Nikkei Asian Review (August 3)
In “a sign that Seoul is ready to rival Tokyo on the international stage,” the New York Times decided “to move Asia-based digital news operations from Hong Kong to Seoul.” The Times considered Tokyo and other cities, but ultimately chose Seoul, “which has become an outward-looking and tech-savvy city.”
Tags: Digital news, Hong Kong, New York Times, Outward-looking, Rival, Seoul, Tech-savvy, Tokyo
Wall Street Journal (July 2)
“China’s decision to impose its national-security law on Hong Kong is a seismic event that goes well beyond the sad fate of its 7.5 million people. The illegal takeover shows that Beijing’s Communist rulers are willing to violate their international commitments with impunity as they spread their authoritarian model.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Commitments, Communist, Fate, Hong Kong, Illegal, Impunity, National-security law, Rulers, Seismic, Takeover, Violate
South China Morning Post (June 30)
“How Hong Kong should cope with the national security law: keep calm and carry on…. It would be best for Hongkongers not to panic, but get on with their lives instead.”
The Economist (June 6)
“Until recently, conventional wisdom held that Hong Kong’s position would be assured for 20-30 years…. But the trade war, a year of street protests and China’s iron-fisted response to them raise new questions about Hong Kong’s durability.” So far, there is little evidence of capital flight, but the territory must again rise to the challenge or “its time as a global financial centre really will be up.”
Tags: Capital flight, China, Durability, Global financial centre, Hong Kong, Iron-fisted, Protests, Trade war, Wisdom
Washington Post (May 24)
“Beijing has just hammered the final nail in the coffin for Hong Kong’s autonomy. The promise of “one country, two systems” is dead.”
South China Morning Post (May 12)
In Hong Kong, the “coronavirus crisis is shaping the future of office space…. Net absorption of office space has fallen to an 18-year low…. In the long run, the Covid-19-induced trend towards flexible working arrangements will drive office decentralization.”
Tags: Coronavirus, COVID-19, Crisis, Decentralization, Flexible working, Hong Kong, Net absorption, Office space, Trend
Chosunilbo (February 24)
“Koreans have become global pariahs.” Israel, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other countries now ban travel from South Korea or impose quarantines. This is all because the “government dragged its heels over banning visitors from China…. China has ordered half of its 1.4 billion population to stay home” and “knows that the most effective deterrent to an epidemic is to limit the movement of humans.” Yet, it continued to let “its citizens freely visit Korea and other countries” while Korea “obligingly left the doors wide open.”
Tags: Ban, China, Government, Hong Kong, Israel, Pariahs, Quarantines, South Korea, Taiwan, Travel
Time (February 16 edition)
Despite amassing enormous power, President Xi has struggled to manage major issues. “These include popular unrest in semiautonomous Hong Kong, a disruptive trade war with the U.S. and now an unfolding health crisis.” The coronavirus appears to be the biggest challenge. It “threatens to undermine further his mission to have China stake out the next century as America did the last.”
The Economist (February 8)
Production of masks, “sadly, is one of the few economic ventures that is still expanding in this thrice-struck city.” Hong Kong’s “GDP shrank last year for the first time in a decade, thanks to the trade war and anti-government protests. The coronavirus now poses a third threat. Some economists have slashed their growth forecasts for Hong Kong by more than for the mainland.”
Tags: Anti-government protests, Coronavirus, GDP, Growth forecasts, Hong Kong, Mainland, Masks, Threat, Trade war, Ventures
South China Morning Post (February 5)
“Thousands of Hongkongers camped out overnight in the cold after a company said it would release 6,000 boxes of surgical masks for sale during citywide shortages caused by the coronavirus outbreak.” After the crowd surged to 10,000 people, the company decided “to sell its entire stock of 11,000 boxes, each containing 50 masks.”
Tags: Coronavirus, Hong Kong, Shortages, Surgical masks
