Sin-ming Shaw

This site contains a partial archive of my past articles from the South China Morning Post, TIME Asia, Newsweek Asia, Asiaweek, Project Syndicate, and other publications. I also post additional material from time to time on my blog site.

Selected Articles by Year

2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1997 | Unfiled

Copyright to these articles is held by the publications in which they appeared, and may not be republished without prior written consent.

2005	The Terrorists' Big Mistake Taking on the Americans and the British entails risks that the terrorists do not seem to have properly evaluated... Proud to call myself a Londoner Last Thursday, London and Europe observed two minutes of silence to commemorate and honour those killed in the London bombings... Mao, the False God Should Chairman Mao’s huge portrait still hang above the front gate of Tiananmen Square? Who Can Hong Kong People Turn To? Hong Kong's elite are short-changing the community. They can and should do more... Donald Tsang: Best and the Brightest? Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen is now Beijing's "blue-eyed" boy... A Good Tax On a normal day, only fools, tax-and-spend politicians or billionaires with a conscience seek higher taxes. But not every day is normal... Why Property is Powerful The Hong Kong public is upset at "collusion" between the government and big business... Why the Importance of Property is Overrated Hong Kong's biggest property tycoons are accorded social prominence and political influence not seen in any other developed society...
2004	Bow Out with Some Dignity, Please! Is the Hong Kong government once again set on stirring up unnecessary social discontent while fuelling rampant cynicism? The issue at stake is the West Kowloon cultural hub...
2003	A Steady Rot Never in Hong Kong's history has popular opposition been so loud ...
2002	Second-rate Universities_Ripe For Shake-up: Change is badly needed, as no one seems to be happy with the status quo... Don't Blow It Hong Kong's leaders must learn to put the territory's interests before their own... The Way This World Works - Like it or Not It is official. Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and Financial Secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung have both said the government will do "something" to support the property market... Hong Kong Has the Advantage, but or How Long? How does Hong Kong really compare to China? Don't Cry for the SAR ... Is Hong Kong the next Argentina? Don't dismiss the comparison so readily... The Suicide of Hong Kong Among Hong Kong's public, there is a pervasive feeling that it has changed for the worse since 1997... Taxpayers' Cash Not for Venturing, Mr. Minister Only two weeks into their job, some of the policy signals the cabinet has sent out are alarming... Miserly Rich Need Lesson in How to Give The willingness of US citizens to provide generous funding for universities puts their wealthy SAR counterparts to shame... Le Pen Is Not the Cure Tommorow France goes to the polls... Left Still Holds the Key to France's Future Newly elected President Jacques Chirac needs the support of both sides to push through economic reforms...
2001	Dignity Amid Tragedy The quiet dignity with which New Yorkers are behaving is a lesson in culture and civility to many societies... Is Hong Kong Dying? Maybe FORTUNE's notorious 1995 death knell wasn't so far off the mark... The Next Revolution The news is grim, and Asia is ill-prepared for globalization. The region needs to drop its Confucian shackles... Jiang's appeal to virtue harks back to Confucius It would have been unthinkable at the height of the Cultural Revolution... Civil Service Too Big The debate about the effectiveness and remuneration of our civil service has raised the question of whether Hong Kong has a big or small Government, and whether it is providing value for money... Lower Peg to Boost Economic Recovery Keeping the HK dollar 'overvalued' will force our economy to stagnate... Shocking Lack of Cultural Values The team set up to advise on the SAR's heritage has duty to be practical rather than political...
2000	How to Get China's Attention: The release of a jailed academic proves the virtues of noisy diplomacy... Big China, Small China Reunification can happen, once both sides acknowledge their shared past... An Academia Trapped in Chains Universities would be shackled if they operated as some business figures suggest... Tung Needs Full Makeover to Gain Public Confidence Chill out, give parties and learn about popular leadership from two past US presidents... Time for Tung to Stop This Abuse of Power Tung Chee-hwa is a proud traditionalist. Now he has a chance to start a new tradition... Back to a Culture of Subservience The Robert Chung saga highlights the desire of the SAR's ruling elite to return to Confucian values... DAB Has the Answer A party with the trust of the people is vital... Homing in on Reality High properties are the root of all the SAR's economic ills and the Government whould stop rigging the market... Chen Shui-bian Unfairly Criticized: Critics have been too hasty in declaring Chen Shui-bian's tenure a failure...
1999	Another Chinese City Compromising its judiciary, Hong Kong risks becoming just another Chinese city... Taiwan Straits: Who Do You Think You're Kidding? Beijing and Taipei make war-like noises, but neither is ready for battle... Asians Can't Think Until it abandons its twisted Confucianism, the region will trail the West... Falun Gong: Breathing's Easier than Believing The success of Falun Gong in China rests on the failure of communism
1997	Dealing with Godfathers Many Taiwanese I talk to worry about whether their society can be considered genuinely democratic while the Mob plays such an important and powerful role in public life.
Unfiled	Cult Banning in Hong Kong The Hong Kong Government is preparing the community for a tough anti-cult bill...

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