Opinion
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The Iran war is reviving a popular trade in Japan
The Iran war is challenging Japan’s safe-haven assets, once again forcing domestic investors to seek better returns abroad. The yen slid past 160 per ... -
Banning legal personhood for AI
The ability to act autonomously has led some to argue that AI agents should be granted legal personhood. The law already recognizes “legal persons” ... -
Healthy Macau – from a micro to a macro perspective
Conversations about obesity often focus on individual responsibility. “Eating better, moving more, and trying harder” are typical phrases. This simplistic framing overlooks a structural ... -
Chatbot confessions: A mental health crisis in the making
Picture this: Your teen, midmeltdown, seeks solace in a chatbot, texting it instead of telling you. It’s not just a Macau thing – it’s ... -
Perfect homework, blank stares
The assignment involves no laptop, no chatbot and no technology of any kind. In fact, there’s no pen or paper, either. Instead, students in ... -
The Iran war is costing China dearly, too
To think about how the Iran war affects China, you might take a look at Yiwu, a global trading hub in the eastern Zhejiang ... -
US zero-sum geopolitics, the attack on Iran, and the hyperscalers
Traditionally, the liberal international order led by the United States and the European Union after the collapse of the USSR and the failure of ... -
Big dreams, yet lost in translation
In Macau, language barriers in the medical sector are impossible to ignore. Cantonese, Portuguese, Mandarin, and English coexist, but fluency is uneven. Even with ... -
War bets and coincidences
There is something deeply unsettling about markets that move before the world does. Not the usual anticipatory twitch of traders reading signals, but the ... -
Pursuit of visitor numbers is driving away high-value tourists
Overcrowding during Macau’s peak tourist season has become a persistent concern, with critics accusing tourism authorities of prioritizing visitor numbers over residents’ well-being. Tourism ... -
Too late for talks? Lebanon breaks a taboo amid war
With airstrikes rocking Beirut and Israeli troops advancing against Hezbollah, Lebanon’s government has broken a taboo by proposing the first direct talks with Israel ... -
Facts should guide views on law promoting ethnic unity and progress
As China’s top legislature deliberates a draft law on promoting ethnic unity and progress at its annual session, a familiar pattern of criticism has ... -
AGI and Jonas Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000
Although achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) – intelligence comparable to humans across a wide range of domains – has become a priority for some ... -
History lessons say progress comes after turmoil
We often tell ourselves this comforting story about how humanity’s progress happens gradually through diplomacy, cooperation, and stability. In this version of history, societies ... -
China positions itself as force for global stability at its congress
While much of the world’s attention is focused on the Iran war, China is pressing ahead with national priorities that carry global repercussions. That ... -
Macau’s misfired concert dream
The Cotai outdoor performance venue, heralded as a game-changer for Macau’s entertainment ambitions, now faces a stark pivot, a conversion into a humble three-on-three ... -
Iran war is giving markets a Covid-like shock
As the Iran war drives oil prices towards $120 a barrel, a reckoning is finally coming for a reckless president and equally complacent financial ... -
High technology, low carbon and security in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan
These days, Beijing is hosting the “Two Sessions” (the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference), where the most important event ... -
The nursery race that turns parents into anxious spectators
Nursery school interviews in Macau have quietly become a source of stress for many parents. The nursery admission interviews commenced earlier this month and ... -
Practical blueprint for growth and stability amid headwinds
In a world grappling with sluggish growth, geopolitical tension and policy whiplash, China’s 2026 Government Work Report offers predictability and certainty. Delivered by Premier ... -
The urgent need to preserve Cantonese
A local Portuguese-language media outlet reported numerous errors in Macau’s Portuguese language usage, with a commentator suggesting that the government is gradually placing less ... -
Top-level engagement at two sessions
When China’s top political advisory body and legislature convene this week for their annual sessions, the major item on their agendas will be a ... -
The AI financial Ouroboros
Last Friday, OpenAI announced it had raised $110 billion in its latest funding round; Amazon invested $50 billion, Nvidia $30 billion and SoftBank $30 ... -
Uber-taxis won’t fix the structural problem
Macau’s transportation woes are not new. Long queues at taxi stands, scarce taxis during peak hours, and residents struggling to get a ride home ... -
Degenerative AI?
Generative systems, widely adopted without intellectual discipline, could erode the cognitive capacities education once labored to build – knowledge, character and ethics – psychologists, ... -
Generative AI: playground, power tool or pandora’s box?
Like most, I’ve tinkered with ChatGPT, Perplexity, DeepSeek and other AI agents, prompting them to draft emails, brainstorm ideas, offer opposing views and simulate ... -
The SaaSpocalypse of February 2026
In the first six weeks of 2026, the S&P 500 Software & Services Index saw nearly $1 trillion in market value evaporate. On February ... -
The gallop begins, but is Macau ready?
Macau’s tourism engine is running at full speed again during Chinese New Year. Visitor numbers have risen, surpassing the government’s cautious projections. Streets are ... -
As war in Ukraine enters a 5th year, will the ‘Putin consensus’ among Russians hold?
Perceived wisdom has it that the longer a war goes on, the less enthusiastic a public becomes for continuing the conflict. After all, it is ordinary ... -
Editing cholesterol is exciting – but swallow the statin for now
If there were ever a disease that tempts scientists to reach for a permanent fix, it is high cholesterol. Pop a pill every day ... -
Hong Kong’s stability safeguarded by law
The white paper, titled “Hong Kong: Safeguarding China’s National Security Under the Framework of One Country, Two Systems”, released by the State Council Information ... -
Are Hong Kong IPO Bankers Gatekeepers, or Glorified Porters?
As Hong Kong’s public listings boom heats up, investors and regulators are asking whether the city’s investment bankers know what they are doing — ... -
The inevitable proliferation of nuclear weapons
Last Thursday marked the expiration of New START, the last remaining bilateral agreement – between Russia, with 5,459 nuclear warheads, and the United States, ... -
Has globalization lessened the importance of physical distance?
National economies are increasingly moving in sync and responding to the same booms and busts as a result of near-instantaneous communications and interdependent global ... -
‘Inoculation’ helps people spot political deepfakes, study finds
Informing people about political deepfakes through text-based information and interactive games both improve people’s ability to spot AI-generated video and audio that falsely depict ...
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