President Trump tweeted about a phone call this morning with Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping. There will be a G20 meeting between Trump and Xi. So, extending our conversation from yesterday…. the “magnanimous panda” approach appears confirmed. With Chairman Xi Jinping traveling to North Korea for talks with his captive Kim Jong Un prior to the […]
Hong Kong Official: Beijing Will Not Allow Chief Executive Carrie Lam to Resign…
A senior city official in Hong Kong told Reuters on Tuesday that China will not allow chief executive Carrie Lam to resign as protesters demanded, even if she wants to. Lam offered more unqualified contrition in her latest public statement but said she intends to remain in office. Demonstrators scored a victory over the weekend […]
Now This Is What a Protest Looks Like: Hong Kong Nearly Doubles Anti-China Protest Size to 2 Million…
The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), the group organizing protests against a proposed extradition law in Hong Kong, announced that nearly 2 million people attended protests on Sunday, the largest recorded assembly in the history of Hong Kong, according to the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP). The figure is even more impressive given that the […]
Hong Kong’s New Protests Come at a Dangerous Time…
For the second time in less than five years, tear gas is wafting through the streets of Hong Kong. Violence flared in the financial centre on Wednesday as police used gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters opposing an extradition bill. Pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014 fizzled out. This movement will prove harder to defuse. The […]
Monster Storm #Mangkhut Batters Hong Kong and Southern China…
Monster storm Mangkhut ripped through Hong Kong, Macau and cities dotted around the coastline of southern China as it swept across the region. On Saturday, it barreled into the Philippines, causing extensive damage and killing up to 50 people. Already the United Nations Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System is predicting that 43.4 million people […]
Nearly 60 Feared Dead, Hundreds Injured in Philippines…
U.S. Regains Top Spot as WORLD’S Most Competitive Economy…
The United States “dethroned” Hong Kong this week to take the top spot as the World’s most competitive economy; further signaling a robust US recovery under President Trump and the recently passed GOP tax cuts. “The U.S. dethroned Hong Kong to retake first place among the world’s most competitive economies, thanks to faster economic growth […]
Facial Recognition Used to Catch Fugitive Among 60,000 Concert-Goers…
Its the ultimate music lover’s fantasy – being picked out of the audience by your idol at a huge rock concert for a fleeting moment of on-stage fame and adulation. But in China, you are more likely to be picked out by one of thousands of police surveillance cameras which link people to crimes through […]
Global Stocks Hit New All Time High as Dollar Rebounds; Europe Volatile on Earnings Deluge…
The levitation continues with S&P futures pointing to – what else – another higher open while European stocks swung between gains and losses on the busiest earnings days of the year (85 of the Stoxx 600 report) which has seen European pharma giant AstraZeneca plunge 15%, the most on record, after its flagship lung cancer […]
The Rightful Handover of Hong Kong…
Last week marked the 20th anniversary of what then was the British colony of Hong Kong (originally and rightfully Chinese territory but stolen through invasion by the British during the shameful British Opium Wars of the 19th century) was handed back to its true country of China. Some of the commentary in the British press […]