HK people take pride in health system
Not so long ago when the Hong Kong economy was mired in a recession and the government budget steeped in red, many loud-mouthed politicians and self-proclaimed economic gurus were feverishly calling for what they considered the much-needed reform of the medical system.

Sales tax goes against sound HK fiscal logic
Supporters of the proposal to introduce a new sales tax in Hong Kong believe that it can broaden the tax base, which, in its present form, is widely believed to be too narrow to cope with rising public aspirations.

Cheap labour is nothing to brag about
In a popular television talk show on business strategy, a panellist picked the acquisition of Thompson by TCL to illustrate the culture clash that usually poses the most daunting challenge to Chinese buyers of foreign companies.

Don't change winning HK tax formula
The Hong Kong government budget has been widely labelled as "unimaginative" or "lacking of vision" by the local press. Many economists and social analysts have expressed their disappointment at the small tax concession to the middle class when the economy is showing definite signs of a sustained recovery.

Hong Kong remains key to mainland's bright future
The publishing of the latest report by the Commission on Strategic Development has raised the curtain for the great debate on Hong Kong's role in China's future progress after 25 years of rapid economic growth.

Examine ties between gov't and business
One of Hong Kong's most cherished traditions, the close working relationship between government and big business, is coming under increased public scrutiny.

Long live the newspaper in a digital age
My daughter says I am uncool because I read the newspaper everyday. And she is not the only one telling me that newspapers have gone out of fashion.

Hong Kong needs more than skilled linguists
South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's leading English-language daily newspaper, warned Hong Kong people against falling behind "in quest for putonghua" in a recent editorial. That's easy to understand. Our political leaders have repeatedly reminded us that the future of Hong Kong is inextricably linked to that of the mainland.

Hong Kong people show more civility in holidays
Christmas in Hong Kong is never dull. But there was something special about this one. I could feel it when I was there during the Christmas week. My journalist friends at the Foreign Correspondents' Club were talking about it, wondering aloud what had happened.

SOE reform will hurt if workers are not flexible
In a recent talk show hosted by CCTV, a group of top mainland executives and government regulators were invited to express their views on one of the most pressing business issues in China State-owned enterprise restructuring. The speakers quickly zeroed in what they unanimously considered to be the crux of the problem, which was the lack of checks and balances at the top.

Taking taxis in big cities causes major headaches
The Spring Festival holiday is only a few weeks away and the country is bracing for the travel craze that will tax the nationwide transportation network to its limit. While the media spotlight, as usual, is focused on the railway operators and the airline companies, many of the perennial problems that have been irking the travelling public daily have largely been ignored for years.

Guarding against real estate oligarchy
I can't agree more with professor Sun Liping on the evil of monopoly he so eloquently exposed in his article in the December 16 edition of China Daily. At the end of his article, the good professor afforded us a chilling glimpse of the rise of the property oligarchies on the mainland.

Business needs no gov't intervention
Encouraging small to medium-sized companies in the private sector to help create new jobs has become a hot economic topic in China. Many of the discussions tend to focus on tax incentives, preferential loans, special land grants and other government largesse.

Freezing Shanghai needs central heating
Before I embarked on my latest assignment to Shanghai, friends warned me that winter in that southern city can feel colder than in Beijing. I thought they were merely echoing a tired old cliche.

As economy globalizes, old practices are left behind
At a business forum shortly after I arrived in Beijing last year, I was surprised that many people there were talking about the need to encourage consumer spending. To me, at least, such a move apparently would have contradicted the government macroeconomic adjustment policy that was introduced to cool off the then overheated economy.

Confidence sky-high in soaring Shanghai
One dreary winter evening in Shanghai, I had an opportunity to share a taxi with a young executive of a joint venture company. Stuck in the city's horrible traffic gridlock, we had plenty of time to talk about a wide range of topics, ranging from the weather to family to work.

Shanghai needs to take bold action to lead delta
Shanghai is a poor choice as the commercial centre for the prosperous and fast growing Yangtze River Delta region. To maintain its lead position, owed largely to historical events and, in more recent years, to central government policies, Shanghai will need to re-invent itself with daring thoughts and bold action.

Branding or advertising?
Despite the hype, branding has remained a black art for many mainland entrepreneurs.

Burger or noodles?
After having spent some time in Beijing and Shanghai, I can't help but wonder why any sensible Chinese man and woman in those cities would ever want to eat at fast food joints of US origin.

Sound fiscal discipline
As the mainland government is moving to reform the nation's outdated tax system, many discussions have focused on examples in the United States and Hong Kong, representing the opposite extremes of fiscal philosophy.

HK estate model relevant
When the Hong Kong property market was on the boil in the 1980s and early 90s, many mainland enterprises jumped on the bandwagon and laughed all the way to the bank. At that time, there were enough profits for almost everyone to share. And the much admired and widely copied "Hong Kong model" of real estate development was born.

China's rise no threat
China's record trade surplus in the first nine months has once again touched off a flurry of commentaries in the Western media about the so-called "China threat."

Roche's change of mind
It so happened that the decision by Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company, to share the manufacturing of Tamiflu for treating bird flu came less than a week after the virus was found to have landed in Europe. This represented an abrupt change in the stand taken by the multinational drug company, which had steadfastly rejected shared production requests from various Asian governments in the past several years when the disease killed as many as 60 people in a number of Asian countries.

Move up the value chain
In a recent television programme, a top executive of a domestic cellphone maker said that he was confident of beating all foreign competitors in the mainland market. Domestic manufacturers would win, he said, because they could keep their prices low.

Leaders need global vision
Being the first mainland company to launch a global search for a chief executive officer, Mengniu Dairy, based in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has set a precedent that all State and privately-owned enterprises should follow.

Good services needed
Shanghai has made tremendous progress in recent times and has become a cosmopolitan city alongside New York, London and Paris. But one thing is missing - good service. Not that it is bad, but it is, well, uneven.

Disneyland in Shanghai?
The opening of the multi-billion-dollar Disneyland theme park in Hong Kong has fuelled widespread speculation about whether the United States entertainment conglomerate will build a similar wonderland in Shanghai.