Beijing Wants Macau Turned into IT Hub

Can Macau transform from gambling hub to one of innovation?

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Macau was the world's power horse when it came to generating billions of dollars in profits from gambling -- for years the former Portuguese colony's casino revenues were greater than all of those in Las Vegas combined. It generated over 80 percent of the Macau's tax income.

China had wanted Macau to diversify its income sources for years, and the gaming resorts tried to create entertainment, fine dining restaurants and shopping, but these initiatives were completely overshadowed by casinos. 

Macau depends heavily on casinos for its tax base

Mainland gamblers didn't care for shows that tried to be like those in Vegas, or Michelin-starred restaurants, and the shopping -- they just wanted to eat bowls of noodles so they could play at the VIP tables, dropping thousands of dollars per round.

However now with Covid-19 pandemic approaching its second year, it has laid bare how vulnerable Macau is to depending on gaming, and in the past week there was sensational news of Macau police arresting Alvin Chau Cheok-wa, who allegedly ran illegal cross border gambling activities. 

The free-wheeling days of fast money, VIP rooms, and escorts are over.

Instead Beijing wants to take the opportunity to turn the gambling capital into an IT hub.

The place will be Hengqin, a small island in between Macau and Zhuhai that will jointly be governed by both the Macau and Guangdong authorities. 

Hengqin is an island near Macau and Zhuhai

It will be one step forward in rebranding Macau as "the new centre of international technologies" to connect the Asia Pacific tech ecosystems with the rest of the world.

Huh?

What tech ecosystems? And wasn't Hong Kong supposed to be an IT hub too?

In Beijing's plan, Macau is being encouraged to develop integrated circuits, new energy projects and artificial intelligence, among other tech sectors, and to establish a supply chain for chips, from design to testing.

That will also include enhancing the research abilities of Macau universities to drive innovation and technology. There are other industries Beijing wants to develop too, like Chinese medicine, gems, tourism and financial services. 

Meanwhile tech firms like Tencent as helping the Macau Water Supply Company digitise its operations to offer smoother and faster services, and install meters to detect unusual water consumption. 

Huawei is also working with Macau's telecoms operator CTM on Macau's smart city initiative, using big data technology.

Are Macau's sleepy streets ready for change?

While this all sounds great, the reality is that Macau's population is just under 650,000, the city is small, rundown and not very efficient to get around.

Young people are either in the gaming or hospitality industries, or they have left Macau to develop their careers elsewhere, like Hong Kong. Students don't go to Macau universities to study high tech and innovation, and trying to change that perception will be a hard sell.

The Macanese don't have the aggressive go-getter mentality to work hard -- they are so used to getting free money from the government and having their pay from casinos artificially high that it will be hard to wean them off the gaming industry.

In addition, Macau doesn't have the man power or the education level to set up a supply chain for chips let alone artificial intelligence. 

And what will happen to all those casinos that are there and the ones that are being built? Will those be turned into high-tech hubs instead? 

It seems Beijing has major pipe dreams for Macau that may never become a reality...

China Limits Kids' Gaming to Three Hours a Week

Chinese kids under 18 can only play three days a week

 

Children under the age of 18 in China must be either fuming or trying to figure out a way to continue playing games on their smartphones after Beijing came down with a decree that they can only play it three days a week -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8pm to 9pm.

The rule came down from the National Press and Publication Administration (NAAP), China's top watchdog for gaming and other forms of online media, in a bid to stop gaming addiction among teenagers, according to state media outlet Xinhua.

Government wants to prevent gaming addiction

It had previously issued rules in 2019 that limited play time for minors to no more than 90 minutes each day, and three hours on statutory holidays.

While kids must be throwing tantrums, gaming companies may not take a big hit on the stock exchange as children don't make up a big part of their revenues, but it could result in a bigger impact in terms of the player bases, now that they can only play an hour a day for three days.

Imagine on a Friday night at 8pm, everyone in China will know what kids under 18 are doing -- furiously playing games on their phones.

There isn't much anyone can do about it because all players have to register with their real name and ID. It might inspire some children to start downloading VPNs to get around the system, but would that work? Or how about playing games developed by outside of China?

Gaming companies will be anxious to comply to the new rules because if they are caught having minors playing outside of the specified times, the government could easily shut them down. No one wants that.

Children don't spend much money on gaming

"Many parents have said that the gaming addiction problem among teens and children has gravely affected their ability to learn and study as well as their physical and mental health, even causing a series of societal problems," a spokesman for NAAP told Xinhua.

NAAP said gaming companies are responsible for stopping children from becoming addicted to gaming, and it seems this policy is yet another spanner in the wheel for gaming giants like Tencent, NetEase and Bilibili.

However, minors are only a small percentage of gaming receipts for these companies. For example for Tencent, players under 16 constitute just 2.6 percent of its gross gaming revenues in China, and those under 12 accounting for just 0.3 percent. Bilibili said minors only contributed 1 percent of the company's gaming revenue.

Nevertheless, it seems China is determined to curb young people's addiction to gaming and possibly insist on more national education instead? Either way it will make young people resent the government even more, unless state media comes up with stories of kids who realize how much time they have wasted playing games and that studying Xi Jinping thought is the only way to enhance their lives...

China Shuts Down LGBTQ Online Community

Cartoon by @badiucao of Xi destroying the pride rainbow...

 

The space for LGBTQ groups in China is shrinking rapidly with now Tencent deleting the accounts of LGBTQ student groups on WeChat, claiming they had broken rules on information on the internet, making it harder for them to connect virtually.

Several LGBTQ groups were blocked from accessing their accounts on Tuesday and now they have found the accounts have been deleted.

Tencent shut down LGBTQ accounts in China

"They censored us without any warning. All of us have been wiped out," said the account manager of one group who asked not to be identified. 

When attempting to access some of the groups, a message says the group "had violated regulations on the management of accounts offering public information service on the Chinese internet", while others didn't show up in search results.

This latest development is part of a series of actions to shut down LGBTQ groups and events.

In past years Pride Month was celebrated openly in China in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

But last August China's biggest and longest-running LGBTQ festival, Shanghai Pride, was cancelled due to pressure from local authorities. This year even fewer events were held, some underground.

"Every year it becomes more and more challenging," one Chinese LGBTQ artist was quoted by CNN. "Events are fewer and advocates are finding it more and more difficult to raise acceptance."

Pride in Shanghai used to be openly celebrated

There were hopes that there would be greater acceptance of LGBTQ in society and the government after homosexuality was decriminalized in 1997 and in 2001 was removed from the official list of mental disorders.

However it looks like there is a crackdown from above to prevent the numbers of LGBTQ increasing since Beijing is desperate for more heterosexuals to get married and have three children. That can't happen if there's a growing LGBTQ population.

With it now being increasingly a taboo subject, it will be harder for those who have just accepted their sexuality or to find a community to reach out to for advice and support.

The Perils of China's Delivery Workers

One courier loaded with bags of deliveries during the pandemic

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the Chinese bought a lot of items online, from takeaway food to clothing and had them delivered to their doorsteps.

When it comes to food deliveries, companies would use algorithms to determine how fast the food could be delivered, and if the courier was too slow, they would be punished financially. And they would be rated by the customer too, thus affecting their chances for a bonus or pay rise.

That is starting to change after Ren Wu, or People magazine did an expose about the plight of food delivery workers, sometimes risking their lives or being involved in accidents while trying to ferry food to people as fast as possible.

Three delivery workers waiting for orders at a fast food eatery

For example in 2019, the average delivery time was 10 minutes shorter than two years earlier.  

Food delivery platforms like Ele.me and Meituan automatically plan the shortest routes for their delivery workers using real-time intelligent dispatch systems. In order to follow the designated routes, sometimes delivery workers will ride against traffic or run red lights, putting themselves at a greater risk of being in a traffic accident.

A report said in the first half of 2017, a delivery worker was seriously injured or died every 2.5 days in Shanghai. And in September 2018, over half of the 2,000 traffic violations in Guangzhou were committed by couriers from Meituan and Ele.me.

That's because the algorithms don't take into account the real-life situation on the ground, such as road blocks, construction, or even last-minute changes of address by the customer.

Not only that, but late deliveries are not allowed. Typically a delivery worker will make 5 to 6 yuan per order (US$0.73-US$0.87) and deliver about 20 to 30 orders a day. However, if customers don't receive their food on time, delivery workers can be docked 200 to 300 yuan -- practically a day's wages gone.

In addition, if delivery workers receive negative reviews and reduced wages from being late, they can be fired. And if they are in traffic accidents, the delivery workers cannot obtain insurance claims either.

Meituan couriers may see improvements in work conditions

China's food delivery industry is worth 300 billion yuan (US$44 billion) and employs more than 6 million couriers, mostly young male migrants from rural areas. This army of nameless and faceless people were hailed as heroes during the pandemic for being a lifeline for individuals and families during lockdown.

The story published by Ren Wu quickly went viral, garnering 100,000 views on WeChat within a few hours and over 100,000 people sharing the story.

In response, Ele.me [acquired by Alibaba] was the first to announce it will add a feature on its mobile app to allow customers to grant five or 10 additional minutes to delivery workers. It would also exempt couriers with good records from being punished for late deliveries.

"The system is dead, but human beings are living," Ele.me said in a statement. "We want to do better (to protect our workers) in addition to ensuring that the deliveries are on time... Every hardworking individual deserves to be respected."

But why should it be the customers giving couriers an extra few minutes, when the problem lies with how the algorithm is created? Perhaps the programmers who wrote the algorithms should go along with these delivery workers for a day to see how their apps work in reality?

Ele.me pledges more time for delivery workers

Meanwhile hours later, Meituan [owned by Tencent], also vowed to optimized its algorithms to ensure the safety of its delivery workers. The company said it would add an eight-minute "buffer" so delivery workers can slow down in traffic, as well as Bluetooth-linked helmets for hands-free communication while driving.

However, readers were divided on the opinions of couriers. Some felt giving delivery workers extra time would make them lazier and take their time, but this is nonsense, when they make more money by making more deliveries. Others felt giving couriers extra time did not address the main problem which is the algorithm.

This serious undervaluing of couriers has to stop -- only allowing them to earn less than US$1 per delivery is outrageous -- especially when they are risking their lives everyday on the road.

Red-Faced Tencent Artificial Intelligence

Tencent's translations of the Boao Forum were hardly impressive

At the Boao Forum for Asia last week in Hainan, Tencent was keen on showing off its AI or artificial intelligence translation system, but it looks like this technology won't replace humans anytime soon.

The simultaneous translation system spouted gibberish that was displayed live in a big screen at the event and in a WeChat mini program. These included garbled characters, repeated words and even broken Chinese. There were many screen shots of these posted on social media last week.

A screen shot shows the gibberish

Tencent quickly acknowledged the errors and promised to improve in the future.

"The AI interpreter had some errors and gave wrong answers to several questions during the forum," Tencent said in a statement. "Our simultaneous [translation] machine, an artificial intelligence (AI) product, has a drawback, but it is still learning and growing."

For example, it translated "Belt and Road Initiative" -- China's international infrastructure development plan that covers more than 68 countries -- as "a road and a waistband".

Cue the laughing emojis.

So while critics are laughing, human interpreters can breathe a bit easier, knowing their jobs are still in tact -- for now.

"I do not think the technology is mature enough... Maybe in the next two years," said Lim Huisin, who has served as a conference interpreter on the mainland for the past five years. "I am not too worried about being replaced by a machine."

Personally I'm glad to hear this AI translation system isn't up to scratch yet -- the top translators in China are excellent -- they really do translate things quite accurately and with good English! Try to beat that, AI!

Baidu's Robin Li has an Idea

Baidu's Robin Li wants to lure overseas skilled labour to China in tech firms

Someone is thinking out of the box -- now that US President Donald Trump is making some people there uneasy about living in America, why not lure them to China?

That's the idea Robin Li Yanhong, chief executive of Baidu is pitching at the Chinese People's Consultative Conference in Beijing.

"China should be more open in its immigration policy," he said at a panel. "Chinese companies have made a lot of effort to attract overseas talent to work in China. But most of the talent we attract are overseas Chinese. In the meantime, Silicon Valley has gathered top tech talent from across the globe."

He said people who don't agree with Trump's restrictive immigration policies, or who can't get into the US should come to China instead, and that the Middle Kingdom should do more to attract these skilled workers, and that means liberalizing immigration policies at home so that innovation can drive economic growth.

Hugo Barra returned to the US from China due to health issues

While the US has 13.1 million green card holders at the start of 2013, almost two-thirds of them acquired permanent residency in the previous 13 years.

This compares to China with 7,356 foreigners getting permanent residency since the mainland began giving out green cards in 2004, even though some 600,000 people from overseas work there.

Interestingly last year 1,576 foreigners were made permanent residents, a whopping increase of 163 percent over the previous year.

Tech companies like Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent and Huawei have a high demand for skilled workers in the field and perhaps them being turned off by Trump would be a good opportunity to try out jobs in China.

However, one of the biggest issues is air quality, and the exit of Hugo Barra from Xiaomi back to Silicon Valley in January due to health issues was telling.

A couple walks by the Forbidden City in Beijing

On his Facebook page, Barra, who was previously at Google, said the last few years of living in a "singular environment have taken a huge toll on my life and started affecting my health".

Also in January, a Beijing-based online platform called 36kr.com released a survey that found half of the nearly 300 entrepreneurs polled had considered moving their businesses or part of their operations out of the city because of concerns about air pollution.

So how about it, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang? Robin Li has a point. Clean up the air and loosen the immigration policy and the skilled masses may come flooding in to help further stimulate the Chinese economy.

Just a thought...

Tycoon Gives his Two Cents...

Chen rants about localists from his wood-carved throne...

A Shenzhen-based tycoon who chairs the Harmony Club, has urged the Hong Kong government to stop pro-independence localists from damaging the business environment.

Chen Hongtian says he was concerned about the city's political development and was even considering diverting his investments elsewhere.

"Anyone who has a clear mind knows they are causing damage and messing around. They don't want Hong Kong to be good," he said.

Pony Ma of Tencent is a member of the Harmony Club

Ok -- wait right there -- we all want Hong Kong to be good. In what way, that is the question, but we all want the city to be strong economically, politically and socially, but it is the government and its policies and actions that has resulted in the polarization we are experiencing now.

Chen claims his club represents 140 mainland and local tycoons including Tencent chairman and CEO Pony Ma Huateng, Lee Yin-yee, founder of Xinyi Glass Holdings, and Wong Kwong-miu, founder of Centralcon Group.

Eighty percent of them have permanent residency in Hong Kong and have business assets totalling HK$1.68 trillion according to Shenzhen media. Chan himself made headlines when he bought a house in June at 15 Gough Hill Road on the Peak for HK$2.1 billion.

Referring to now barred localists Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang, Chen says: "I think the Hong Kong government should be firmer in upholding the Basic Law. Such people should not be allowed in the establishment," he said.

Chen's latest acquisition on 15 Gough Hill Road, on the Peak

Uh, they don't want to be the establishment. Perhaps they would like to disrupt the establishment, but actually they have indirectly thanks to Beijing intervening and the Hong Kong government taking them to court.

But it gets better.

"You would be penalized if you said anything against the queen during her rule. Now you talk about the whole country and want to become a legislator? Tell [the two localists] to get out of Hong Kong. I think the Hong Kong government can be even tougher and firmer," Chen says.

Why would the government throw them out of Hong Kong? They were born here. It's laughable that he would even suggest such a thing. A statement like that demonstrates his complete disregard for how rule of law works in the city.

He seems to think money from tycoons like himself rule the city, but maybe that was back in the 80s and early 90s. Thanks to tycoons like him, housing prices have gone up so much that people can barely afford 400 square-foot flats that they would have to mortgage for 30 years because their salaries are so depressed there aren't opportunities to make more money.

Those who voted for Yau and Leung wanted change in the city

As a result, many Hong Kong people have long given up the rat race and are becoming more politically active in the hopes they can make a better future for their children through the ballot box. That's why a record 2.2 million people voted on September 4.

So Mr Chen, this is how Hong Kong works. Yes, Leung and Yau were immature in what they did, but we should not discount that tens of thousands of people voted for them because they believed in what they stand for. This fact cannot be neglected, along with the other localists who were elected into the Legislative Council.

It's interesting that Chen is willing to be so outspoken about this, as if trying to agitate the masses to agree with him. But really tycoons here are the 1 percent, if that. What about the rest of us?

Tweeting Sensitive Chinese Info

Some tweets revealed personal information of Chinese officials and tycoons

An interesting story has come out today, saying that a Twitter account has released the personal information of many Chinese Communist Party officials and tycoons.

With the handle "shenfenzheng", meaning "personal ID", the account exposed everything from the ID card numbers to residential addresses of prominent people in government, business, banking and technology.

They included people such as Alibaba chairman Jack Ma Yun to China's richest man Wang Jianlin of Wanda, and Tencent co-founder Ma Huateng, as well as Chinese officials, one of whom is the governor of a major province. At least two of the ID numbers were verified.

Alibaba chairman Jack Ma may have had his data exposed

The tweets were meant to demonstrate how easy it is to get access to this information through black-market channels and that such sensitive information was not properly safeguarded.

"It's easy to figure out anybody's information, whether you're a government official or a celebrity," shenfengzhen tweeted. "Getting the common people's data is like buying cabbage."

Ouch.

This is a good wake up call for China's public security officials to put more effort into internet security and develop better policies on how personal information is stored and treated.

Needless to say, after the information was released, the account was suspended yesterday afternoon and the tweets deleted.

China's richest man Wang Jianlin was also named in tweets

Whoever is behind shenfengzheng could also be in big trouble -- anyone leaking such information could be fined and spend up to three years in jail if convicted of the offense.

It will be interesting to find out who was behind this and how they managed to dredge up so much data.

"Are you surprised at all this information? I hope this encourages the nation's scrutiny, and shows how worthless individual data is in China," shenfengzhen tweeted.

Stay tuned.

China Leads the Way in Mobile Payments

Scan the QR code, input your password and presto! You've paid the bill

China is way ahead of Hong Kong when it comes to paying without having to take out your wallet.

And I'm not talking about using the Octopus card either.

CNN's Will Ripley demonstrated this by going to a small stall that sells jianbing -- a giant thin omelet filled with various ingredients and then folded up to eat like a sandwich -- and paid for it by scanning the QR code with his smartphone on the shop door.

This payment system can be extended to large stores, taxis, and even utility bills.

To put this into context, almost 10 years ago when I was in Beijing, I had to walk over to the management office and buy electricity and gas before using it. I would know if I ran out if my air conditioner suddenly didn't work or didn't have hot water in the shower.

And paying rent? I had to physically take out cash from my bank account from where I did banking and then bring it to my landlord's institution and deposit the large wad of cash into his account.

CNN's Will Ripley with Gu Yu of Mileslife

These days people can pay their bills and even their rent with a click of a button on WeChat or Alipay their smartphones.

Gu Yu is the co-founder of a new payment app called Mileslife where users can share a taxi and split the bill at the end.

He explains that because China's credit card system is not lucrative, the Chinese have skipped credit cards and moved onto mobile payments.

The benefits are obvious -- no need to carry cash around, particularly in China where the biggest denomination is 100 yuan, electronic receipts and easily keeping tabs on spending.

So why doesn't Hong Kong move into this direction? When the Octopus card came out in 1997, it seemed so revolutionary at the time, being able to use it for all forms of public transport and buy items with it and pay for parking.

But is that all Hong Kong can do when it comes to electronic payments?

Is the Octopus card the best that Hong Kong can do?

As Alipay is run by Alibaba and WeChat by Tencent, the banks here would obviously want a piece of the action, which is probably why the city doesn't have this service now. And besides people obsessed with collecting air miles/points/cash rebates on their credit cards may find it hard to switch...

But aren't mobile payments the future? Or are we waiting for the rest of the world to get on the band wagon before we do?

Interesting that in terms of mobile payments, China is the leader with estimated retail sales on smartphones rose to 85 percent to around US$334 billion in 2015, according to research firm eMarketer. That makes the Chinese market more than four times the size of the United States'.

Mind boggling.

Ten Years a Flicker of Hope

Andrew Choi, executive producer of Ten Years with the cast and crew

Last night it was a thrill to see the local movie Ten Years won Best Film in the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Not only was it made by five first-time directors, but also because it has become a political issue, as the five vignettes imagine what the city will be like in 10 years, or 2025.

There are scenes of children in uniform policing adults, harking back to the Cultural Revolution, a taxi driver who loses out on business because he cannot speak Putonghua, and even a self immolation in front of the British Consulate.

State media, in particular, Global Times denounced the film in an editorial describing it as a "thought virus", and as soon as Ten Years was nominated in the annual film event in January, Tencent and CCTV announced they would not be broadcasting the awards show on the mainland.

So it was in this backdrop that many wondered if Ten Years would have a chance at all, only being nominated in one category.

A scene from Ten Years that looks at Hong Kong in 2025

But those who voted gave Ten Years their approval.

The film's executive producer Andrew Choi said in his acceptance speech: "Thanks to the Film Awards for daring to give us this award. Ten Years has already gone beyond just being a film. There are so many possibilities in Hong Kong films.

"This award shows that Hong Kong actually has hope. This award tells us that we need to keep working hard. Thanks to all the Hong Kong viewers. This award belongs to you all."

However not everyone in the local film industry was happy with the result. Peter Lam Kin-ngok, chair of production company Media Asia complained Ten Years was not a top film.

"It was unfair to filmmakers. Politics has kidnapped the profession and politicized film awards," said Lam, who is also a local delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Peter Lam believes the film politicized the film awards

Media Asia's She Remembers, He Forgets was in the running for best picture, but won for best original film song.

Motion Picture Industry Association chair Crucindo Hung Cho-sing also said Ten Years' win was a "big joke".

"It was not nominated for the best actor, actress or cinematography, so it doesn't even match the standards of a best picture," Hung said. "I don't know if anyone was using the awards as a political tool."

Lawmaker Ma Fung-kwok, who is also Film Development Council chairman, thought the filmmakers of Ten Years might be "too worried" about Hong Kong's future.

Then why did the film that cost HK$500,000 to make went on to make HK$5 million in the box office?

It resonates with people, talking about their fears of what Hong Kong could possibly be, with some of the scenes already a reality. It may not have a star cast or have high production values, but the ideas are there.

A Hong Kong taxi driver can't speak Putonghua in Ten Years

So now Ten Years is dragged further into a political spat because the establishment isn't happy.

The city is so divided -- you're either on one side or the other -- reminiscent of the Occupy protests, the blues or the yellows.

When will these divisions end so that we can focus on making Hong Kong better?

But it seems like the establishment are only concerned about enriching themselves at the expense of the rest, and the rest are trying to scrape whatever opportunities are left to survive.

As Choi says, there is hope if we keep working harder. And that flame has flickered a bit brighter now.

Jobs Drying up in China

Chinese technology companies, like Alibaba, aren't hiring this year

With China's economy slowing, there are fears there will be lots of layoffs and university graduates not being hired.

Previously the mainland's technology companies were the main employers, but now they are hiring fewer people. The big three internet giants, Tencent, Baidu and Alibaba employ tens of thousands of people, but are now freezing recruitment.

Although the Chinese government had hoped the online industry and internet entrepreneurs could create jobs, there aren't enough to keep the economy afloat. Millions of other jobs are expected to be cut in industries with excess capacity as China goes through structural reforms.

Those in the coal industry may see massive layoffs

Cao Lei, director of Hangzhou-based China E-Commerce Research Centre, said internet companies over-hired last year.

"There were many acquisitions and mergers in the industry last year, like 58.com and ganji.com, and ctrip.com and qunar.com, which led to job cuts in some departments that overlapped," he added.

It is expected that 3 million workers will be laid off in the next few years in five industries, including coal, iron, and cement, due to excess capacity.

Professor Liu Erduo of Renmin University says fewer than half of those laid off in traditional sectors would be able to get jobs in the new sectors.

He said the unemployment rate, which is now at 5.1 percent, would probably rise 1 percentage point this year.

Then Premier Wen chose to procrastinate on China's economy

"Various social problems could result. But the situation should not be as serious as in the 1990s, because today, most of the younger generation are their family's only child and they will likely rely on their parents if they're unable to find a job," Liu said.

That's really naive of Liu to say this -- for many families, their only child is their sole breadwinner -- or at least they were counting on them to be. While many of the previous generation has scrimped and saved, much of their money was invested in their child and they are now probably disappointed they aren't getting their returns back in spades.

And with the rising cost of living in China these days, coupled with the requirement to buy a flat before getting married, the economic and societal pressures must be even tougher now.

However, these economic structural reforms could have been done back in 2008 when the global financial crisis hit.

Instead of taking the opportunity to implement reforms at the time, particularly cutting the excess fat of state-owned enterprises, and letting companies face the fate of market forces, then Premier Wen Jiabao threw US$586 billion into the Chinese economy to prop it up, which only fueled corruption to great heights until President Xi Jinping took over in 2012.

One can only speculate what would have happened if structural reforms had happened eight years ago, but procrastinating on what to do with the second-largest economy in the world was not a good idea...