Alice Poon's Blog - Posts Tagged "hong-kong"
Review of "Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong"
The Original Edition of "Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong" (December 2005) was rated as Editor's Choice: Scholarly by Canadian Book Review Annual in September/October 2007.
The Chinese Edition "地產霸權" (July 2010) won the 4th Year Hong Kong Book Prize in June 2011.
Here's the full review of the Original Edition by Gary Watson from Canadian Book Review Annual:-
"Oligopoly pays." That’s the chief lesson emerging from Alice Poon’s excellent survey of Hong Kong’s real estate and infrastructure economies. Although Hong Kong is often characterized as one of the world’s freest economies, it is in fact controlled by a handful of wealthy individuals and companies who stifle—rather than encourage—competition.
Poon dissects the sinews of Hong Kong "big money" and isolates its key components, those being legislative and legal sway over land and competitive policies. Hong Kong’s biggest fortunes owe their growth and security to dominance over a wide spectrum of businesses ranging from transport, public utilities, supermarkets, and food distribution to, most importantly, land development. Huge amounts of real estate are developed by a handful of large companies who control all aspects of supply, construction, and property management. Indeed, the usual hallmarks of classically defined competitive markets are nearly absent; instead, Hong Kong’s market structure suffers from steep barriers to entry and government policies that serve to bolster the market positions of a half dozen huge conglomerates.
The situation of near-anarchy for Hong Kong’s corporate heavyweights may make for impressive annual reports but does little to relieve Hong Kong’s mounting social and economic tensions. Poon carefully details how government "of the rich, by the rich, for the rich" in Hong Kong has damaged civil norms and deprived its population of economic security and well-being. Not surprisingly, articulate protest groups have lodged forceful criticism of "business as usual" and gained widespread support, proving that discontent is deep-seated and justified.
Poon’s concise, well-argued analysis is one of the few available English-language sources on Hong Kong’s predicament. While Hong Kong’s once-vigorous and argumentative press has lost its teeth following the takeover, new outlets such as blogs have assumed huge importance as a barricade for free expression and democratic principles. With Shanghai rapidly eclipsing Hong Kong as the banking and finance powerhouse for China’s breakneck growth, there’s a chance that competition may in fact re-emerge and make for the kind of "popular" entrepreneurship long absent in Hong Kong.
Gary Watson
Canadian Book Review Annual
The Chinese Edition "地產霸權" (July 2010) won the 4th Year Hong Kong Book Prize in June 2011.
Here's the full review of the Original Edition by Gary Watson from Canadian Book Review Annual:-
"Oligopoly pays." That’s the chief lesson emerging from Alice Poon’s excellent survey of Hong Kong’s real estate and infrastructure economies. Although Hong Kong is often characterized as one of the world’s freest economies, it is in fact controlled by a handful of wealthy individuals and companies who stifle—rather than encourage—competition.
Poon dissects the sinews of Hong Kong "big money" and isolates its key components, those being legislative and legal sway over land and competitive policies. Hong Kong’s biggest fortunes owe their growth and security to dominance over a wide spectrum of businesses ranging from transport, public utilities, supermarkets, and food distribution to, most importantly, land development. Huge amounts of real estate are developed by a handful of large companies who control all aspects of supply, construction, and property management. Indeed, the usual hallmarks of classically defined competitive markets are nearly absent; instead, Hong Kong’s market structure suffers from steep barriers to entry and government policies that serve to bolster the market positions of a half dozen huge conglomerates.
The situation of near-anarchy for Hong Kong’s corporate heavyweights may make for impressive annual reports but does little to relieve Hong Kong’s mounting social and economic tensions. Poon carefully details how government "of the rich, by the rich, for the rich" in Hong Kong has damaged civil norms and deprived its population of economic security and well-being. Not surprisingly, articulate protest groups have lodged forceful criticism of "business as usual" and gained widespread support, proving that discontent is deep-seated and justified.
Poon’s concise, well-argued analysis is one of the few available English-language sources on Hong Kong’s predicament. While Hong Kong’s once-vigorous and argumentative press has lost its teeth following the takeover, new outlets such as blogs have assumed huge importance as a barricade for free expression and democratic principles. With Shanghai rapidly eclipsing Hong Kong as the banking and finance powerhouse for China’s breakneck growth, there’s a chance that competition may in fact re-emerge and make for the kind of "popular" entrepreneurship long absent in Hong Kong.
Gary Watson
Canadian Book Review Annual
Free Book Promotion - Fated and Fateless
I am pleased to announce that on the coming weekend, August 23 and 24, 2014, the KINDLE VERSION OF FATED AND FATELESS will be free to download from Amazon!
A Countdown Deal for "Fated and Fateless"
A countdown deal will be offered for my novel:
$0.99 from Amazon.com for a limited time:-
Starting: December 12, 2014 8:00 am (PST)
Ending: December 14, 2014 12:00 noon (PST)
Fated and Fateless
This is a novel that paints a culturally vibrant period in colonial Hong Kong. Did you know that in the early to mid-1900s, Hong Kong's Chinese society was very much culturally influenced by the Portuguese, other than the British?
Tony, a leading character in the novel, is a Eurasian from Macau born of a Chinese mother and a Portuguese father, who is the offspring of a historical Macanese figure.
A major character, John Woo the lawyer, is of mixed Chinese and British descent.
Other interesting characters include Jean the French teacher and Jill Simmons, a Eurasian stockbroker, who comes from mixed British, Portuguese and Chinese origin.
Wendy the working girl and Diana the apparent heiress (the two leading female characters) and Edward the doctor (the other leading male character) are Chinese, as are other major characters (like Mr. Lee the property tycoon and Ms. Yeung the secretary).
Fate throws them onto one another's path and creates distressing chaos in the lives of Wendy and Diana ....
Tony, a leading character in the novel, is a Eurasian from Macau born of a Chinese mother and a Portuguese father, who is the offspring of a historical Macanese figure.
A major character, John Woo the lawyer, is of mixed Chinese and British descent.
Other interesting characters include Jean the French teacher and Jill Simmons, a Eurasian stockbroker, who comes from mixed British, Portuguese and Chinese origin.
Wendy the working girl and Diana the apparent heiress (the two leading female characters) and Edward the doctor (the other leading male character) are Chinese, as are other major characters (like Mr. Lee the property tycoon and Ms. Yeung the secretary).
Fate throws them onto one another's path and creates distressing chaos in the lives of Wendy and Diana ....
