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Gov’t backs away from Stanley multi-storey car park controversy as residents...
For some years, Stanley residents have been watching in horror as the prospect of government plans for a multi-story car park looms ever larger. But there are indications that the madness of this...
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How property developer Hopewell plays games with Hong Kong’s town planning...
Hopewell Holdings continues to play fast and loose with the Town Planning Board in an effort to expand its massive Hopewell Centre II development in Wan Chai. It has recently withdrawn its application...
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China’s use and abuse of history
The striking rhetoric and pageantry surrounding China’s military parade last week was clearly supposed to fulfil a number of purposes. It was a boost to national pride and patriotic sentiment. It sent...
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Above the law: China official undermines Hong Kong’s core values
Unsurprisingly the comments by Zhang Xiaoming, the head of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, have set off ripples of alarm and unease in the SAR. Again we have a senior mainland...
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Key part of Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau bridge project ‘is moving’, as discussion...
Via HowardWinnReports.com: The HK$7 billion Hong Kong Boundary Facilities (HKBCF) reclamation, a key element of the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau bridge (HZMB) infrastructure, has encountered a serious...
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Government plays down Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge island problems
Via HowardWinnReports.com: The story about movement at the Hong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF) reclamation, which appeared on HowardWinnReports.com last week, attracted some attention. The...
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The HKU Council’s betrayal is alarming for Hong Kong’s future. What next?
By Howard Winn Reports.com The decision by the Council of the University of Hong Kong not to appoint Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun to the position of pro-vice chancellor is alarming for both the...
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HSBC runaround: Ninety minutes of madness with the world’s local money-laundry
By HowardWinnReports.com You have to wonder what is happening at HSBC these days. It appears to have swung from one extreme of absurdity to another. It used to be the bank of choice for Mexican drug...
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HSBC apologises to Hong Kong customers
By howardwinnreports.com. Following this column’s recent “ninety minutes of madness at HSBC” story, the bank has apologised to its customers in Hong Kong. The story told of the nightmare experience of...
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Approval for outside seating is a bureaucratic nightmare
It goes without saying that bureaucracy is alive and well within the Hong Kong government. But it is particularly egregious with respect to the process for getting approval for outside seating...
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Another customer given the HSBC runaround
Via HowardWinnReports.com: HSBC executives may well be patting themselves on the back for a job well done following the bank’s recent announcement of a 32 percent increase in third quarter pre-tax...
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Delays of up to 5 years for HK$30bn ‘moving’ Macau bridge crossing facilities
Via Howard Winn Reports Despite official coyness surrounding the HK$30.4 billion Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF), it now appears unlikely the projects will be completed before 2021....
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IMF breaks its own rules by adding China’s yuan to reserve-currency basket
Via HowardWinnReports.com: By admitting China to the exclusive club of countries that make up its reserve basket of currencies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is breaching its requirement that...
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Rampant illegal parking – another government failure
Via Howard Winn Reports Illegal parking in the urban areas is getting worse. The government engages in public hand-wringing over traffic congestion and illegal parking yet takes little serious action...
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Another year of gloom awaits in 2016 as CY presides over slow death of Hong Kong
Via HowardWinnReports.com Hong Kong approaches 2016 facing most of the same issues that preoccupied it in 2015. There is a looming conjuncture of global and domestic circumstances that suggests 2016...
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Why CY Leung’s ludicrous shoe-shining fails to inspire Hong Kong people
By howardwinnreports.com The policy address should be an assessment of Hong Kong’s well being and the problems and opportunities it faces and how the government intends to tackle these issues over the...
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Compliance… or discrimination? Another strange tale from HSBC
Via Howard Winn Reports. James Middleton. Photo: cleartheair.org.hk. This story centres on Jim Middleton who is chairman of the NGO, Clear the Air. He has a small business and banks with HSBC. He has...
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Riot highlights bleak outlook for One Country, Two Systems
Via Howard Winn Reports Discussions of the reasons for the Mong Kok riot are now well underway. HowardWinnReports.com views it as another bleak expression of frustration with the current social and...
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Goodbye Grappa’s? Old favourites get the elbow as Pacific Place seeks ‘new look’
Via Howard Winn Reports First Dan Ryan was eased out of Pacific Place. Now it appears the Italian restaurant Grappa’s is under threat of having to close when its contract expires later this year....
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Tsang’s budget adds to pile of concealed reserves – for whose benefit?
Via Howard Winn Reports This year’s budget was notable for the Financial Secretary’s hand-wringing over events in Mong Kok, calling them shocking and an assault on Hong Kong’s core values. John...
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District council revives Stanley car park proposal
Via Howard Winn Reports The vexed question of Stanley car park is raising its ugly head again. Readers may recall that Stanley in recent years has been threatened with the prospect of some three years...
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HSBC tightens requirements for new bank accounts
Via Howard Winn Reports Hong Kong is the best place in Asia to do business so the government would have us believe. This may still be true but you have to wonder for how much longer. Businesses need...
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Swire in discussions over new site for Grappa’s restaurant
via HowardWinnReports The Grappa’s/Swire saga continues to attract attention online and in newspaper letters columns. Swire as the landlord Pacific Place, of course, has every right not to renew...
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Contractors say 2017 deadline for HongKong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is unconvincing
via HowardWinnReports The government’s target for completing the Hong Kong portion of the Hong Kong–Zuhai-Macau bridge by December 2017 is looking increasingly unconvincing. The project which includes...
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Engineers say design flaws delay Shek Kwu Chau incinerator tenders
Via Howard Winn Reports Despite the apparent urgency to start work on the HK$19.2 billion incinerator project at Shek Kwu Chau, contractors are wondering why it is taking so long for the Environmental...
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Sludge facility contractor Veolia begins HK$2 billion legal proceedings...
By HowardWinnReports.com Hong Kong’s Secretary for the Environment, Wong Kam-sing, spoke with pride at the official opening of the HK$5.5 billion state of the art Sludge Treatment Facilities (STF)...
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Above the law? Zhang Dejiang and the politics of illegal car parking
By HowardWinnReports.com The photograph below shows a senior Hong Kong government official’s car parked illegally outside the Hong Kong Club at lunchtime. It was sent by a reader who photographed it...
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Deborah Annells fraud saga reveals the incompetence of Hong Kong regulators
Via howardwinnreports.com The Deborah Annells saga ended last week when she was sentenced to nine years jail for theft and fraud. But her case reveals shocking incompetence on the part of the...
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Bid-rigging and other abuses in Hong Kong are caused by weak laws, feebly...
by HowardWinnReports.com The recent jailing of a subcontractor for his part in a HK$260 million bid-rigging scandal at a Shatin housing estate has again highlighted a problem that is rampant in Hong...
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Environmental Protection Dept. issues tender docs for controversial...
Via Howard Winn Reports After months of delays, the Environmental Protection Department has finally issued tender documents for the controversial Shek Kwu Chau incinerator. This means that the tender...
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