Wireless Resistance

Today’s SCMP business section has a front page story entitled “OFTA pushes ahead with wireless broadband licence plan”.

From what I have found WIFI is a fantastic technology and far more flexible than 3G.

Based on the article, it appears that 13 mobile, fixed line and satellite firms are complaining to the government to slow down the emergence of this great technology (broadband WIFI). According to linked documents their complaint is that they “cannot accept a policy formulation process that is ad hoc, excludes consideration of the key issues or is done in the wrong order.”

If we go back to the days of Hong Kong Telecom, the government granted this company a monopoly so that no other company could compete with HKT and ordinary citizens paid through the nose to support this government enforced monopoly. OFTA only came about after efforts to promote some sort of controlled competition, where the number of entrants are limited according to what government consultants think are reasonable.

This of course goes against the idea of free competition as the market not goverment consultants should decide how many companies can offer this service. The whole licensing system for 3G, mobile and fixed line do need to be overhauled. But that should not prevent the free market from developing and expanding into new technologies such as wireless.

The proper solution (the capitalist solution) is that frequencies for WIFI, 3G and other such technologies should be sold off to the highest bidder – WITHOUT DELAY. And no preference should be given to existing spectrum holders. My feeling at this stage is that 3G bidders made a big mistake as WIFI seems to be a much better technology – maybe that could be the reason for the current objections.

At the same time, the role of OFTA should be limited to dispute resolution not regulation – which would require a lot less staff.

Make The MPF Voluntary

We issued a press release today calling for the MPF to be made voluntary. The gist is as follows:

Make The MPF Voluntary

Local think tank calls for choice to be returned to the individual

[Hong Kong – 23 November 2005] Next week marks the fifth anniversary of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) and there have been calls by a Hong Kong think tank to make the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) voluntary and have the Mandatory Provident Fund Authority (MPFA) abolished.

Labelling the MPF as immoral Simon Patkin, Director of Capitalist Solutions said, “The MPF steals free choice from the individual and coerces him into a mandatory contract without his voluntary consent.”

To solve this problem Mr. Patkin advocates making the MPF voluntary. “This means providers can still offer their products but this time consumers can have true choice in how they make their investments”, said Mr. Patkin.

Mr. Patkin noted that the MPF was imposed on the population up as a result of bad philosophy. He said, “The government went ahead with this scheme because they believed ordinary people were incapable of thinking of themselves. They signed away individual freedom to choose over to those who claimed they knew better.” He added that he would like to see that choice returned.

Over the last five years the MPF has averaged a return below the Hang Seng Index.

“The MPF has averaged less than 4% per annum over the last five years and part of this is the high charges that trustees are allowed to impose”, said Mr, Patkin. “Eliminating the MPFA and its trustee scheme would significantly reduce these costs by removing unnecessary layers.”

Mr. Patkin called upon the government to bring in these changes immediately as a moral imperative. He said, “Since consumers had their choice stolen from them, it is important for the government to return that freedom as quickly as possible.”

About Capitalist Solutions

Capitalist Solutions is a free enterprise think tank promoting the philosophy of rational self-interest in Hong Kong. For more information please go to

http://www.capitalist-solutions.com/.

Australia Win Place In The World Cup

Australia is through to the World Cup for the first time since 1974. Australia’s heroes were goal keeper Mark Schwarzer and midfielder Marco Bresciano. Bresciano scored the goal that kept Australia in the running and Schwarzer pulled off two saves in the penalty shootout.

Skype Works Fantastic and Cheaply

I just used Skype, the new Internet telephone software that eBay paid billions to acquire. It works really well and is much cheaper than the regular calls. I made one call to Thailand where there was some echo on my side, but it generally has gone really well. Comments have been – “it seems like you are in the next room.”

To use Skype I would suggest the following instructions:

1. Download Skype from their site at www.skype.com
2. Install software and hardware*.
3. Create a profile
4. Purchase 10 Euros worth of calling time (unfortunately you can’t buy in HKD yet)
5. Start using

* For step 2 I recommend a microphone headset combo. It might also be a good idea to buy an extension cord and put it in the speaker socket of your computer so it is more readily accessable. It makes switching between the external speakers and the headset speakers much simpler.

Comments on this would be welcome. In the meantime, what are you waiting for – get Skyping today – and save your money.

Iranians Encouraging Children to be Suicide Bombers

Just when you thought they could not go any lower, along comes a children’s “educational’ film shown on Iranian television. The link is http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=906# It’s about ten minutes with some pauses too, but if you take the time it gives a good understanding of how horrid the Iranian regime there really is – and the lies they tell to encourage children to end their precious lives.

Update: 10 November 2005

Meeting and Training Rooms

We now have some rooms available for corporate training and conferences. Room sizes accomodate from five to one hundred people. PC’s can be provided if necessary.

The link is www.trainhk.com. Get hopping and tell your friends It helps support our capitalist cause in Hong Kong.

Shooting Migratory Birds – Just in Mai Po Please

I have been giving some thought to Legco member Tommy Cheung’s idea that the population should be armed to shoot migratory birds in Hong Kong. Clearly this idea really does need more thought. It would be dangerous to have people shooting birds say in North Point where bullets could easily go astray.

There is of course the real problem of these birds passing the virus around — What we should be looking at instead is a way to shoot this birds where they gather. Human life is certainly more important than the lives of a few ugly black spoonbills. Mai Po would be a good start and maybe it is time to turn this swampland into a hunting area.

Hong Kong could either get some professional hunters, or if it is possible, organize school tours to Mai Po where secondary school students get the opportunity to do some hunting themselves (under the proper supervision of course).

There might be some green protests over this – but so what. They habitually place the lives of bugs, weeds, dirt, fish and trees above those of humans. Over the longer term we should look at redeveloping the Mai Po swamplands so that there are less chances of both bird and mosquito borne diseases.

New Blogs Added

It is with great pleasure that I have added two new blogs to my sidebar. Banana Oil based in Shanghai and The Secular Foxhole based in the US.

The Doctor Who Cried Wolf One Too Many Times

The SCMP on Sunday quoted Anthony Hedley of Hong Kong University’s Department of Community Medicine as saying Hong Kong’s smog is a “medical emergency”. Dr. Hedley is no stranger to crying wolf. He cried wolf on alleged second hand smoke despite a ten year survey by WHO saying it had no effect on people sitting next to a smoker.

Whilst no one likes smog, there has been an increase in life expectancy as we industrialize, simply because more products come onto the market. A life expectancy of around 40 at the start of last century has turned into a life expectancy of beyond 80 now.

The SCMP noted that Dr. Hedley regarded his strongest criticism for those who label it as an unavoidable cost of progress. What he fails to mention is that as an economy progresses, it develops better ways to deal with pollution. Pollution indexes for the US and England are way down on what they were 100 years ago. The current pollution from China is a result of years of state control (which Dr. Hedley seems to love) which has prevented the economy of China from growing until now.

Despite Dr. Hedley’s shrieks to the contrary, no one is stealing anyone’s health. These industries help bring us more to add to our lives. Such as new and more efficient products. In fact it is the environmentalists that want to steal our livelihood by taking us back to their stone age with their anti-development mentality. That is the real immorality.

Further in the comedy section, one can just imagine Dr. Hedley standing in a corner saying as he did to the SCMP “I can feel it right now, can’t you? My eyes are stinging, and I am wheezing.” What utter tosh!!! Not even a six-year-old is going to believe that.

What is most telling is Dr. Hedley’s constant mixing of alleged scientific fact with overt political opinion that dents his credibility. I believe that Dr. Hedley’s opinions the real direct threat to human health including human thought and human life. He wants to bring in legislation banning smoking in pubs and restaurants. This effectively takes away a person’s right to decide for themselves. By restricting the owner’s right to property, a person is denied their right to think for themselves. Take away that right to think entirely and you kill rationality. Kill rationality and you take away a person’s means of survival. I believe anti-smoking legislation and its supporters are the real long-term killers – because they want to take away free choice