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Inside Out & Outside In

US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, posing for a photo with fashion designer Aurora James, attends the Met Gala in New York City on September 13, 2021 wearing a dress printed with the words “tax the rich”. The slogan has been a rallying cry for Democrats as they seek to remake the social safety net in the US. Photo: Getty Images / AFP

Outside In | Why global tax on super rich is least bad option to tackle crises

Amid the current wave of adversity, the wealthiest among us must acknowledge they are obliged to dig deeper into their pockets.

Amid the current wave of adversity, the wealthiest among us must acknowledge they are obliged to dig deeper into their pockets

13 Sep 2024 - 4:30PMvideocam

Inside Out | China-Africa summit a fitting showcase of Global South’s rise

8 Sep 2024 - 4:32PMvideocam

Outside In | Can Hong Kong bring its ‘ghost bridge’ back to life?

6 Sep 2024 - 4:30PM

Inside Out | Big Oil threatening to turn Cop29 into fight over industry’s future

Opec and top oil firms are fiercely opposing efforts to reduce oil and gas demand, seeing economic doom if climate goals are given priority.

1 Sep 2024 - 4:30PMvideocam

Asia’s largest carbon capture, utilisation and storage facility for the coal-fired power generation sector, developed by China Energy, is seen in operation in Taizhou, Jiangsu province, on June 2, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

Outside In | The world is speeding to hell in a shopping cart

We need to move away from consumerism and find better measures of economic progress – if we want to avoid a climate catastrophe

24 Aug 2024 - 6:03AMvideocam

Outside In | Amid national security angst, US can’t see its biggest threat is at home

Paranoia over grave and imminent dangers all around is distracting America from the serious risks of domestic terrorism and political violence.

16 Aug 2024 - 9:24PMvideocam

Inside Out | Fear of migrants needlessly inflaming tensions around global elections

International migration is a force for good that developed economies need, despite the protests of xenophobes and populists.

11 Aug 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

A refugee stands in front of a tent at a camp inside the UN-controlled buffer zone that divides the north part of the Turkish-occupied area from the south Greek Cypriots at the Aglantzia area in Nicosia, Cyprus, on August 9. In a world where developed economies face dire demographic challenges, international migrants are likely to play a key role in continued economic growth. Photo: AP

Outside In | As world population shrinks, prepare for seismic changes

The UN projects a drop in the global population by 2100 as longer life expectancy and migration shape communities amid a collapse in fertility.

10 Aug 2024 - 5:04AMvideocam

Inside Out | If Trump wins, US threats to global trade will no longer be just bark

In particular, Trump’s exotic plan to replace income tax with universal export tariffs threatens catastrophe.

14 Jul 2024 - 9:30PMvideocam

Outside In | It’s time American China strategists accepted some inconvenient truths

The Council on Foreign Relations’ China-focused project could be a chance to rethink flawed assumptions underpinning the rules-based order.

12 Jul 2024 - 9:14PMvideocam

US secretary of state Antony Blinken speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on June 28, 2023. Photo: AP

Outside In | Still too soon for Hong Kong to declare its economy out of the woods

True, no one has ever bet against Hong Kong and won. But it would be a foolhardy administration that underestimates the challenges still faced.

6 Jul 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

Causeway Bay on July 2. There is talk of a recovery in the second half of the year but it remains far off and green shoots remain fragile. Photo: Sam Tsang

Inside Out | Why US presidential debate should horrify proponents of democracy

The first US presidential debate was alarming not just for US voters but for anyone who cares about the integrity of our political systems.

30 Jun 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

Outside In | Rat problems say more about city life than about the rats themselves

Far from being a particularity in Hong Kong, rodent problems are a fixture of urban environments the world over.

29 Jun 2024 - 3:01PMvideocam

Inside Out | China-made AI sexbots: the next national security risk for US, EU?

The rapid emergence of AI has sparked concerns about its attendant risks, and few sectors exemplify that more than the production of sex robots.

23 Jun 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

The head of an AI-enhanced sex robot is displayed at the Shenzhen Atall Intelligent Robot Technology headquarters. As AI technology becomes more advanced, its use in sex robots is raising concerns about issues of ethics and consent. Photo: EPA-EFE

Outside In | Humans need a new relationship with fire to control global warming

Rather than end wildfires, humanity’s challenge is to restrain destructive fire and reduce the amount of combustion driving climate change.

21 Jun 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

A firefighter tries to extinguish a fire burning in the Koropi suburb near Athens on June 19. Scores of Greek firefighters and water-bombing aircraft were trying to contain a large wildfire on the fringes of Athens that forced authorities to issue evacuation orders for two nearby settlements. Photo: AP

Inside Out | Oranges just the latest food hit by climate change. They won’t be the last

After bananas and coffee, oranges are the latest breakfast staple to succumb to disease and weather as Brazil’s crop collapses.

16 Jun 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

Outside In | A world facing a polycrisis needs multilateralism more than ever

While the end of globalisation is much touted today, nations are grappling with too many issues that cannot be solved unilaterally.

15 Jun 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

Inside Out | Why average runners don’t need to keep pace with hi-tech shoe advances

Sports shoe tech development is moving at a sprinter’s speed, with smart shoes offering wearers more information than ever. Such advances are, however, far beyond the needs of most runners, who would be better off looking for discounts at outlet stores.

2 Jun 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

A jogger runs along the waterfront at West Kowloon Cultural District on June 23, 2023. While shoe technology has made vast progress, many of the innovations are aimed more at high-performing runners instead of the general public. Photo: Dickson Lee

Outside In | Clock is still ticking on Hong Kong’s 2026 waste deadline

After shelving Hong Kong’s waste charging scheme, the government needs to rid itself of the bureaucratic shackles that have led to decades of inaction. Officials must create a system that can meet the city’s needs before its landfills run out of space in 2026.

31 May 2024 - 8:07PMvideocam

Outside In | Why spies seem to be having a moment right now

The world is seeing a renewed focus on spying amid heightened geopolitical stress, alarming wars, new invasive technologies and national security fears. Engaging in espionage is a dangerous, expensive habit few countries can truly afford, and we must pray all of them choose to engage in it responsibly.

24 May 2024 - 9:59PMvideocam

Outside In | The real reason for US’ new anti-China tariffs (and it isn’t unfair trade)

In enacting yet another round of tariffs on Chinese exports, the Biden administration has its sights set firmly on its fortunes in November’s election. The US president has to shore up Democrats’ support in rust belt states and clearly thinks American firms and consumers are ready to pay the price tariffs will bring.

17 May 2024 - 6:36PMvideocam

US President Joe Biden (centre) speaks to union workers after signing orders that increase tariffs on China during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on May 14. Biden’s order raises tariffs on a wide range of Chinese imports, including semiconductors, batteries, solar cells and critical minerals in an election-year bid to bolster domestic manufacturing in critical industries. Photo: Bloomberg

Inside Out | Fuzzy maths on climate change funding fails world’s most vulnerable

The arithmetic underpinning the global economy is massively out of kilter at a time when the world desperately needs concrete action on climate change. We cannot afford to have leaders clinging to the status quo while increasing spending on defence and other domestic priorities.

12 May 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

A truck sits submerged in flood waters following the destruction of a main road amid flash floods in Garissa, Kenya, on May 8. Kenya is grappling with one of its worst floods in recent history, the latest in a string of weather catastrophes, following weeks of extreme rainfall scientists have linked to a changing climate. Photo: AFP

Outside In | US shipbuilding plans to counter China smack of tilting at windmills

Rebuilding the US shipbuilding sector will take decades, if at all possible, and diluting China’s dominance will mainly benefit shipbuilding powerhouses like South Korea and Japan.

11 May 2024 - 10:32AM

Inside Out | What’s so bad about artificial flowers and fake plants?

Much of the criticism of artificial flowers is environmental: they are made in factories, use plastics and end up in landfills. But the cut-flower business also has poor green credentials.

5 May 2024 - 7:30PMvideocam

Inside Out | Someday soon China might dominate the hydrogen supply chain too

EU and US manufacturers already complaining of Chinese competition in solar power and electric vehicles won’t like China’s hydrogen policy. As it moves to produce hydrogen using renewable energy, this could become an important part of the world’s low-carbon future.

28 Apr 2024 - 4:02PMvideocam

A worker operates equipment at Bosch Hydrogen Powertrain Systems, a Chinese-German joint venture in Chongqing, on April 14. China may emerge as a powerful player in the hydrogen economy next. Photo: Xinhua

Outside In | Like the US and EU, China uses subsidies. It just does it more effectively

China’s subsidies have been more effective than in most parts of the world because they are an intrinsic part of a distinct economic model. Rather than targeting China, the US and Europe should examine the effectiveness of their own economic strategies.

26 Apr 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

BYD electric cars for export are seen ready to be loaded onto a ship at a port in Yantai, in eastern China’s Shandong province, on April 18. Photo: AFP

Outside In | As governments boost defence spending, the needy are being robbed

With so many nations struggling to provide electricity and clean water, and to rebuild healthcare and education, it’s a travesty that billions of dollars are being diverted to arms production and defence.

20 Apr 2024 - 8:09AMvideocam

Inside Out | Small multilateral successes remind us why great powers must cooperate

Countries must match their rhetoric with action to solve pressing problems such as climate change and the regulation of artificial intelligence. Despite paralysis at institutions like the United Nations, organisations like the Arctic Council and International Seabed Authority are making progress.

7 Apr 2024 - 8:30PM

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Inside Out & Outside In

In wide-ranging columns appearing twice a week, David Dodwell, executive director of the Hong Kong-Apec Trade Policy Group, strives to understand and describe the distinctive characteristics at the heart of Hong Kong's continuing competitive advantages. It promises to be a fascinating journey as he seeks to understand and describe the forces that have shaped and are changing Hong Kong, and the role it is playing for China and in the region as we move steadily closer to 2047.

last updated:

9 September, 2024