On Backchat, Is the race over? There are unambiguous signs that Beijing prefers Carrie Lam as CE. Where does that leave John Tsang, and is Longhair right to offer an alternative? What practical effect can the Pan-Dems have? Why has Beijing been...

On Backchat, we're talking about the increase in taxi fares which will take effect in April. The cost of taxi rides will be going up by about 10 percent on average across the territory. But the first increase in more than three years is less tha...

On Backchat, tax talk. Ahead of the budget and the CE election there are a few new ideas about revenue raising floating around. There's John Tsang's 'negative income tax'. What is that, and why did it appeal to Milton Friedman, and the Green Party?...

On Backchat, more on the campaigns for Chief Executive. John Tsang has launched his manifesto, including the drafting of Article 23 legislation, re-organising Government structure and an intriguing 'negative income tax'. 'Through re-establishing un...

On Backchat, Trump's foreign policy. The president says the world is in trouble, and the US is going to straighten it out. The EU says the new administration is to putting into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy. There are at lea...

On Friday's Backchat, the rise of the robots. They're not just firing lasers or building cars these days; they can pick, process, cook and deliver your food. They can do clerical, legal and accountancy jobs. They can care for the elderly and win at po...

On Thursday’s Backchat we go underground. The Government is consulting on the opportunities presented by developing down, rather than up. They propose some areas in particular, Tsim Sha Tsui West, Causeway Bay and Happy Valley, and Wan Chai for subsu...

On Backchat we look ahead to the Year of the Rooster. Donald J.Trump is the big wild card internationally, but there are big changes in store for Hong Kong too, with a new CE and a new administration. What will change, what will stay the same? What ar...

On Backchat, house prices. A recent study of affordability around the world showed Hong Kong as the least affordable place in the world - again - and by a huge margin. If average property price is more than five times median annual income, it's cl...

On Backchat - good news - the crime rate has reached its lowest level since 1978. It's been declining for a decade, though there are still troubling figures on large scale burglaries and cyber security. Why are crime rates falling? Is this a global...