Why political apathy is a bigger threat to Hong Kong’s future than independence calls [The South China Morning Post]

Why political apathy is a bigger threat to Hong Kong’s future than independence calls [The South China Morning Post]

The surprising rise of the independence movement has changed the rhetoric on both sides of the political spectrum: the establishment is now defending public events that criticise the mainland, noting that it is important for Hong Kong people to stay…

Did Occupy Central Really Fail? [The Diplomat]

Now that Joshua Wong, former student leader of Scholarism and one of the forces behind the Occupy Central Movement, has started a political party, it may be a good time to look back on what initiated this newest phase of…

Tackling overpopulation: China vs. India [Gateway House]

On October 29th 2015, China loosened its “One Child Policy,” allowing all families to have up to two children. This follows an earlier relaxation in 2013, where China allowed those without siblings to themselves have up to two children. Beijing cited…

Only time will tell us what people in the city really want [China Daily]

The few days immediately after an election are always dangerous for political analysis.Pundits, and the people that read their commentaries, try to use individual victories or defeats in order to predict long-term trends, or to support conclusions they already had….

Expanding licenses is the way to solve flaws in the taxi service [China Daily]

Views in Hong Kong can change quickly. After years telling people outside Hong Kong howconvenient and affordable its taxis were, I returned to a fierce debate over whether our taxisoffer poor service and whether Uber can shake up a staid…

Don’t Overdo the Pessimism on Hong Kong Reforms [The Diplomat]

Outside commentary on Hong Kong, and its unique political structure, has grown since the National People’s Congress released their decision on the city’s upcoming election process. Reaction was immediately negative: the major sticking point was that a “Nominating Committee” would…

The tussle for Hong Kong [Gateway House]

Hong Kong, and its movement towards democratic elections, made headlines around the world this week with the recent decision by the National People’s Congress in Beijing concerning the nomination process for elections. The decision was light on details, but essentially…

A better package for Africa [Gateway House]

With most media attention on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s trip to New Delhi a few weeks ago, a visit by another foreign minister— Mr. Sam Kutesa of Uganda—might have flown under the radar. During his visit, Kutesa proposed several…

A better partner: Indonesia? [Gateway House]

The official results have been declared, and Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the populist Governor of Jakarta, has won a close victory in the Indonesian presidential election. There are several practical economic reasons to be interested in this election’s outcome. Indonesia is…

HK does have a ‘foreign policy’ [China Daily]

In previous columns, I have used the Snowden case to illustrate specific elements of Hong Kong’s autonomy under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.  Snowden’s case implies one large element of Hong Kong’s autonomy that is more subtle, yet widespread:…