Hong Kong's Backward Ways

Some of the Uber cars that were impounded during a undercover operation

Earlier this week the Hong Kong police swooped down and arrested 22 Uber drivers for allegedly not having a hire car permit or third party insurance. Apparently it was the biggest raid of its kind, a three-week undercover operation.

It seems the government is intent on shutting the app-driven car service that offers clean vehicles, polite drivers and rides at a decent cost.

What happened to Hong Kong's hallmark of fair competition?

The taxi associations are threatened by Uber and claim they will improve drivers' service, help them learn more English and so on.

Hong Kong taxi associations wield a lot of political power

But that doesn't help replace the old vehicles they have with seats that sink a foot down as soon as you sit down, the smell of cigarette smoke and drivers looking like they just rolled out of bed five minutes before they picked you up.

It also doesn't fix the problem of them refusing cab fare because they will only roll down their window and ask where you're going -- this is illegal, but having to take down their license plate and driver name is too much of a hassle to bother to register with the police so you just give up and try to find another taxi.

There's also the issue of them not being available around 4pm, when they universally disappear because it's time to change drivers. Can't this exchange be staggered? It's outrageous and outdated.

And why not pay by credit card or Octopus at least? Again not with the times and doesn't work for the rest of us who are trying to keep up with Hong Kong's fast pace.

But the public likes the services Uber provides

Yet Hong Kong's taxi drivers refuse to move with the times. And the government is enabling them to stay the way they are.

That's because they have 42 taxi associations, 28 of which are in Hong Kong and Kowloon, the rest in the New Territories. They also have a big say when it comes to choosing the chief executive. So you can imagine the candidates wanted to make sure he or she got their vote...

Meanwhile the government likes to brand the city as supporting start-ups and especially ones that involve technology. Doesn't Uber fit the bill?

And yet authorities seem intent on suppressing the transport service that the public is demanding and for the most part enjoying. How ironic is that? People can place an order via their smartphone, pay remotely and even rate their driver.

How would Hong Kong taxi drivers fare if the same was done to them?

There's enough demand for hired car services since taxi driver seem to reject many potential customers. And this encourages people to work part time for extra money, thus stimulating the local economy.

So what's the problem?

We can only guess...

HK Gov't Not Quite Tech Savvy

So many government apps, but not very useful

Some Hong Kong government bureaucrats are desperate to demonstrate they're cool by developing mobile apps for their respective departments.

MyObservatory most popular

However, not all of them seem useful, at least according to the government's auditor.

The Audit Commission found last year there were 127 apps launched by 36 government departments at a cost of HK$38 million.

The commission concludes some lacked any useful features, were virtual copies of their department websites, and cost tens of millions of dollars to develop.

As expected, the most popular app is MyObservatory launched by the Hong Kong Observatory in 2010 to give users the most up to date weather information. It was the first government app and had more than 5 million downloads last year.

On the other end of the scale the poorest download rate was the Education Bureau's Eye Care for Hong Kong Students, with only 89 downloads last year. The next worst were a series of apps developed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

Hardly any people downloaded this app

The commission sad the departments with a lacklustre showing needed to "enhance the app content to attract more people" to use them.

In addition, the auditor examined 31 apps by government departments for one-off events, of the 31, 23 had already been decommissioned, mainly because of low download rates.

So it looks like the government doesn't quite know how to make effective mobile apps which is ironic considering it is pushing for Hong Kong to be an innovative technology hub...

A Tale of Two Leaders

Leung Chun-ying's speech was read out like a laundry list for two hours...

This morning our time, the President of the United States, Barack Obama gave his last State of the Union address. While he noted the differences between the Democrats and the Republicans is more divisive than ever, he also praised the country for its diversity, and how the rest of the world looks to America for leadership.

He also talked about the country's future: how to ensure equal opportunities for everyone, how to harness technological change, how to keep the country safe, and how to bridge the political divide.

...while Barack Obama talked big ideas in his speech

This is Obama's vision for the country in his last year in office, and the way he spoke instilled pride and inspiration in the audience.

Contrast this to Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's policy address this morning, his last one before the election next year.

He spoke at the Legislative Council for two hours -- even taking a 10-minute break in between --  to read out a laundry list of initiatives his administration has done or will do, from free kindergarten for some families (details to be ironed out), give HK$2 billion to startups, double the number of wifi hotspots to 34,000 in three years, make the city more accessible for the elderly, and free admission to permanent exhibitions in museums.

Whoohoo.

More interesting were the four times Leung was interrupted by lawmakers who complained the chief executive was not fulfilling election promises, how the government would destroy the environment when developing Lantau, and demanding to know where missing bookseller Lee Bo and his four associates are.

Leung's speech hardly contained any vision. While he is concerned about the growing aging population, with nearly one-third of the population will be seniors within 20 years, Leung only proposes making public areas more accessible and extra hospital beds for them.

Lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan demands to know where Lee Bo is

Why not look far into the future and propose more preventive health measures, like encouraging seniors to exercise more, give them more money so they can eat better, and build more assisted living facilities.

And for kindergartens, it is only free for those who attend half day, and even then, the scheme looks to be more complicated with various conditions. As a result some families will be shut out. If 70 to 80 percent of kindergartens are supposed to be free under this scheme, why not just make all of them free of charge?

While throwing HK$2 billion to startups is generous, will that actually lead to something Hong Kong will be famous for globally? What startups have been successful here so far? Seems like a long shot bet that may not result in much except for an easy grab for startups desperate for funds. Is this the most effective way to spend our taxpayer dollars?

Perhaps the only bold initiative on Leung's part is banning the ivory trade "as quickly as possible" he said in the press conference afterwards. Again details need to be worked out, but at least the government is taking a strong stand on this issue.

Other than that, as Leung's critics have pointed out -- including Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee -- the speech only talked about piecemeal items that don't show any sign of looking at Hong Kong's long term future. There are no big ideas, only small initiatives to try to win quick points.

We don't want a government that only picks the low-hanging fruit. We want a vision of the city's future. And today was far from inspiring...

Getting Hong Kong to Uber-ize

Uber is ready to serve customers who are willing to pay more for good service

Uber is forcing governments around the world to figure out how this car-hailing app can fit into their societies, but not without backlash.

In Hong Kong, the firm's offices in Sheung Wan were raided several days ago and three staff were arrested along with seven Uber drivers.

The ironic thing is that Uber was supported by InvestHK, a government arm that helps businesses set up shop in Hong Kong easily, in some cases offering promotional services and introduction to contacts, as long as the business fits into one of six areas like creative industries, financial services, innovation and technology, and information and communications technology.

Many complain about Hong Kong taxi drivers' bad habits

Uber was even promoted on the InvestHK website up until the day of the arrests which must have been an awkward U-turn for the government.

But why all of a sudden these arrests? Technically Uber drivers do not have licenses to carry strangers in their own cars. And what if there's an accident? Who takes responsibility?

This is what the taxi driver associations are angry about, because they are paying around HK$7 million each for their licenses while these Uber drivers are not.

However, upon hearing about the arrests, there was an online petition that garnered 50,000 signatures supporting Uber, and lots of comments in local newspapers from residents tired of putting up with cab drivers who refuse to pick up passengers, smell lingering cigarette smoke, charge exorbitant fees late at night, and so on.

Surely there is room for two services, one of which people need to pay more for better service? Some customers like to be picked up in a Mercedes, others just want to ensure they have a ride after a concert where thousands of people are waiting in line for a taxi.

Uber North Asia general manager Sam Gellman is keen to sit down with the government to hash out some kind of agreement.

Uber's Sam Gellman keen to work with the government

"A smart city must have smart regulations fit for a digital age, and we look forward to working closely with regulators towards developing a regulatory approach that enables more choice and innovation while putting the safety and interests of riders and drivers first," he says.

The Hong Kong government, via Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, says there should be "legal space" for Uber to continue to operate in the city.

Gellman says safety is a top priority for the taxi-hailing app, which is why the drivers go through an extensive background check and every ride is covered by insurance.

He seems optimistic something will be worked out in the end for Hong Kong, citing the successful adaptation of Uber into transportation regulations and licensing schemes in 54 jurisdictions in the United States, Mexico City and the Philippines.

Yuen says the Justice Department has yet to lay charges on the Uber staff and drivers, as the police are still investigating... but shouldn't the government have done its due diligence work on Uber before allowing it into the city? Seems strange for it to investigate one of its star clients...

Nevertheless, the fight between Uber and Hong Kong taxi drivers continues and public opinion seems to side with the former.

I have yet to try the service, and have heard about some hits and misses, but overall seems like it wouldn't hurt to drive a little competition in Hong Kong -- isn't that what this city is about -- choice?

Chinese Hi-tech Firms Highly Sexist

Adult film star Sola Aoi was cited in Alibaba's recruitment ad

China likes to say that "women hold up half the sky", back in Mao Zedong's days, and even then that wasn't true either.

Seems like the country has hardly moved ahead when it comes to gender equality, but perhaps these days criticism may finally get things going in the right direction.

JD.com's ad for International Nurses Day last month drew ire

Nasdaq-listed online marketplace JD.com promoted International Nurses Day with images of health workers in lingerie-like uniforms.

"I will never buy things from JD again. What disgusting behaviour!" one woman wrote.

The firm quickly yanked the ad and apologized.

Meanwhile on e-commerce giant Alibaba's official recruitment website, its ad said the company was looking for support staff for computer programmers, mentioning porn star Sola Aoi.

"You can be like 'Teacher Aoi' whose virtue and skills comprise a doubly strong and pervasive fragrance, the world in her breast," the ad read.

"You can be like Song Hye-kyo, from a respectable family, a heavenly beauty, who makes fish sink and birds alight, who obscures the moon and makes flowers blush," it said, referring to a mainstream South Korean actress.

Nothing mentioned about what office-related skills they should have or language ability...

It turns out Chinese technology companies have a history of inviting Japanese adult film stars to events. While the authorities ban online content they deem pornographic, illegal downloads have allowed adult film actresses to have huge followings in China.

Rola Takizawa on stage at an event hosted by Qihoo

In 2013, NetEase invited Anri Okita to its offices, where she ate lunch and took pictures with male staff. Shanghai-based gaming company Dream invited Yui Hatano to its annual company party last year, and internet security company Qihoo 360 hosted Rola Takizawa.

One wonders what the female staff at these companies thought of the company fueling their male colleague's carnal desires in the workplace... or they just shook their heads and continued working...

"In mainstream [Chinese] society, there is objectification of women and gender inequality," said Wang Ping of the Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences. "It might be more serious in technology companies."

For now, though it seems Alibaba has learned its lesson. Following criticism, it removed the ad and apologized.

It was "intended to be an attempt at humorous marketing to recruit IT talent," the company said. "We apologize to anyone offended... Alibaba is committed to providing equal opportunity and fair treatment to all employees on the basis of merit, without discrimination."

Until attitudes seriously change from the top, sexism will continue to be rampant in China's companies... which means with men in charge, it probably won't change anytime soon...