Society

Zaobao journalist Tai Hing Shing notes that Hong Kong has seen a mass exodus of talents in recent years, and many have cited exorbitant rent, lack of growth opportunities and other factors as major causes. The brain drain in key sectors will impact the special administrative region’s economic development, given the high dependence on skilled professionals. How should the authorities create opportunities and retain and attract talent?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk drew widespread criticism for his comment on establishing Taiwan as a special administrative zone. While Musk raised his suggestions based on his own commercial interests, the controversial statement shows the impact of the Taiwan Strait issue for the business world. Is there a time and place for businessmen to tread on geopolitical issues?

China’s strict pandemic measures have undoubtedly caused significant inconvenience to the ordinary people. However, while there is talk that the measures might be relaxed after the 20th Party Congress, the signals from state media seem to suggest that the “dynamic zero” approach to Covid-19 is here to stay, at least for some time yet. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu tells us more.

A recent study on 1,528 Beijing residents finds that every ten more minutes spent travelling from home to the workplace leads to a 1.1% higher risk of depression. How would improving people's journey-to-work experience help policymakers and employers?

China recently announced that its space exploration programme will recruit payload specialists from Hong Kong and Macau, sparking excitement for the people of Hong Kong. While the announcement is a recognition of the special administrative region’s R&D capabilities, some believe that it is an effort to win over the people of Hong Kong and boost their sense of belonging and patriotism. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk takes a look at what this opportunity means for Hong Kong.

China's renowned virologist Guan Yi has reappeared in public as the newly appointed chief of the Shanghai Virus Research Institute, after being denounced for his alarmist views of the pandemic at the start of its outbreak and speaking against the zero-Covid measures. But now, will his return mark an end to the harsh restrictions that have left the Chinese economy in a dire state?

Amid the repeated lockdowns due to Covid-19 outbreaks in mainland China, Taiwan has opened its doors to American students learning the Chinese language. However, US academic Wu Guo noticed that the language curriculum for foreign students in Taiwan includes electives on learning about Taiwan's “national identity”. Could this be Taiwan’s way of furthering its political agenda?

The current population size of new Chinese migrants in Malaysia is estimated to be 82,000. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed down the influx of these migrants, it is expected that the pause is temporary and the inflow will continue to increase in the long term. However, while latent anxiety about these migrants has emerged among Malaysians, it has not yet become an explosive issue in Malaysian politics.

Hong Kong films have been doing well in the second half of this year, with several films among the top in box office takings. Zaobao journalist Tai Hing Shing looks at the factors behind this strong showing, including government funding, cast appeal, pent-up demand due to the pandemic, and possibly an indirect way for people to express their political wants.