This past May, the Hong Kong SAR government announced that the Municipal Solid Waste Charging Scheme that was set to roll out in April would be indefinitely postponed. This comes after nearly two decades of discussions while other major cities across Asia, like Singapore and Tokyo, were able to solve their own waste and recycling issues.

Hong Kong generates 5.97-6.6 million tons of solid waste per year, yet only about 30-35% of it is recycled. The remaining amount of unrecycled waste is enough to fill over 1,000 of the city’s double-decker buses.

So what’s next? With no clear solution from the government in sight, the FCC organised a panel of three waste management pioneers who gave their opinions on how the private sector could step up and address Hong Kong’s trash dilemma. Moderating the discussion was FCC Journalist Governor Joe Pan, who first introduced Edwin Lau to share his views and criticisms of the city’s waste management efforts.

“A lot of our waste did not end up in our landfills. That is the issue. [It] ended up in our nature — our beaches [and] countryside,” Lau said.

Lau is the Founder and Executive Director of The Green Earth, and played a key role in advising the government as they developed the Waste Charging Scheme. With the government postponing the plan indefinitely for the Scheme earlier this year, Lau had become even more critical of the government’s lack of effort. He continued to point out the statistics that showed how the city is underperforming when compared to the rest of Asia.

“You can see our waste problem, our achievement in waste reduction is really, really poor,” he said.

Eric Swinton, the Founder of V Cycle, then spoke from the standpoint of a private entrepreneur who has become dedicated to Hong Kong’s sustainability.

Swinton explained that the V in V Cycle stands for “virtuous” and then cited how his organisation aids both the city’s recycling struggles, as well as the elderly population.

“We, as a social enterprise, have a social mission: to look after the underprivileged people in Hong Kong, especially the ‘cardboard elderly’,” he said.

The “cardboard elderly” he referred to are the 65 to 85-year-old collectors who roam the streets for hours, break down and fold up boxes, and exchange their findings for around HK$25-50 a day. Swinton’s research indicates that there are approximately 3,000 cardboard elderly in Hong Kong. His aim with V Cycle is to help make their lives better.

By hiring the cardboard elderly, Swinton has created a much healthier and dignified job for them with sorting out waste that will be recycled at his factory in Tuen Mun. His staff receive free lunch, tea breaks, and an hourly pay that’s well above minimum wage. Swinton then shared a specific example of his employee Mr. Lee who previously collected cardboard boxes with his wife.

In his former work, Mr. Lee hurt himself and was hospitalised in order to receive an injection treatment, which wound up permanently injuring his back. But since he started working at V Cycle over a year ago, his health has rapidly improved and he can now stand up straight — and earn much more money to support himself and his wife.

Understanding the inflow and outflow of Hong Kong’s waste is also a key feature of Dorothy Lam’s research and efforts in local sustainability.

She refers to it as the “digestive system” and finds that Hong Kong has never examined its own resource allocation for waste management to pinpoint areas where efficiency and cost-effective strategies can be implemented. Other cities have done this, and if Hong Kong were to complete this study, Lam explains that this will help the city create regional partners as it combats waste buildup.

“I think for the ‘digestive system’, maybe we shouldn’t stop in Hong Kong [and] actually look at where the streams are going when [waste] is exported, and look at the market opportunities in those economies,” she said.

Being able to find a regionally-involved solution to the city’s recycling issues creates what Lam described as a “circular economy” where all involved parties are able to benefit — which will ultimately bring Hong Kong up to the same waste management efficiency as its Asian counterparts.

While the panel agreed that regional cooperation would make a significant impact in Hong Kong’s environmental efforts, Lau maintained that the city needed to vastly improve its own strategy in order to align with other places across Asia — and the rest of the world.

“Let’s take bigger and bolder steps together to let Hong Kong really move on the sustainable path to show that Hong Kong is an international city. On [an] environmental side, we should also be on par with other major cities on environmental issues,” Lau concluded.

To watch the full discussion, please visit our YouTube channel:

Indonesia’s ongoing protests began late last month in response to controversial legislation that aimed to reserve power for outgoing President Joko Widodo’s two sons and prevent a leading government critic from running for governor of Jakarta.

At many locations across the world’s third-largest democracy, young protesters, mostly university students, demonstrated outside government buildings. Protests in capital city Jakarta took place at the gates of the House of Representatives, with violence breaking out between police and demonstrators in the afternoon and lasting through the late evening.

Some protests in Central Java featured banners with the words “Kita Tolak, Masa Pahit” written on them. The phrase translates to “We Reject Bitter Times” and its historical reference was instantly recognised by author Herald van der Linde.

“They say, ‘We do not want to see the dynasty stuff that we’ve seen in the past. We reject that,’” he explained.

“Masa Pahit” is a direct reference to the Majapahit Empire that lasted from 1290 to 1520, a near 200-year period where dynasties and power struggles dominated Indonesian life. Majapahit also happens to be both the title and subject of Linde’s latest book, Majapahit: Intrigue, Betrayal and War in Indonesia’s Greatest Empire (2024).

Sitting alongside Professional Committee member Philip Bowring, Linde delivered a detailed explanation on the history and cultural significance of Majapahit, as well as the writing process that brought this book to life.

Linde works full-time as HSBC’s Chief Asia Equity Strategist, but in his spare time, he travels frequently to Indonesia. He’s even fluent in Indonesian, as well as English and Dutch, and has earned the nickname “The Flying Dutchman” for his frequent travels around the region.

He spent three years digging into historical archives across Indonesia, searching for everything he could find, including not just information about the Majapahit era, but also historical events leading up to this empire and its impact on the rest of Asia.

None of the information he found was in English, yet his book is. Majapahit has now become the first-ever English-language publication on the subject, a fact that Bowring pointed out early on in the discussion.

“In the English language and among English-language academics, there is a profound ignorance of the whole history of the Indonesian archipelago,” Bowring said when recalling trying to write a chapter about Majapahit for his own book Empire of the Winds (2019).

Majapahit’s long history can be summarised into two themes: division and reunification.

Pre-Majapahit leaders attempted to divide Indonesia in order to distribute power, but could never truly accomplish this task due to the legendary tamarind tree that once stood in what is now Jakarta.

While the country was never truly divided, Linde explained that there are major differences in culture, language, and religion that stretched across Majapahit — differences that are still reflected in modern Indonesia. He specifically referenced West Java.

“Even today, West Java is separated to a certain extent,” Linde said.

Despite its differences, Linde elaborated on how Indonesia preserves itself by remaining tolerant towards all of its ethnic and religious groups. This value was instilled after the fall of the Majapahit Empire, which coincided with the “birthday” of modern Indonesia.

“Majapahit, to a large extent, created Southeast Asia as we know it very much today. That’s why I think it deserved about three years of my life to write the book,” he concluded.

To watch the full discussion, please visit our YouTube channel:

The geopolitical competition between the world’s two most powerful countries, the United States and China, is expected to continue for years, if not decades. China’s Xi Jinping shows no signs of retiring, while Americans will be heading to the polls in November to select either current vice president Kamala Harris or former president Donald Trump to be their next leader.

Regardless of November’s outcome, Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani believes that the US-China contest is too “baked in” and will be followed by an eventful decade he hopes to see.

“That’s why I’m trying my best to stay alive for the next ten years,” Mahbubani said, adding that he is now 75 years old.

Mahbubani, the two-time Singaporean Representative to the UN and two-time President of the UN Security Council, recently published his tenth book, Living the Asian Century: An Undiplomatic Memoir. While touring Hong Kong to promote his book, he spoke at the FCC alongside President Lee Williamson and commented on the ongoing power struggle between the US and China.

Standing at the FCC podium before an audience of correspondents, diplomats, and associates of various professions, Mahbubani first listed three strengths and two weaknesses each for the US and China when it comes to their ongoing rivalry.

China’s population of 1.4 billion people and their psychological motivation to overcome the Century of Humiliation (1842-1949) were two of the country’s strengths, yet it was China’s status as the world’s oldest and continuous civilisation that Mahbubani highlighted the most.

“This is not a contest against the Communist Party. This is a contest against a 4,000 year old civilisation,” he said.

From his experience, Mahbubani said he finds that many Americans are unaware of this fact, especially those in charge of US foreign policy.

This directly ties into what Mahbubani’s finds to be the first weaknesses of the US: lack of long-term strategy. China’s long history, Mahbubani believes, is able to outlast American diplomacy.

“As the United States applies pressure and imposes sanctions, imposes tariffs on China, the Chinese say, ‘Well, you’ve done this before. We understand what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to dominate us, and we’ll make sure that this time, you don’t succeed,’” he said.

However, Mahbubani believes there are weaknesses in China’s strategies as well. The central government’s alienation of the American business community has removed the country’s internal shield from aggressive US trade policies, said Mahbubani.

Also, China’s population is ageing in parallel with declining birthrates. Mahbubani believes the combination of these factors now forecast a further demographic drop in what was once the world’s most populous country (India now hosts the world’s largest population).

He also figures that the US, with a population of just over 300 million, could outshine China in its ability to attract professional talent from nearly every corner of the world — making this the first US strength that Mahbubani listed.

He noted companies like Google and Microsoft whose CEOs are both originally from India, and even joked about the ambiguous background of Elon Musk, leader of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly known as Twitter).

These high-profile companies are also unique to the US, a place that Mahbubani described as “the most Darwinian society on Earth.” The consistent competition amongst Americans themselves is what Mahbubani believes leads to the other two strengths he believes that the US has over China: a culture of innovation, and ultimately, becoming the most powerful nation in human history.

Power and — arguably just as important — income are not distributed equally or fairly across the US.

The US’s final weakness, Mahbubani contends, is its metamorphosis into a “functional plutocracy” that has stagnated the financial status of the bottom 50% of Americans for several decades. The alienation of this group, especially the white working class and their “white-lash” against the rising power of racial minorities, is what Mahbubani believes has led to Trump’s election in 2016 and potential re-election in 2024 — which would then make Trump the No. 1 weakness of the US.

In further discussion with President Williamson, Mahbubani explained how Americans’ emotional responses to internal politics have also carried into US-China relations.

Noting past US legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and recurring themes of “yellow peril” in American entertainment, media, and various fictional characters, Mahbubani believes that it’s important to dig deeper into the American psyche and unroot the emotional aspect that continues to affect US policy towards China.

“I’m trying very hard to persuade the United States and China to behave rationally towards each other, but if you are driven by an emotional fear which is deep and dark, then frankly, you may do things that are crazy. That’s why I want to surface this emotional dimension. I want it to be understood, dissected, and analyzed so we can say, ‘Are you seriously being influenced by your emotion or your reason in this contest against China?’” he explained.

Many of Mahbubani’s critics label him as “pro-China” and “anti-US” for his various comments on US-China relations and China’s overall relation with the West. Given these comments and public feedback, Williamson also asked about whether or not Mahbubani believes in the “intrinsic value of democracy” in the current geopolitical climate.

His answer was a clear yes, but not without a few caveats.

“Western liberal democracies today are in serious trouble,” Mahbubani began to explain — another opinion of his that he admitted is not widely accepted by the West.

To him, Mahbubani believes that as society evolves and becomes smarter, people will want more of a say in their government’s decision-making, which will ultimately lead to democracy.

However, he finds the West has ignored warnings from over 2,000 years ago, from Greek philosopher Plato who ultimately rejected democracy due to its ability to usher tyrants and dictators into positions of power. It is precisely this concept that Mahbubani believes led to Donald Trump’s election in 2016 and his ongoing re-election campaign to become 47th President of the US.

“When the West goes through this worship of democracy, it is actually doing democracy a lot of damage because democracy is a very difficult political system to manage,” Mahbubani concluded.

To watch the full discussion between Kishore Mahbubani and Lee Williamson, which covers media, disinformation, and a range of political topics, please visit our YouTube channel:

Thomas Gnocchi has been the Head of the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macau since September 1st, 2020 — arriving amidst the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic and just a few months after Beijing’s National Security Law (NSL) was introduced in Hong Kong.

Now, just four years later, he will soon be departing Hong Kong for a new assignment in Tokyo, Japan. Before leaving, Ambassador Gnocchi spoke at an FCC Club Lunch event alongside First Vice President Morgan Davis to summarise his experience during a pivotal period in Hong Kong’s history.

“It’s a real pleasure to address the FCC Club Lunch. This is my last public event before leaving, so I’m particularly happy that this is taking place here at the FCC,” he began.

To kick off the discussion, Davis first asked Gnocchi how he would characterise his past four years in the city.

“I think it would have been even wilder had I come the year before,” said Gnocchi.

Gnocchi referenced the anti-government protests of 2019 that were caused by a now-withdrawn amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, which would have allowed suspected criminals from Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan to be extradited to mainland China for trial. Protests were fueled further by the Hong Kong Police Force’s alleged use of excessive force against demonstrators.

After months of large-scale protests that extended into the first half of 2020, Beijing pushed for the NSL in Hong Kong, which stamped out nearly all forms of criticism towards the local and central government. In early 2024, the Hong Kong government then enacted Article 23 of the Basic Law which aimed to “plug the gaps” not covered by Beijing’s NSL. Article 23 has been criticised by various sectors for its seemingly vague definitions of national security and state secrets.

These events ultimately set up Gnocchi for a new political landscape in Hong Kong unlike anything the EU Office had previously experienced.

“I think my job here in the EU Office here was very, very different to that of my predecessors [who] weren’t dealing with these more political topics. We’re out of the pandemic, but [these] political changes have changed Hong Kong quite a bit in this relatively short period of time,” Gnocchi said.

Some of the new changes that Gnocchi noted in his talk were the amount of self-censorship that journalists now engage in while reporting under these new conditions, as well as the city’s declining press freedom environment and the closure of various independent news organisations.

Apple Daily and Stand News are just two of the many media outlets that have been shut down since the implementation of Article 23 and the NSL. Also, Hong Kong’s ranking in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index has fallen to 135 out of 180, and many of the city’s journalists have confirmed in various indices and surveys that they have censored their work more often over the past few years.

“I’ve had several instances where a reporter says, ‘Well, we can’t really carry that.’ I’ve seen it first hand, this self-censorship,” Gnocchi recalled.

Davis then asked if it’s possible for these laws to be undone, which Gnocchi agreed is possible but would take a tremendous amount of effort to change the legal framework that Hong Kong currently utilises.

“Theoretically, yes it is reversible. But I think it would take something pretty substantial to roll this back,” he said.

Despite being the Head of the EU Office and noticing media censorship in the interviews he has given over the past four years, Gnocchi said he hasn’t gotten specific feedback from European journalists working in Hong Kong. Regardless, he emphasised that press freedom in Hong Kong is still a top concern for the EU.

“I think that the general realization that a thriving media environment — an environment where there’s true press freedom — I think that’s good for business and many organizations that rely on objective news and free information. Steps taken in that direction would be very, very welcomed,” he summarised.

On a positive note, Gnocchi also shared what he would miss about Hong Kong after he soon relocates to Japan. Food and nature were the first things that came to the outgoing ambassador’s mind.

“Well, the food has been a particular highlight — and spending time in the FCC. I’ve tried to balance the food by walking in the great country parks, which are just around the corner. That is something that I’ll really miss about Hong Kong – the fact that you have this international finance center and you walk two minutes and you’re in a country park. Certainly I’ll miss that a lot,” he said.

Despite this, Gnocchi also shared his excitement for the new range of cuisine that will be available to him once he reaches Tokyo.

“There’s good food in Japan, too. I’m not out of the woods yet!” he concluded.

Watch the full discussion between Morgan Davis and Thomas Gnocchi on our YouTube channel:

“An easy life does not always correspond to a good one.”

Standing at the FCC podium, Justice Richard Bernstein began his opening speech with stories of pain and triumph. Going to law school, becoming elected and re-elected to serve on Michigan’s Supreme Court, and completing multiple endurance races — all while being born visually impaired— has been no easy mission.

Despite such a life-altering setback, Justice Bernstein has chosen to persevere, to overcome the challenges he faces every day and become a leading figure in disability rights.

“Life is all about doing things because you’ve got to want it. You’ve got to believe in it. You’ve got to choose it, and you’ve got to decide that you’re going to make this happen,” he said.

Justice Bernstein, with the help of the US Consulate, completed a recent tour of Hong Kong. While meeting with consular staff, local radio stations and journalists — and even joining a run with Fearless Dragon, a running group for people with visual and hearing impairments — he also spoke at an FCC Club Lunch alongside President Lee Williamson.

The pair talked in depth about Justice Bernstein’s professional life and athletic career, as well as Michigan’s role in the upcoming US presidential elections and how voting systems can differ from state to state.

Williamson, as an avid runner himself, first asked Justice Bernstein about how he was able to complete 26 marathons and a full IronMan competition, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride and another full marathon.

Justice Bernstein’s advice was simple — just take one step at a time.

“Ultimately, if you do everything one day at a time and one step at a time, things usually tend to find their way,” he said.

Williamson highlighted the New York City accident that Justice Bernstein suffered from before his 18th marathon. A cyclist struck him while going over 35 miles an hour, shattering his pelvis. The accident required 10 weeks of hospitalisation and left the justice with chronic pain, yet he still continued running.

“It [running] is something that you build over time. It becomes a part of what you do and who you are, and it becomes a part of your lifestyle, and it becomes part of what you tend to focus on each and every day. Like I always speak to, it becomes part of your life mission,” Justice Bernstein summarised.

Williamson and Justice Bernstein also discussed recent developments in US politics, starting with the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump on July 13th. Justice Bernstein explained that the incident could potentially strengthen the energy and passion of both Trump and his dedicated supporters.

Justice Bernstein also briefly commented on the landmark Supreme Court ruling that grants Trump immunity for core presidential duties he conducted while in office during his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.

“If you create an environment where the president isn’t required to have to hear or to follow the rules that are set forth that everyone else has to follow, then what are the consequences of that?” Justice Bernstein asked.

He then added that the upcoming litigation against Trump will certainly continue for a long time, and that each new wave of litigation must be studied carefully to address all the nuances and degrees in which federal laws may or may not have been violated.

The conversation then transitioned into Justice Bernstein’s role in disability rights and lawmaking. As a Supreme Court Justice of Michigan, the cases he decides on can impact the rest of the country.

Justice Bernstein gave the example of how transportation is designed. Whether it’s an airline or a bus system, he finds that the accessibility of these modes of transportation need to be considered at conception. Mandates from US Congress or the Supreme Court could also be applied, yet Justice Bernstein clarified that most of the decisions that will affect everyday Americans will be done at the state court level.

These state and federal dynamics also came into play during Justice Bernstein’s experience with Michigan’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With each state being able to determine how to use its own laws, resources, and police force to combat the pandemic, Justice Bernstein said the US Bill of Rights is ultimately the core consideration for how Michigan, or any other state, should implement new laws. What he found was that certain states created more restrictions than others during the pandemic, which treaded a careful line between protecting citizens and preserving the Bill of Rights. These decisions weren’t easy, yet they are precisely why Justice Bernstein believes that the courts are where they need to be made instead of by the executive or legislative branch.

“It’s really the job of the courts to be unpopular. It’s the job of the court to make decisions that people don’t like. And it’s the job of the courts to do things in difficult times that people really hate,” he said.

When asked if he would be willing to become a non-permanent overseas judge in Hong Kong if he were asked, Justice Bernstein gave a resounding yes.

“Absolutely! In our court, we have a lot of time off. We pretty much get July and August off, and also have February off. I would actually have the time to do it, and would be honoured to do it if asked,” he said.

Learn more about Justice Bernstein and his thoughts on the upcoming 2024 US elections by watching the full discussion on the FCC’s YouTube channel: