老人票

網上有埋怨老人票的評論。以下是我的回應：

每一位年青人都會老。在現今民主社會，老人票應與青年票有同等價值，不可歧視。有說"未來”是屬於現時的年青人，那是未來的事情。"現時”卻屬於所有選民。

永續沉淪

“永續基本法”，其實又係江湖佬賣药，雖然好聽，但無論是再加五十年或永世，在某年某月，人大都可以自行修改基本法，如同修改任何一條全國性法律一樣那麼簡單。

香港最實際是做好本份，搞好民主民生去影響內地，當國內的中產階級及大學畢業生人數越來越多時，民主便會發展起來。繼續做反面教材，反而只會“永續沉淪”。

China and US

Canada being a neighbor of the US has finally decided to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), following the footprints of the UK, Australia and European countries among many others, leaving the US and Japan high and dry on the political and economic fronts. 

While the US has a history of creating chaos, mistrust, splits, ruins and destructions everywhere, China has the wisdom to focus on building and constructions, setting aside differences and grievances for future generations to resolve.

Through the investments in the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, countries involved will benefit from growth and prosperity, as well as cultural exchange that lays the foundation of regional peace.  The OBOR will go down in history as an edifying example to pursue human cooperation, mutual trust, harmony and prosperity, as well as a pragmatic way to address if not settle complex issues and differences.

The days of the US hegemony are numbered.  With the decline of the USD and the gradual rise of RMB, one day the US will face the final call on its national debt and the implosion of its economy.  Of course, this will have a tsunami impact on the world economy too.

To prevent all these from happening, the only way is to call for more trust and cooperation between the US and China.  After all, it's in everyone's interest to live in a peaceful and prosperous world.  Pragmatism, not idealism or fundamentalism, is the way to go to save the world.

公務員政治中立

以我理解，公務員政治中立，是指在執行有關職務時要秉公辦理，不受其個人政治取態所影響。在民主社會，不同人士或黨派都有機會執政，而公務員都應遵守政治中立原則，無論誰人執政，都必須盡心盡力去執行新政府所推行的新政策。

事實上，中高層公務員每天都花不少時間處理政治問題。換句話說，公務員不是政治白痴，他們不是在政治真空狀態下工作，而是每天都要面對政治壓力（包括立法會），並且處理從四方八面而來的政治問題，過程中同樣要學習有關政治技巧。坊間認為公務員的工作與政治無關是一大誤解。

再說，我認為有關事件在合乎法理情的情況下，若公務員只按個人的政治取態或見解，而不盡心盡力去執行現行/新政策，反而是政治不中立。換言之，若有關公務員認為無論誰人執政，本人只會我行我素，那就不是政治中立了。

因此，若坊間認為政府干預了公務員政治中立，這個說法是否有點奇怪呢？我個人認為只要有關事情是合法的（是否合情合理可能因人而異，須按個別情況而定），便不應存在這個問題了。

舉一個例子，假如時任行政長官動用政府人員及資源去為他連任助選，那便是干預公務員政治中立了，因為有關行為不涉及公共政策。

公共政策的指向是一般市民大眾，公開了的政策能確保公務員執行時公平、公正及公開，一視同仁。換言之，公務員（一般來說）不能跳出某政策框架而為一個人服務，否則對其他不知情的市民來說便是不公平了，除非是特事特辦。政策的制訂亦可確保所有公務員都一視同仁地按本子辦事，除了少數的酌情權外。

因此，若有市民向公務員苛索，在沒有現行政策的情況下便不能照辦，否則那公務員便越了權。在有需要時，應向上級尋求指引。

反而奇怪的是，為何現任立法會議員卻可以動用議員辦事處(即公帑)的人員及資源去為他尋求連任而助選?

innovation

copycat is a futile act, devoid of innovation and adaptation to the local scene. even if we copy something, we do not have access to the vast knowledge base (i.e. all the trials and errors as recorded), without which while the original party can move forward and further improve and invent, we can only wait for another chance to copy the "next model". in short, trials and errors (we call them experiments) are important ingredients to innovation. they form the foundation of innovation. without such knowledge / database, even if we have copied the "first model", we will be unable to take any intelligent next step, as we might have to go through all the trials and errors anyway (all the time required) which the original party has already gone through.

spending and debts

I was talking to a relative the other day, and he is worried that China is buying up lots of properties in Canada. And I said, there's no problem in buying and selling. Just like, you sold me your car, and I gave you the money. The problem only arises if you spend it all on ice-cream. But if you spend it on education, then it's only fair.

So in the US, not only have they spent it on war machines, but they have also borrowed huge amounts of money from around the world, as if they are spending in advance at the expense of their future generations.

Then through Quantity Easing (QE), the US government succeeded in diluting all the loans!

From a critical analysis, the US has been riding on the sweats of the blacks and immigrants (some call it "internal colonization"), and then China, and now Vietnam, etc. The situation is somehow reversing, and contradictions are being imported back.

western civilisation

the western civilization is in chaos, so-called universal human rights are ditched, multiculturalism is banned, borders are closed while discriminatory laws are enacted. it started off with probably a "naive" (?) perception of humankind, a universal brotherhood and sisterhood. such naivety once existed in the embrace of communism, followed by the witnessing of its decline. these ultra right moves are not going to stop. the pandora's box is now opened. sooner or later other values once upheld and defended to death will be re-examined. indeed the traditional Christian faith which formed the cornerstone of western civilization has already been questioned and relegated and even suppressed to varying degrees. what other stones cannot be overturned? looks like the western world is going down a slippery slope. on the other hand, perhaps the asian values are on the rise, which seem more pragmatic, more middle of the road, and in that sense more embracing of harmony among peoples of all faiths.

paradoxically, atheist communist China has seen a more rapid growth in religions (including Christianity) (albeit under the auspices of State control), and capitalism practiced along with the embrace of globalization and free trade (albeit in the name of the "early stage of socialism" 社會主義初階). as the wise Chinese saying goes: 物極必反 as well as 中庸之道 ?

on the other hand, the ultra right (as well as populist) parties' call for the closure of mosques and the ban on Koran, etc. requires a re-write of their constitutions to curtail freedom of speech and freedom of religion !

East meets West

One thing about China which Westerners may not know or understand is that after a chaotic century (the Opium Wars, imposition of unequal treaties of ceding Hong Kong and Macau, intrusion and ransacking by the Eight-Nation Alliance, overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, Japanese invasion, civil wars among KMT warlords and between CCP and KMT, cultural revolution, etc) Chinese people are desperate for peace, stability and prosperity at whatever costs.

The economic miracle and relative peace, stability and prosperity has been made possible by Deng’s economic reform in the past decades.  Arguably if we had followed the path of the ex-USSR (i.e. political reform preceding economic reform), China with a population of 1.3 billion would have been split by civil war again.  The colour revolutions instigated by the US in the Middle East have borne testimony to the thesis that western style of democracy may not fit in all situations, at least not when the countries are still not ready (economically, educationally, as well as other things such as inter-racial harmony, etc).

Deng said “Never mind whether a cat is black or white.  A cat that can catch mice is a good cat”.  We call it pragmatism.  Deng said “Let a part of the population get rich first.”  This means capital has to be accumulated and centralized, as family businesses in the West have grown in size and strength over the past centuries.  In the same vein, the accumulation of capital in State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) gives rise to the term “state capitalism”.  This has proven to be exceptionally powerful as capital is centralized in the State.  Given that China has lost many opportunities in the past century, it is catching up with all the time lost.

On the political front, back in the early 80’s there was much discussion on adopting the Singaporean model (namely, strong government built on meritocracy, a judicial system that will hand down severe punishment on “libel against the government”, etc.).  When China will become a multi-party system, we shall wait and see.

While liberal democracy is founded on the principle of individual human rights, for thousands of years and even today, Chinese people (and many other Asians too) still value families, villages/communities and the State.  We call it collectivism.  Perhaps our experience tells us that unity is our key to survival after a chaotic century.  Now that the East has met West, I believe we are somewhat in the middle, and need to strike a good balance.

On the issue of collectivism, Chinese people value Guanxi (the system of social networks and influential relationships which facilitate business and other dealings).  This gives rise to collective strength, but also corruption and sometimes mediocrity if Guanxi is favored instead of excellence.  Now that President Xi is confronting corruption at the Politburo level (highest level in China) and the highest ranks in the Army, any instability may neutralize all these efforts and bring the country into chaos again.

The Chinese government and intellectuals have done a lot of research and study on the rise of nations.  One point is quite interesting.  While the British Empire expanded with its gunboat policy (government efforts), its pirates also contributed in their own individual ways (private individuals with liberation of labour), in fact, very much in tune with the rise of capitalism.

As a joke, it appears that counterfeit goods (“pirated goods”) is a way of “catching up with time lost” in China, following the path of rise of other nations and the road to capitalism.

立法會

我昨天看過立法會議事規則，有關 motion 方面，只有 adjourn (中止待續)，沒有中止辯論，不知發叔所指是哪規則。至於剪布方面，法院已有定論(這是立法會的家事)。再說，按議事規則，無論是立法會主席，還是委員會主席，其裁決都是 final 的，故不存在立法會主席對委員會主席的裁決作出裁決。

退休保障

嘩，好過買債券 !!!

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羅致光：退休長者資產投放「純年金」可同時享長生津

2016-01-09 HKT 11:08

對於政府提出，可討論是否透過設立公共年金，解決退休保障問題。提出設立年金的扶貧委員會關愛基金專責小組主席羅致光表示，資產不多的退休長者，如果將資產投放於「純年金」，同時可享有長者生活津貼、甚至領取綜援。

羅致光解釋，年金計劃類似政府的ibond，風險較低，舉例退休長者若有100萬元資產，若全部投放在「純年金」計劃，即是等同沒有資產，就可申領2千多元的長生津；再加上預料投放「純年金」後每月有4千元回報，即是每月可有6千多元。

羅致光認為，設立年金對中產的保障更高，可確保穩定回報，亦能預計到每個月有多少錢用，不用擔心因長壽因素減少使費，從而壓縮消費，有助改善生活質素。他又認為，設立年金對整體經濟亦有幫助，當退休人士不用壓縮消費，社會累積的總消費就不會有下行壓力。

羅致光又說，尤其對於低收入人士，只有數十萬元資產，但什麼福利也沒有，若將資產投放年金上，每月領取一、二千元，再加上長生津甚至綜援金，相信這是最有效的保障。

棋盤及數學

《棋王》(阿城)描述人在文革時期所處的困境中如何在棋盤上找到精神上的完全自由及自主世界，而數學則讓人一瞥一個完美的精神世界。

science

To share the discussion with my brother.

[12/12 9:21 am] Philip Tang:

for 2000 years there have been interesting pursuits.  in the end, not talking about moral stuff, its science that prevails.  when i say science i mean the global scientific community, not a few scientists.

moral issues aside, i am glad that science has laid a solid foundation in human civilisation.

as i discussed things with portia and bryan, i always led them to science, logic, reality etc.  reality is also important, lest we will be armchair theorizing.

facts are important, i.e. reality.  what chains the facts together in meaningful ways is knowledge and theory.  theory can predict what comes next.  facts alone are bare facts.

there are all sorts of theories, scientific theory, conspiracy theory, yin and yang etc.

what you believe very much shapes your character, present and future.

一地兩檢

problem solving: 可先建一地兩檢的配套設施，暫時兩地兩檢，等有政治互信時才作一地兩檢。

二次創作

奇怪，保障二次創作，比保障原有創作更重要？

禁制令

只要境外已作報導而轉載便不違反禁令是奇怪的看法，正如於境外公開法庭已禁止公開強姦案女受害人的名字一樣，難道在港便可以公開嗎？我的看法是自法庭頒布臨時禁制令之後的報導皆屬違反禁制令。

A hymn

Man is lonely by birth.
Man is only a pilgrim on earth.
Born to be king, time is but a temporary thing,
only on loan while on earth.

Like the wind in the tree,
man has been rather reckless and free.
Thrown far and wide, we long to settle down beside
the stream flowing through eternity.

Like the grass on the lawn,
we will pass by the way and be gone.
A lesson to learn, we walk but once there's no return.
Time is always moving on.

Man is longing for One,
for a song and a place in the sun,
a home up above where ev'ry day is lived in love, for
rest when the journey is done.

强積金

强積金 : 問題不是不同年齡需要有不同的投資策略，平時我們可以這樣講。但对强積金而言，那是基本的退休保障，應該以保守的投資計算，因為輸不起。進取型的投資應該應用於閒資 (spare money)，而不是强積金。

强積金多年來的低回報是另一個問題，不能混為一談。因為即使採用進取型，亦不表示必然賺錢，反而風險增加了而可能得不償失，屆時便退休無望了。

小學生有情緒問題是否需要找社工？

小學生有情緒問題是否需要找社工？可能需要，但更加需要幫助的是他們的父母，需引導他們如何教導孩子，培養孩子堅強的性格。

司法覆核

香港很奇怪，有一個玩具是有錢人不敢玩，玩不起，因為可以輸身家，但窮人卻可以免費玩，那就是司法覆核，全是納稅人付鈔，不單是律師費，還有延後的數以億計的社會成本。本來通過法律援助進行司法覆核旨在公平地伸張正義，但平衡點似乎過了頭。不知海外的法援是否這樣的？

中美博弈

美國打軍事牌，僅此而矣，已露底牌。中國還有人民幣國際化牌、減持儲備牌、一帶一路牌、亞投行牌、中東歐洲英澳非洲南美牌，甚至俄國牌，當然還有最惡劣最不應該用的北韓牌。

中國用太極招數，以柔制剛，令美國"入唔倒位"，找不到敵人，不能令美國人轉移視線忘記國內問題。這邊廂中國繼續建設、發展經濟及外交。這樣做比打美國更令美國傷。這其實是"國際游擊戰"。