What is Enshittification and What to Do About It

Doctorow (right) at the Vancouver Writers Festival tonight

The Vancouver Writers Festival started earlier this week that features over 85 events talking books with authors, workshops for aspiring writers, and encouraging kids to read and write more.

I just came back from a book talk with Cory Doctorow, Canadian journalist, author of fiction and non-fiction and activist in the tech realm about his latest work called Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It.

He is quite the prolific person, who says his anxiety keeps him up and so he channels that nervous energy into producing a lot of work. In 2020 alone he published four books. What was I doing in that same period?!

The crowd at the Arts Club Theatre in Granville Island was all excited to hear what he had to say and you really had to focus because he said so much because he added context and explanation to be able to answer questions or expand on an idea.

While he and the moderator sat on stage, above was a giant screen and on it were projected hilarious Photoshopped collages poking fun at the tech world, with lots of sh*t emojis, and how the world is going to sh*t.

Back in 2022 he coined the word enshittification, which was declared Macquarie Dictionary's word of the year in 2024. According to the dictionary, the definition is: "The gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking."

Sound familiar? 

Twitter, or rather X is a good example, so is Facebook, Google, and Amazon.

On Facebook we used to see pictures our friends posted or their dogs or their trips and birthday parties, but now we see more ads from companies promoting products and services we don't want. Or how you look for something on Amazon and the first things it lists are items that aren't what you want but you have to keep scrolling down forever just to find something resembling what you want; meanwhile for the company selling on Amazon, they are constantly undercut by the behemoth making it less feasible to do business online.

This is enshittification.

Doctorow says part of it is due to monopolies these tech companies have on us; they suck us into buying their products and services and we're so invested it's hard to get out, or we can't gain more control over our gadgets like iPhones.

He says on the App Store there used to be an app where people could post information they had about ICE agents to warn others to avoid being "kidnapped and sent to a gulag", Doctorow says. But now Apple has removed this app, presumably to comply with Donald Trump...

Meanwhile Doctorow also talks about companies like John Deere that have agricultural machinery that practically all farmers use and fix themselves. But now these machines are so hi-tech that they can't be turned on or work again unless a John Deere technician goes to the farm to type in a special code to unlock it, and each visit costs thousands of dollars.

At one point Uber was toying with the idea of charging people more if their phone batteries were low on power. That's because Uber found that those customers were more willing to pay for surge pricing. It denied this and then later quietly dropped this extra charge all together.

The other problem is that Canada does not have enough competition nor regulation to rein in these companies. Doctorow personally blames former Conservative heritage minister James Moore for not doing enough to help consumers have more control over technology they use.

While Doctorow thinks we should have fixed things a decade ago, he says now is the time to act. The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is up for renewal and Canada should demand more instead of just rolling over to get any deal from the US. 

He says the average person can get off Twitter (or X), but are others going to join you on another platform? It's hard. But Doctorow says it's time to become an activist and join a movement to oppose enshittification of companies and demand that governments give us back control of the technology we use. Write to your Members of Parliament about this issue, and support the Canadian anti-monopoly project, Civic Open Media, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, he says.

"The way you get rid of them [people like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk] is by fixing the politics, not by reforming or replacing Elon Musk. The problem with Mark Zuckerberg isn't that the wrong person is the unelected social media czar for life of 4 billion people. The problem is that that job exists. We don't need to fix Zuck. We need to abolish Zuck," Doctorow said, to applause and cheers in the audience. 

Review: The Sirens' Call

Hayes says attention has become a scarce commodity

On CBC Radio's The Current, I heard an interview with Chris Hayes, the author of The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource. He is an American commentator, news anchor, and hosts a weekly podcast on MSNBC.

He gives the perspective of someone who works in the media of how it's so crucial to have the attention of the audience all the time, and how reporters and editors try to sustain that attention through breaking news, a ticker tape running at the bottom of the screen, or the stories they choose to cover.

While a few decades ago TV viewers were pretty much rapt with attention, these days people -- like himself -- are watching television but also scrolling on their phone and watching a video on their laptops.

How did we get this way?

Hayes is a commentator and podcaster

This is what Hayes tries to explain in his book, and believes attention is fast becoming a scarce commodity thanks to technology. Because of smartphones, the internet and social media, our attention spans have become shorter and shorter; conversely there is so much information out there thanks to the internet, we are overwhelmed and can't learn or absorb as much, or there is so much choice, we don't know where to begin and flail. 

He points out the biggest companies in the world are tech firms: Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet (Google's parent company), Meta and Amazon. They are all making money from us -- from monopolising our attention. But it started further back with slot machines, and then video games and now the limitless scroll on our phones.

Meanwhile the media try to grab attention with horrific news like plane crashes, or wars, and if that's not happening then salacious content called clickbait. Yes the media is guilty of trying to get our undivided attention too.

Not only are companies vying for our attention, but we ourselves want attention too, called social attention. Hayes says humans need to interact with each other and explains that prisoners in solitary confinement can't stand being alone

However the other extreme is social media like Facebook is selling users' attention to advertisers. Instead of seeing posts of what their friends are doing, they see a lot of advertisements, and that is a waste of time and energy. But that's how social media monetises our attention and makes a lot of money from it.

The same goes with Google. It became really good at finding information we needed, but now when you search for something, the top four entries are advertisements that are somewhat related to what you were looking for. Hayes cites in 2004, 99 percent of Google's US$3.2 billion in revenue came from advertising.

Then there are people who crave or demand attention and here Hayes apologises in advance for discussing Donald Trump (the book was written before he was elected a second time), and Elon Musk.

Hayes says back in 1858 there was a political debate on slavery by Democratic senator Stephen A Douglas and Republican Abraham Lincoln. They debated seven times in seven towns. The format? The first speaker talked for an hour, then the second one rebutted for 90 minutes and finally the first speaker gave a 30-minute rebuttal.

How did people in the 19th century have the attention to listen to a three-hour debate? Today the presidential TV debate is less than an hour. Hayes adds Trump either avoids debates and when he does, he shows no debating skills and can't even string a proper sentence together. 

Finally towards the end of The Sirens' Call, Hayes explains three negative things that are happening today: trolling, where people behind screens can provoke online; whataboutism, where those being attacked deflect criticism and turn the tables; and conspiracism, which is total disinformation, but appeals to many because they neatly explain things (incorrectly). 

So what can we do to retain our attention? Hayes harks back to the time when we made trips to the video store to rent a movie, we made a commitment to focus on the task at hand. And he gives the example of how vinyl records have made a big comeback, as not only is the sound quality better, but also makes the choice of music for us. 

Other examples are print newspapers, where editors have carefully curated the news according to its importance in terms of length and pictures, and group chats which have zero advertising and people can keep up with others in real time.

Will people actually follow through with his suggestions? Not really. His book has a lot of examples and points, but are already preaching to the choir who are looking for more concrete ways to safeguard and focus our attention. Maybe that's his next book?

HKJA Strikes Out on Two Hotel Venues

HKJA chair Selina Cheng holds Poon's calligraphy at Eaton HK

How hard is it for organisations in Hong Kong to hold a spring dinner for their members? 

Apparently it's near impossible, as the Hong Kong Journalists Association found out.

The Regal Hong Kong in Causeway Bay claimed it had "water leakage causing unstable power supply" and had to cancel the reservation two days before the event. 

In 2019 the hotel seemed supportive of protesters

So the HKJA postponed the dinner and made a reservation at the Eaton HK hotel in Jordan, and paid a deposit.

But then the group got some bad news today.

In an email to attendees, it said in part: 

"HKJA received notice from the new venue, Eaton HK, stating they were 'unable to host your proposed event.' No reason was given," the email said. "It is regrettable that, two times in a row in a short period of time, HKJA has had contracted bookings -- for which deposits were paid and documents signed -- cancelled by the venues."

This is particularly disappointing because the Eaton hotel is known to be more liberal, marketing itself as a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community, and during the 2019 protests put up a billboard on its building that read: "What does your revolution look like?"

So for Eaton HK to cancel the HKJA event shows how much pressure the hotel was under, and this is the new normal in Hong Kong.

In retaliation, people online posted bad reviews of the hotel on Google.

Ironically, one of the items that was to be auctioned off at the dinner is a work of calligraphy by lyricist Poon Yuen-leung.

It reads: "To brave the road ahead together, with wind gusting against us, we share our frustration and our pride. Sweep the dust on my face, empty the sorrows in our hearts, I beat on and stride forward with you."

China's DeepSeek Shocks American AI Firms

DeepSeek rivals ChatGPT and Gemini in its AI capabilities

Today the biggest business news was Nvidia's stock going free fall because of a little known Chinese artificial intelligence start-up called DeepSeek.

Investors dumped Nvidia's stock when they found out DeepSeek had similar capabilities to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini -- but by using a fraction of the microchips, which means much cheaper and faster than US AI firms. Typically top companies train their supercomputers to use some 16,000 microchips or more; DeepSeek claims it only needed about 2,000.

Nvidia's stock plunged today on DeepSeek news

That sent alarm bells ringing. Loudly.

The Biden administration had limited the number of microchips China could buy in a bid to keep American companies in the lead when it comes to developing AI technology. But with its back against the wall, China's top programmers figured out a way to get more out of each microchip.

There are claims DeepSeek only spent about US$6 million on developing its AI technology, but skeptics think the amount is higher. 

Nevertheless, the inability of the Chinese to get their hands on more microchips is hindering its high tech development, as DeepSeek founder and entrepreneur, Liang Wenfeng told Chinese Premier Li Qiang last week that access to advanced chips was a bottleneck.

While US investors recover from their shock, rival programmers will be going through DeepSeek, as all of its work is open sourced, which means its coding is available for use, or to scrutinise as proof of what they have done.

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng

In the meantime, US tech giants may be asking President Donald Trump for more controls on China. Today he said it was a "wake-up call" for the American tech industry.

Not only was DeepSeek on everyone's lips, but phones as well, as it was the most downloaded app in the last few days at over 1.6 million. 

Driverless Cars Take You Around

There's no one sitting in the driver's seat!

While we were waiting for our Uber to arrive at the San Francisco Ferry Terminal building, we saw a white car with a strange contraption on top of the car -- and no one in the driver's seat!

It was a Waymo, the world's first autonomous ride-hailing service. So basically Uber without the driver!

We saw two people get in, one in the back, one in the passenger side, and once the road was clear, it signalled to turn left into the lane and drove off!

Two brave souls got into the car...

Waymo is formerly the Google self-driving car project, which launched in 2015. The following year it was rebranded as Waymo. In 2020 it was the first company to offer a driverless ride-hailing service. 

The car, a Chrysler Pacifica hybrid, relies on artificial intelligence and Google Street View technology to navigate roads.

But is it safe?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recorded 150 crashes by Waymo by July 2021, though most of the crashes did not have injuries. In February this year, a Waymo struck a cyclist in San Francisco, and then most recently, there are complaints the Waymos are very noisy when they self-park in a parking lot near residents because the cars make a lot of noise when backing up. 

San Francisco was where I saw a robot make coffee five years ago, and now a driverless car. 

What's next?!

Live Like a Local Alaskan

Blasphemous Bill's tagline is "Rest in Pieces"

As I signed up for some excursions as part of my Alaska cruise, the tour guides tried to give us a sense of what life is like where they live and gave suggestions of where to hang out in our precious few hours in each port.

The towns of Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan are very small, with populations of a few thousand people each, but the numbers double when cruise season starts; students and young people with a yearning for adventure come to Alaska to earn money (though food and lodging can be expensive) and have a few good stories to tell their friends and family back home.

Spruce tip soda is among four flavours

Our rainforest tour guide from Montana asked us to write a Google review of our visit and to mention her name so that her mom could see her daughter was still alive and well in Ketchikan.

The guide who took us kayaking also asked us to review the excursion on Google too and if their name was mentioned they would get US$10 extra from his employer. What an incentive.

One of our guides who took us around Skagway was decades older, but it seems he enjoys the lifestyle in Alaska too much. He is happy to take tourists around to see mountains and glaciers from May to October, and after that he and his dog decamp to San Diego and enjoy the sun in the winter.

He suggested that we go to the Skaguay News Depot & Books to get a copy of The Skagway News for US$2 where we can read the section called "Police and Fire Blotter". 

It lists the police reports of what happened in a two-week period. Some are mundane like someone losing a mobile phone or a credit card was found in a store and reunited with its owner. Some involve passengers on cruise ships like losing their ship identification badge, or a medical emergency on the ship.

Colourful donuts assembled upon ordering

Others are more bizarre, like the one about a suspicious pill found on the floor of a bar and was turned over to the police. It turns out it was arthritis medication.

Someone called the police asking about the legalities of standing next to the Alaska sign dressed up as a bigfoot, or how about a person asking the cops to do a welfare check on a friend; the friend was fine but wanted to be left alone...

Another guide in Ketchikan suggested getting a salmon donut (US$10) from Jellyfish Donuts near where the Ruby Princess was docked. He also suggested trying spruce tip beer, bitters and even gin. We could get spruce tip soda from Blasphemous Bill's. 

So after my tour ended and dropped us back at the pier, I walked back to Blasphemous Bill's to get the spruce tip soda. I had to ask for it because I couldn't find it but it was in a small bar fridge near the cashier. 

Having tried pickled spruce tips that taste like capers, I was hoping the soda would have a pine-like smell or taste. Instead it was more of a lemon-lime soda that was quite sweet.

Salmon and maple bacon donuts

Then I hit Jellyfish Donuts and it's a small quaint shop and the donuts are actually brioche buns with creative toppings like sour patch kid and peanut butter and jelly. The signature one is salmon which I had to try. It's actually a smoked salmon spread with a few chopped spring onions on top. 

It's actually pretty good, fluffy donut that's a bit sweet and balanced with the savouriness of the salmon. I also tried maple bacon with actual bacon bits on the glazed donut, but it was more on the sweet side with a lot of icing on top.

Nevertheless, it was fun just to try these items even if they are a bit of a touristy gimmick!

Kayaking in Juneau, Alaska

Looking across the bay at Mendenhall Glacier

This morning we arrived in Juneau, Alaska, but by lunchtime it was raining which did not bode well for my kayaking trip. However, by the time we arrived at Auke Bay via a school bus for a 20-minute ride, the rain had tapered off with a slight sprinkle and blue skies opened up.

We got ready with a kayak spray skirt so our trousers wouldn't get soaked, and a life jacket on top. Our guide Michael from Alaska Shore Tours made sure each of us was tightly strapped into our life jackets and then we went to the shore and had a quick lesson on how to kayak even though all of us had kayaked before.

Our kayaks on shore ready for some paddling

Soon after we got into the water and began paddling. Across the bay we could see Mendenhall Glacier, in Tongass National Forest. The glacier is shrinking every year; since 1929 it has retreated 2.82km, and climate change has accelerated its retreat even further. 

In the distance Michael pointed out Admiralty Island where there are a large number of brown and black bears that live there. 

He also told us that we were in high tide so the chances of seeing orcas was slim -- they usually appear in low tide, when the fish and other food are concentrated and easier for the orcas to feed. Two weeks earlier a group of kayakers were able to see a pod of orcas.

The weather cooperated for the most part

Nevertheless, we were able to see three seals in the distance. They can hold their breath for 30 minutes, so if they pop up and then go down, you may not see them again. The same goes for orcas, though they can hold their breaths for an hour.

We also saw a tern, a small white bird with a black-shaped helmet on its head. Michael explained these migratory birds fly as far down as Antarctica. Quite amazing. 

As we made our way back to shore, we encountered sandbars 1ft down and made sure we avoided them -- Michael said if you hear the waves as if they are lapping on the shore, then there are sandbars nearby. Periodically we got sprinkles of rain, but no downpour. We were all so happy the way the weather turned out.

Once we avoided this hurdle we paddled hard to get back to shore. After we took off the life jacket and kayak spray skirt there were some snacks waiting for us, as well as some warm apple cider. Michael kept asking us if we had a good time -- he was eager to have a good review on Google -- and then we got back on the bus.

Beautiful blue skies on our afternoon kayaking

Definitely a memorable trip and a fun arm workout!

Demanding Tech Exec Loses Job Over Controversial Comments

Qu claimed she worked so hard she forgot about her children

The big news in China is a tech executive who pushed her staff to work very long hours -- basically coined "996", or from 9am to 9pm, six days a week. But she was so extreme that she was fired.

Qu Jing was the former vice president and head of communications at Baidu, which is the Chinese equivalent of Google.

However, last week she posted a series of videos on Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok where she spoke about how devoted she was to her job, her strict management style, and demands on her underlings.

Baidu left Qu go following her comments

In one video she talked about her personal sacrifices as a working mother. She admitted she worked so hard that she forgot her eldest son's birthday and what grade her younger son was in at school. Qu said she didn't regret it because she "chose to become a career woman."

"If you work in public relations, don't expect weekends off," she said in another video. "Keep your phone on 24 hours a day, always ready to respond."

Needless to say her department had a high turnover rate and her videos didn't resonate and instead grated young viewers who are fed up with gruelling work hours and immense pressure. Many have adopted tang ping or "lying flat" -- or just doing the minimum to get by.

As a result Qu lost her job at Baidu, and she later apologised for her video posts.

But it didn't end there as people discussed her and her videos online.

"In her voice and in her tone, there's deep indifference to and lack of empathy for the common plight of her colleagues," said Ivy Yang, a China tech analyst and founder of consulting firm Wavelet Strategy.

Many workers opt to "lie flat" these days

"A lot of what she said really struck a nerve, because people feel that in their own workplaces very often. The fact that she said it in a way that's so direct and in your face, it just generated this kind of emotional response," she said.

This is what the bosses are thinking, and she was merely saying it aloud," Yang added.

It's not the first time a boss has landed in hot water endorsing long working hours.

In 2019 Alibaba's Jack Ma was under fire for endorsing the "996" trend, calling it "a huge blessing."

On Thursday Qu apologised "for causing such a big storm." 

"I have carefully read all the opinions and comments from various platforms, and many criticisms are very pertinent. I deeply reflect on and humbly accept them," she wrote.

She seems to have been really tone deaf when it comes to the attitudes of young workers these days. They are exhausted from working hard for very little gains, hence the philosophy of "lying flat". 

Did she not get the memo???

Hong Kong Anthem Gaffe Strikes Again

The moment the wrong anthem was played in Bosnia

After the 2019 protest song instead of the Chinese national anthem was played twice late last year in a rugby tournament in South Korea raised hackles with the Hong Kong government, it is quite unbelievable that the gaffe has happened again, this time Bosnia, after a hockey match between the city and Iran.

On Tuesday "Glory to Hong Kong" was played as Hong Kong's national anthem instead of "March of the Volunteers" when the team beat Iran in the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship Division III.

Pui says teams can't check right song is played

Pui Kwan-kay, honorary vice-president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, said he didn't have all the details of the incident, but believed the latest blunder was caused by "careless" staff who downloaded the wrong song from the internet.

"The government has a responsibility to continue to liaising with the service provider to ensure the correct national anthem of Hong Kong, China should be placed at the top," he said, referring to Google.

And yes, if you do Google "Hong Kong national anthem", "Glory to Hong Kong" is the top result.

Google has said before it will not change the rankings of specific pages.

But no one outside of the city knows it is the wrong anthem and the politically charged meaning behind it. How is it their fault?

Why not make it the responsibility of the Hong Kong teams to tell organisers to use "March of the Volunteers" instead? 

At a rugby tournament "Glory to HK" was played

Surely the team's coach or general manager traveling with the team could liaise with tournament organisers? 

However, Pui claims that while guidelines and tool kits have been provided to sports teams to ensure event organisers have a copy of the correct anthem, the teams cannot constantly check to make sure the right song is played.

"Team leaders can't always stay in the media room to supervise, and the counterparty may feel annoyed that they are being watched while working," Pui said.

Well, yes if the Hong Kong government keeps getting annoyed then someone's going to have to make sure the right anthem is played, right?

In this latest gaffe, the government "strongly deplored" the national anthem mix-up and requested the local Olympic committee to conduct an in-depth investigation.

The International Ice Hockey Federation reportedly apologised for the error, saying it was an unintended mistake.

At least Hong Kong sports teams are playing well overseas!

Regina Ip Demands Google Answers

Ip asking for Google to come to Legco to answer questions

The saga over the wrong anthem played at rugby matches overseas continues to be dragged out, this time by Executive Council convenor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who wants Google executives to answer questions in the Legislative Council.

She said she would write to Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen to invite the behemoth search engine to answer lawmakers' questions, and if they refused, Ip would seek to invoke the Legislative Council (Power and Privileges) Ordinance to summon them. 

"If they ignore the summons, a warrant can be issued. It's a criminal offence and offenders can be jailed up to 12 months," she warned.

The 2019 protest song is the top search result

In other words, the Google executives are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Ip added a majority in Legco was all that was needed to call on the ordinance.

Last month Hong Kong's rugby team competed in Incheon, South Korea, where Glory to Hong Kong, a song associated with the 2019 protests, was played instead of the Chinese national anthem, March of the Volunteers.

Korean organisers apologised for the incident, claiming when they looked it up online, Glory to Hong Kong came up first. And so pro-establishment lawmakers are urging Google to tweak the algorithm so that March of the Volunteers came up first.

The lawmakers, in a bid to prove their patriotism to their Beijing masters are probably hoping to get air time grilling Google executives, but they won't get very far.

The wrong anthem was played in Incheon

As long as people keep searching for "Hong Kong anthem", then the protest song will come up first -- this is how Google works because this is what users are searching for. No amount of buying advertising will change the algorithm, as I found out in a podcast called Freakonomics in an episode called "Is Google Getting Worse?"

Freakonomics host Stephen Dubner interviews Liz Reid, vice president of Search at Google.

At one point she explains the correlation between search results and advertising:

"Behind the scenes in Search, we take great pride in not only trying to provide high-quality results, but ensuring that they are not influenced by ads. So we have a very strong culture that says whether or not you're an advertiser, does not allow you to change the results we show. You cannot pay us to change how you show. Those results are very pure, and we go to great lengths to ensure that this is the case. And so the quality of the search we provide is run separately from the ads to do that."

Reid says ads and search results are separate

So one can imagine if and when these Google executives go to Legco, lawmakers are going to go red in the face with frustration that the search engine giant will refuse to budge. 

But watching this process might be entertaining so don't miss it! 

Good News and Bad News

Victor Chen perfectly encapsulates Leave Home Safe app

I was going to write that Hong Kong was the last place on earth to mandate using a Covid-19 tracking app, but just a few hours ago the government has decided residents don't need to scan the dreaded QR codes everywhere they go, but must show their vaccination records at restaurants.

Not only that -- when people arrive in the city and test negative, they are free to go anywhere they wish -- no more getting takeaway food and staying at home for three days. 

The Hang Seng Index immediately shot up to over 19,000 points upon news of the announcement.

Lo looks silly for defending the unnecessary app

Secretary for Health Dr Lo Chung-mau will have to explain himself on why he was so insistent that the Leave Home Safe app was here to stay forever when the winds across the mainland were about to change. Did he not get the memo or was he trying to keep up the appearance that Hong Kong was on a different track than China?

Christmas and New Years is going to be bustling business for Hong Kong, but restaurants and retail have been badly battered by the last three years, some barely surviving, others going gangbusters.

Now the next question is when the border between the mainland and Hong Kong will reopen, and at this rate one may assume before Chinese New Year (January 22). 

Another person desperately trying to show his faithfulness to Beijing is Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung. He accused Google of "double standards" when the tech giant refused to ensure the Chinese national anthem is at the top of the search result following several blunders in international rugby matches where they played the 2019 protest song Glory to Hong Kong instead of the Chinese anthem, March of the Volunteers.

Tang insists that Google obey HK government

"Google claimed it could not accede to our request because [the search results are determined by] algorithm and it cannot do anything with it," he said. "But it has been widely known that anyone who wants their information to be seen by more people could spend money on adverts to get their posts promoted. The claim by Google that its hands are tied is incomprehensible and I am sure Hongkongers would find it unacceptable."

Why not spend money on buying adverts on Google then? The Hong Kong Tourism Board has been desperately throwing money around to promote the city as being back in business...

Or as activist investor David Webb has suggested, as Hong Kong has its own flag and currency, why not give the city its own anthem? 

Tang's flogging a dead horse -- time to move on. No one is listening.

Meanwhile it is heartening to hear the former editor-in-chief of the now defunct Stand News is out on bail after being remanded in custody for almost a year on sedition charges.

Ex-Stand News chief editor now out on bail

Chung Pui-kuen, 53, paid HK$100,000 cash bail with a surety from his brother of HK$50,000 after the judge assessed Chung would not be a national security threat.

However his travel documents were suspended and he is not allowed to give media interviews. 

His lawyer, Senior Counsel Audrey Eu Yuet-mee said in court that Chung would not be a flight risk as his wife, Chan Pui-man was also remanded in custody regarding the now defunct Apple Daily on charges of collusion with foreign forces.

Chung's colleague, former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam Shiu-tung, 35, and Stand News' holding company Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Limited are accused of conspiracy to publish seditious publications. Lam was granted bail last month.

But things are getting worse for Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of the defunct Apple Daily.

Lai's NSL trial not until September 2023

He was sentenced to 69 months (five years and nine months) and a HK$2 million fine for breaching a commercial lease contract that somehow has morphed into criminal fraud. 

Not only that, he has received word that his national security trial won't be heard until September next year, as the Hong Kong government is waiting on Beijing for an interpretation of legislation on whether Lai is allowed to have foreign representation in court.

Meanwhile his son Sebastien, who is based in Taiwan, is calling on the UK government to take action, as his father is a UK national.

"My dad is a British citizen who has done nothing wrong. I call on the UK Government to take urgent action to protect my dad immediately and secure his freedom. The UK must do all it can to stop this, and do it now," he wrote in a statement.

Unfortunately Lai is at the bottom of the UK government's to-do list but will Lai make it through mentally and physically? Not everyone has his patience and determination.