The apparent dismissal of proposals to link the Hong Kong and mainland stock markets as infeasible by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Chief Executive Paul Chow Man-yiu might seem most discouraging to the government officials and economists who have shown great enthusiasm and support for the idea.
The latest rush by Hong Kong-listed mainland enterprises to seek yuan-denominated A share listings in Shanghai is putting forward a strong case for linking the two markets.
One recent weekend, I drove my friend's car to Nanxiang, a county near Shanghai. In that hour-long drive to Nanxiang, I was amazed at how easy and comfortable it was to control a modern car. That was a particularly striking experience as I haven't driven a car for almost 10 years.
Having been a reporter and sometime editor for more than two decades, I still can't understand what is meant by "editorial freedom", a term frequently cited by Hong Kong reporters in protest against management decisions to kill their stories.
In her column in the South China Morning Post, political scientist Kitty Poon passionately reminded us of an idea for a novel that all Hong Kong writers want to write. Indeed, the struggle of the people who came together on this barren rock and turned it into an economic powerhouse against all odds is a story waiting to be told.
Proposing to cut salary tax, the Hong Kong government is adhering to its professed economic principle of "big market, small government".
Hong Kong people know how to have a good time. Happy faces abounded during the Christmas week I was in my home town. Most of the better restaurants were packed with diners. Department stores and shops seemed to be doing a roaring business. An $800 (we're talking US, not Hong Kong, dollars) pair of shoes? "No problem, think of the money that can be made in the stock market these days," a husband was overheard saying to his wife.
It has been five years since I last visited Tokyo. In the past, I went there mainly for stories. Those were business trips paid by the newspapers that sent me there. This time, I am going on my own and I don't know what to expect.
The Hong Kong government is good at many things. But salesmanship is not one of them.
Having dropped the sales tax due to lack of public support, the Hong Kong government has sustained its campaign for broadening the tax base, which it considers to be too narrow and confined to provide for the projected fiscal expenditure of a modern metropolis.
Christmas in Hong Kong means a lot to me. It's got the lights, which are always beautiful, and the shopping, which is always enticing. What matters more, perhaps, is the spirit of the city, which shines through in all its splendour once a year at this festive time.
She sat on a stool checking the morning news on her laptop by the window of their favourite cafe, looking out to the green hills beyond the bay, where seagulls circled over colourful fishing boats and junks. She swung around when she heard his footsteps on the hardwood floor.
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263 Registration Number: 130349 
