Casual reading, occasional picks

Author: Lin Xingzhi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: The author, Lin Xingzhi, whose original name is Lin Shanmu, was born in 1940 in Chenghai, Guangdong. He is a renowned Hong Kong journalist, economist, political and economic commentator, and essayist, educated in Shantou and Cambridge, England. He has worked for Hong Kong's Ming Pao Evening News and Ming Pao. In 1973, he founded Hong Kong's financial and economic newspaper, "Xin Bao Financial News," and in 1975, he founded "Xin Bao Financial Monthly," editing both publications for twenty-four years. He became a leading figure in Hong Kong's cultural press. His international political and economic commentaries are scholarly and incisive, fully demonstrating the conscience and moral courage of intellectuals. To date, he has published over seventy books and is hailed as the "sharp pen of Hong Kong."
Next Monday marks the first international labor holiday in Hong Kong's history. On May 1, 1979, I published an article titled "Labor Day Should Be Designated as a Public Holiday" in the "Political and Economic Short Comments." It's been over twenty-one years! Looking through old newspapers, I find that my views from back then are still relevant, which only proves that I haven't made any progress over the years. Here's a summary of the article:
We believe that among Hong Kong's many inexplicable public holidays, one day should be replaced with "Labor Day." Commemorating Labor Day is highly appropriate and necessary for Hong Kong, a prosperous economic region. The international labor movement has now achieved significant accomplishments. It is not only true that communist countries have "workers running the show" and workers have achieved great spiritual satisfaction, but workers in almost all non-communist countries have also received substantial material benefits and adequate spiritual care. For example, many large enterprises have invited worker representatives to serve as directors, and some have issued stocks to employees at "reasonable prices," making "capitalism for the masses" a reality. Even in Hong Kong, where labor laws have only recently gained attention, the welfare of the salaried class has been a concern for authorities. Of course, Hong Kong's labor laws are still far from comprehensive, and there is much room for improvement. However, it is undeniable that workers are no longer being enslaved or exploited by capitalists.
Hong Kong workers have been very moderate in their attitude and methods when seeking due benefits. Those responsible for labor movements seem to always consider the bigger picture and rarely resort to "industrial actions" that could harm economic development or social order—something the Hong Kong business and government should celebrate.
What we are truly worried about now is the civil servant unions. Since civil servants do not have to compete in the professional market, they lack any sense of urgency, and their work attitudes are generally far inferior to those of private sector employees. Yet, their demands for rights and actions far exceed those of others. The expansion of the civil servant workforce is the greatest hidden concern for Hong Kong society!
Waiting by the roadside, I noticed a stack of Star Daily newspapers at a newsstand, reaching up to my waist, with a cardboard sign: "One dollar per copy!" I was surprised and asked the vendor, who told me that the newspaper had been priced at two dollars (a promotional price) since early November last year, but the price had not been adjusted in the six months since. Now, most newspapers are sold at five dollars retail, but after deducting commissions for the distributor and other middlemen, the newspaper office only recovers less than three dollars per copy. The Star Daily sells for two dollars, meaning the newspaper office gets no revenue from the paper itself, as the vendor keeps the entire price, which still doesn't cover the income from selling other newspapers.
Since last year, the price of newsprint has risen multiple times. Even if the newspaper office has stored newsprint at a higher pre-inflation price or ordered futures at the old price and had them delivered by the paper supplier, the reality remains that newsprint is a continuously appreciating commodity. In other words, excluding ink and printing costs, the price of each sheet of newsprint should be between eighteen and twenty cents (fifteen unprinted sheets weigh about a pound). The Star Daily is a newspaper akin to an encyclopedia of news (except it doesn't include a guide to prostitution). With a print run of thirty copies, the direct costs alone are already at the five-dollar level. Now, it's being "given away for free,"，；——“”——