Society

With the ongoing pandemic and last year's crackdowns on internet giants, some young people are switching tracks and moving from the private sector — especially the internet sector — to the public sector, which is still thought of as a stable career. Will this lead to a loss of talent for the internet sector? Zaobao journalist Liu Liu speaks to young people and academics for their views.

Wu Guo notes that equality is very much a mirage, whether in the socialist or liberal democracy conception of the term. The sum total of one’s head start in life is often tied to his or her family background. And often, no amount of levelling up can change that. But this does not mean that equality is of no relevance or should not be aspired to. Adopting an attitude of equality can help ensure that people’s rights are protected, even if the ideal of equality may never be achieved.

Hong Kong is facing its toughest Covid-19 test yet with Covid-19 variants proving tricky and daily cases going into the thousands. Some panicked Hong Kongers have taken flight to the mainland to avoid catching the disease. Others are questioning the “dynamic zero-Covid” policy, asking why Hong Kong can’t “live with the virus” as countries like Singapore are doing.

A year on from the US Capitol attacks, Peter T.C. Chang reflects that the siege may have been the moment where America turned from championing “end of history” universalism to succumbing to “clash of civilisations" sectarianism. Worryingly, the rise of Christian nationalism could plunge America into internal turmoil and drag tense US-China geopolitical rivalry into uncharted waters.

The Beijing Winter Olympics has featured some naturalised China athletes, not least skier Eileen Gu and figure skater Zhu Yi, as well as the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams. These naturalised athletes have come under close scrutiny, and Zhu Yi’s poor performance in particular has come under fire. What makes for an effective naturalised athlete policy?

With strict pandemic measures in place, young Chinese have the perfect excuse not to return to their hometowns during the Spring Festival. If they did make the trip home, they would have faced a barrage of questions about their lives and burned a large hole in their pockets trying to show that they’ve made it. As it gets harder to make a living in their adopted cities, shoring up their finances and getting a head start in the working world is what matters most.

Former journalist Jessie Tan now based in Beijing observes that compared to Singapore’s Chinatown din, nianwei (the Chinese New Year atmosphere) in Beijing seems rather low-key. Like many people living away from home, her identity becomes clearer the further she’s away. She goes in search of some nianwei Singapore-style, even if she wasn’t much of a Chinese New Year fan back home. Perhaps it’s what they say about only missing something when they’re gone?

Musing that it will be a muted Chinese New Year celebration this year for migrant workers and those struggling to make ends meet, Lorna Wei asserts that Covid-19 has changed the lives of the people forever and in the World War III being fought, future generations must remember that it was the full cooperation and obedience of ordinary folk that won the war.

The “double reduction” policy was launched last year to ease students’ workload and pricing guidelines were introduced to prevent service providers from charging exorbitant prices. Not only has this caused many tutoring institutions to close down, but parents fear that they will now have nowhere to turn to for quality lessons that their child still needs for the rat race. Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing reports.