Kong from Australia. Would I do now what I did then? As someone who considers freedom important and is experiencing first-hand a wilful erosion by authorities of all that freedom lovers hold dear, the answer is no. But such a decision by an outsider is of no importance to officials either here or in Beijing as it’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3120859/beijing-making-it-clear-freedom-lovers-me-are-no-longer-welcome?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3120859/beijing-making-it-clear-freedom-lovers-me-are-no-longer-welcome?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Feb 2021 22:45:07 +0000 Some people in Hong Kong say they won’t receive a Covid-19 vaccine shot unless the government gives them HK$10,000. One acquaintance even emphasised that, in addition to that incentive, it would have to be a Western jab. I am not so mercenary or political about getting protection from a disease that has taken more than 2 million lives and counting. But I’m also not so naive as to believe everything the authorities tell me. Vaccine naysayers confound me. The World Health Organization estimates... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3119091/ill-take-free-covid-19-vaccine-not-government-health-advice-thank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3119091/ill-take-free-covid-19-vaccine-not-government-health-advice-thank?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Jan 2021 22:45:12 +0000 From here on the lower decks, Hong Kong is obviously a sinking ship. The mass arrest – and then release without charge – of democracy-supporting citizens last week is just the latest sign that the city’s days as a great place are numbered. Government dismissal of foreign criticism of its actions tells me the authorities do not understand what is required of a respected member of the global community. Even as people flee to freer countries, companies downsize or relocate, and international... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3117112/mass-arrests-point-hong-kongs-quickening-transition-second-tier?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3117112/mass-arrests-point-hong-kongs-quickening-transition-second-tier?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jan 2021 22:45:17 +0000 For many of us, 2020 has been the most harrowing year of our lives. The Covid-19 pandemic has upturned routines, cancelled plans and forced us to reconsider what is important. The dawning of another year changes nothing. A vaccine has still to arrive, and even then, immunisation is no guarantee that we can return to what we had before. Valuable lessons have been taught. What we have learned has to be ingrained into our very being so that we can look forward, do better and improve. Resolutions... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3115517/lessons-coronavirus-and-hong-kongs-inept-response-show-us-what?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3115517/lessons-coronavirus-and-hong-kongs-inept-response-show-us-what?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Dec 2020 00:45:18 +0000 The press statements from the Hong Kong government have become remarkably similar to those of mainland China in their undiplomatic language. That is worrying enough for people trying to do business in a city that claims to be international in outlook and thinking. But since the imposition by Beijing of the national security law almost six months ago, there has also been this feeling that its local representative, the liaison office, is now imposing its will on Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3113808/beijing-can-dream-hong-kong-wont-turn-mainland-city-overnight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3113808/beijing-can-dream-hong-kong-wont-turn-mainland-city-overnight?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Dec 2020 22:45:14 +0000 In the midst of Hong Kong’s worst crisis in living memory, what should leaders be doing? I would have thought: taking concerted measures to eliminate Covid-19 so that business can get back to normal and jobs can be saved. In the longer term, there is the matter of meeting the expectations of the majority of citizens for their quality of life, through better living conditions and higher salaries. In that regard then, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s annual policy address last week was... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3111900/history-shows-dangerous-folly-carrie-lams-unopposed-governance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3111900/history-shows-dangerous-folly-carrie-lams-unopposed-governance?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Dec 2020 00:30:06 +0000 Too many times of late, I’ve heard Hongkongers pondering the question: should I stay or should I go? For me, it has been a moot point; this city is too newsworthy for a journalist to turn away from. Besides, I wasn’t entirely sure to what degree freedoms and rights were actually being eroded, as claimed by democracy advocates and foreign governments, whether local officials or Beijing was in charge or unfounded fear was driving emotions. The decision last week by China’s top legislative body... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3109918/stay-hong-kong-or-go-beijings-latest-ruling-reignites-dilemma?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3109918/stay-hong-kong-or-go-beijings-latest-ruling-reignites-dilemma?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Nov 2020 22:45:15 +0000 Donald Trump and Joe Biden – I’m not eager for either to be president of the United States of America. The first is a bullying and terrorising man who wants to be an authoritarian leader, and who answers to no one. The second has proven during campaigning that he lacks vision, energy and a strong voice. I’m not American, so my opinion doesn’t count on election day. I do know, though, that when votes are tallied and the dust has settled – assuming it ever does – that the real winners will be the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3107974/whoever-triumphs-us-election-xi-and-putin-will-be-biggest-winners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3107974/whoever-triumphs-us-election-xi-and-putin-will-be-biggest-winners?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Nov 2020 22:45:20 +0000 Given a choice of a getaway in Singapore or Singapore, which would you choose? I’d opt for staying at home. Of course, there are those in Hong Kong who just feel so hemmed in by the Covid-19 restrictions that they would jump at any chance to get on a plane and go somewhere, anywhere. Still, the Hong Kong government’s much-hyped interim deal with its Singaporean counterpart to establish the city’s first travel bubble is yet more proof of its inability to understand the wants and needs of the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3106009/travel-bubble-singapore-how-hong-kong-government-got-it-wrong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3106009/travel-bubble-singapore-how-hong-kong-government-got-it-wrong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Oct 2020 00:30:15 +0000