Thousands of protesters marched through downtown Hong Kong yesterday, accusing opposition lawmakers of sabotaging business deals and damaging the territory's image as a global financial hub.
The crowd, which police said totaled about 2,000, slowly shuffled through the Central business district. Some held a big yellow banner that said, "Politicians without a conscience ruin Hong Kong."
PHOTO: AP
Many were senior citizens and middle-aged professionals in the financial industry. Several said this was the first time they joined a demonstration.
"The economy should be independent of politics," said one protester, a 45-year-old banker who only gave her surname, Ho. "If it's not, it will badly affect the international image of Hong Kong."
One of the events that triggered the demonstration was a failed stock offering that would have created the world's largest property trust.
Two weeks ago, the government was forced to shelve the planned offering for the trust -- valued at US$3 billion -- just hours before it was to be listed because of a lawsuit filed by a 67-year-old low-income housing tenant.
The elderly woman, who claimed the listing violated government regulations, was backed by several opposition lawmakers, including Albert Cheng (
The government had wanted to sell 151 shopping centers and 79,000 parking spaces through the trust, called Link Real Estate Investment Trust, or REIT.
Cheng and other lawmakers had accused the government of selling the assets too cheaply. Cheng financially backed the tenant Lo Siu-lan for launching the lawsuit. The case pitted the elderly woman against the government and half a million Hong Kong investors who subscribed for the sale.
Protest organizer Wong Kwok-on, head of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Industry Staff Union, accused Cheng of needlessly harming investors' interests.
Much of the anger yesterday was directed at Cheng, and as people marched through the streets, they chanted, "Albert Cheng resign!"
Cheng told reporters he was merely trying to uphold the rule of law and make sure that the property trust was legal. He said the government was at fault for not shelving the listing earlier and waiting for the legal appeal process to end.
"The government made a mistake and now they're pointing a finger at me," Cheng said.
Engineer Hamish Wong, 55, one of the protesters, said he didn't think the failure to list the property trust would damage Hong Kong's reputation as a global business center. He said it proved that the territory still had a strong legal system.
But Wong said he joined the demonstration to show his disgust of politicians whom he accused of blocking business deals to further their own political interests.
"The way it [the property trust] is being blocked is very politically motivated," Wong said.
TECH TITANS: Amazon’s latest chip joins Google in competing for the 90 percent market share held by Nvidia, which claims it is ‘a generation ahead of the industry’ Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched its in-house-built Trainium3 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market for AI computing power. The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia dominates with an estimated 80 to 90 percent market share for products used in training large language models that power the likes of ChatGPT. Google last week caused tremors in the industry when it was reported that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc would employ Google AI chips in data centers, signaling new competition for Nvidia. This followed the release last month of
INSULATED: The company said it is less exposed to global complications, as it has built a strong footprint worldwide, and has multiple sources of rare earths and raw minerals Merck Group yesterday said it would ramp up production next year at its new flagship facility in Kaohsiung’s Lujhu District (路竹) to satisfy growing demand for advanced semiconductor materials and specialty gases, and to address supply resilience issues amid mounting geopolitical risks. Merck made the remarks during a news conference before the inauguration of its 500 million euros (US$582.1 million) facility, which is also to supply other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, it said. Merck executive board deputy chair and electronics CEO Kai Beckmann told reporters the company adopted a “local-for-local” strategy about seven years ago to address the cycle time of
Two companies wholly owned by the daughter of the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Monday reported to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that they would dispose of all of the Hon Hai shares they hold. In filings with the exchange, Hong Wei Investment Co (鋐維) said it would sell the 2.771 million Hon Hai shares it holds and Frontier Investment Corp (承鋒投資) said it would sell its 2.409 million Hon Hai shares from tomorrow until Jan. 3 next year. The two companies are wholly owned and chaired by Shirley Gou (郭曉玲), the eldest daughter of Hon Hai founder Terry
RIDING THE WAVE: The race to build AI infrastructure has lifted the valuations of top memory makers, such as Micron, amid dwindling inventories and supply challenges Micron Technology Inc is to spend ￥1.5 trillion (US$9.6 billion) to build a plant in western Japan to make memory chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the Nikkei reported on Saturday. The move comes as Micron seeks to diversify advanced chip production outside of Taiwan, the Nikkei article said, citing people familiar with the matter. The new factory will manufacture high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component for working with AI processors such as those made by Nvidia Corp, the report said. Micron would build the facility within the compound of its Hiroshima plant, starting in May next year, with plans to launch
RSS