Governance

On the one hand, China’s potential in helping Indonesia make the clean energy transition has been spoken about, but on the other, China continues to be a big player in perpetuating non-renewable energy use such as in coal-fired power plants. Looking ahead, can they be a larger contributor in Indonesia’s efforts to derive 23% of Indonesia’s primary energy needs from renewable sources by 2025? Malaysian academics Guanie Lim and Goh Chun Seng tell us more.

With the impact of the pandemic putting pressure on local government budgets across China, the latest wave of salary reductions for civil servants has taken hold in Shanghai, with no quarterly bonuses given out in some cases. China’s financial capital has not been doing well since the two-month pandemic lockdown took a heavy toll on businesses and general operations. Can the city recover?

This is not the first time that Hong Kongers are leaving their city to seek greener pastures. But this time, they may not be coming back. On the eve of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover, HKU Business School lecturer Vera Yuen analyses the trend of Hong Kongers leaving and the impact of this mass exist on those left behind.

Over the past couple of years, there has been an influx of migrants from Hong Kong to the UK. Communities have been forming in various cities, such as London and Manchester. And as Hong Kongers find jobs and settle in, the British way of life rubs off on them. But underneath all that, they remain Hong Kongers at heart.

Hong Kong’s incoming Chief Executive John Lee has nominated the next batch of senior officials, who have been duly appointed by China’s State Council. Many “new Hong Kongers” are gradually making their way into politics through various channels, facilitated by the central government in Beijing, who are not satisfied with the pro-establishment camp in Hong Kong. But can these new Hong Kongers show that they have the interests of all Hong Kongers at heart?

The Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies of Taiwan’s National Cheng-Chi University held a seminar recently to discuss the upcoming 20th Party Congress and the political, economic and social policies rolled out in the last ten years of CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping’s rule. Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han shares the key findings.

Over the past year, the Chinese government has taken strong action against monopolistic practices in the platform economy. However, with the effects of the pandemic, the economy needs a boost and the platform economy seems to be the way to lift it. Chinese academic Yi Xianrong says that to truly harness the strengths of the platform economy, the authorities need to see that it is a totally different entity from the traditional economic sectors and its governance needs some deep thinking.

The newly launched Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity has arguably low or no ambition around market access, but perhaps because of its non-contentious nature, could be a promising start. Countries in the region welcome options amid fears of Chinese economic coercion and may just provide the momentum needed when the time is ripe.

In the first of a seven-part Lianhe Zaobao-Business Times series on China and ASEAN, Zaobao business correspondent Lai Oi Lai gives an update on the trend of high-net-worth Chinese investors coming to Singapore to set up family offices and invest in start-ups.