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簡介
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監製：Diana Wan
RTHK's English-language current affairs programme that takes "The Pulse" of Hong Kong ... and the world around it.
"The Pulse" is presented by locally and internationally known journalist and writer Steve Vines.
Its focus? The latest events and trends that affect Hong Kong - from the corridors of power and business boardrooms, to the streets and dai pai dongs.
"The Pulse" is politics. What's happening in the Legislative Council and on the streets right now.
"The Pulse" is the media, informing us how well or badly our press and broadcast organisations diagnose and reflect the society around us.
"The Pulse" is insightful, in-depth reports and interviews on current issues - examining those issues in depth, looking behind and beyond the news.
Its focus is on the timely. The Now.
Keep your eye ... and your finger ... on "The Pulse".
If you want to discuss anything you've seen in "The Pulse", or anything in the public eye right now, or just to talk about the show, why not join in the debate on our Facebook page, RTHK's The Pulse.
Starting 3 April, the programme is aired every Friday on RTHK 31 at 19:30.
We're on Facebook
RTHK's The Pulse https://www.facebook.com/RTHK.Pulse/
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Twitter @thepulse_rthk https://twitter.com/thepulse_rthk
Archive available later after broadcast. ** Please note that the programme air-time on TV is different with webcast time.
最新
LATEST
20/11/2020
As an African proverb goes, when elephants fight it is the grass that suffers. Currently, Hong Kong is finding itself in the position of that grass. Starting this month, locally-made goods can no longer be exported to the United States with the label “Made in Hong Kong”. More on that later.
But first, tech giants such as Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have dominated the world for decades. Today though, so-called “platform” companies and the “platform economy” are in the ascendant. One research report by McKinsey suggests more than 30% of global economic activity - some US$60 trillion - could be mediated by digital platforms within the next six years. And that concerns regulators everywhere, including in mainland China, where the government worries that digital platform companies such as Tencent, and Alibaba and its affiliated Ant Group, could be getting too big and too influential.
As his presidential term started, Donald Trump was sometimes full of praises for Chinese President Xi Jinping. Later though, he changed tack, accusing China of unfair trading practices and intellectual property theft and initiating a trade war with China in 2018. The US has since imposed hefty tariffs on Chinese goods, and China has naturally retaliated. In January, both sides called a truce, but Hong Kong has been caught in the US-China crossfire. Since the introduction of the National Security Law in May, the United States has revoked Hong Kong’s special trade status and imposed sanctions on top local and mainland officials. And starting this month, the “Made in Hong Kong” label is no longer allowed on locally-made goods exported to the US.
預告
UPCOMING
27/11/2020
RTHK's English-language current affairs programme that takes "The Pulse" of Hong Kong ... and the world around it.
"The Pulse" is presented by locally and internationally known journalist and writer Steve Vines.
Its focus? The latest events and trends that affect Hong Kong - from the corridors of power and business boardrooms, to the streets and dai pai dongs.
"The Pulse" is politics. What's happening in the Legislative Council and on the streets right now.
"The Pulse" is the media, informing us how well or badly our press and broadcast organisations diagnose and reflect the society around us.
"The Pulse" is insightful, in-depth reports and interviews on current issues - examining those issues in depth, looking behind and beyond the news.
Its focus is on the timely. The Now.
Keep your eye ... and your finger ... on "The Pulse".
If you want to discuss anything you've seen in "The Pulse", or anything in the public eye right now, or just to talk about the show, why not join in the debate on our Facebook page, RTHK's The Pulse.
重溫
CATCHUP
09 - 11
2020
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China's new antitrust guidelines on Fintech discussion with Anjani Trivedi & relabeling of "Made in HK" to "Made in China"
As an African proverb goes, when elephants fight it is the grass that suffers. Currently, Hong Kong is finding itself in the position of that grass. Starting this month, locally-made goods can no longer be exported to the United States with the label “Made in Hong Kong”. More on that later.
But first, tech giants such as Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have dominated the world for decades. Today though, so-called “platform” companies and the “platform economy” are in the ascendant. One research report by McKinsey suggests more than 30% of global economic activity - some US$60 trillion - could be mediated by digital platforms within the next six years. And that concerns regulators everywhere, including in mainland China, where the government worries that digital platform companies such as Tencent, and Alibaba and its affiliated Ant Group, could be getting too big and too influential.
As his presidential term started, Donald Trump was sometimes full of praises for Chinese President Xi Jinping. Later though, he changed tack, accusing China of unfair trading practices and intellectual property theft and initiating a trade war with China in 2018. The US has since imposed hefty tariffs on Chinese goods, and China has naturally retaliated. In January, both sides called a truce, but Hong Kong has been caught in the US-China crossfire. Since the introduction of the National Security Law in May, the United States has revoked Hong Kong’s special trade status and imposed sanctions on top local and mainland officials. And starting this month, the “Made in Hong Kong” label is no longer allowed on locally-made goods exported to the US.20/11/2020收看 -
Disqualification and mass resignation of pro-democracy lawmakers discussion: James To & Junius Ho; & US election public polls
Wednesday’s decision by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress makes it clear that Hong Kong must be governed by people Beijing considers to be patriots. The resolution, citing activities endangering national security, paved the way for the Hong Kong government to disqualify four pro-democrat lawmakers, Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok, Kwok Ka-ki and Kenneth Leung based on their actions in promoting or supporting Hong Kong independence, refusing to swear allegiance to the HKSAR and abide by the Basic Law, and appealing to foreign forces to interfere in local affairs. The top body says these are not only legal requirements but also the political conditions for existing members and future candidates to run as legislative councillors. Chief Executive Carrie Lam says she asked for Beijing’s ruling because she was facing a constitutional problem that Hong Kong’s courts couldn’t handle. Just hours after the disqualifications, 15 remaining pro-democracy legislators announced their resignations en masse. Despite the departure of so many elected opposition legislators, the Chief Executive says it would be unfair to assume LegCo will become a rubber stamp assembly. Earlier today, I spoke to Junius Ho and James To, one of the legislators who has just resigned.
It’s more than a week since Election Day in the United States, and votes are still being counted. By last Saturday though, as 279 electoral college votes were estimated for Joe Biden and 217 for Donald Trump, it was pretty clear who had won. To date, Donald Trump is still refusing to concede, insisting the election was fraudulent, as least in states where he lost, and using government machinery to slow any transition to a new presidency. Realistically though, it’s all over bar the angry tweeting. Once the count is complete, President-elect Biden is expected to be over five million votes ahead of Trump in the popular vote.
But one thing is clear: the election was much more of a nail-biter than polls had predicted. And many are assessing how much, and why, the pollsters missed the mark again.13/11/2020收看 -
US Election Special III: Election results update, Chinese & HK voters in NYC & discussion with: David Law & Sean Kenji Starrs
Hello, and welcome to The Pulse. Unprecedented, extraordinary, mind-boggling - choose your own adjective for describing the American elections. From the distance of Hong Kong, another adjective might be confusing. Coming to think of it, it’s pretty confusing stateside as well. So, we are going to do our best to shed some light on all of this. We’ll also take a closer look at New York, to find out how Asian-Americans evaluate the past four years of Trump’s presidency, and who they’ve picked to lead the country next.
But one thing and probably one thing only is clear about this election: it marks the largest turnout in US elections since 1900. Aside from that, more or less everything is in dispute as legal action is threatened, allegations of fraud impressively flow out of the White House, and a profound air of uncertainty hovers. To help us make sense of all of this, we have in the studio David Law, Chair in Public Law at the Hong Kong University, and we’re pleased to welcome back Sean Kenji Starrs, Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian and International Studies at Hong Kong’s City University.06/11/2020收看 -
US Election Special II: Voter suppression, reports from Portland Oregon & Texas & discussion with Sean Kenji Starrs
The President of the United States wields so much power and influence over the rest of the world that some people jokingly, or not so jokingly, want the whole world to get a chance to vote in the presidential election. However in the United States itself it appears that not every American gets a fair chance at voting, and that’s what we’re looking at tonight. In part two, I’ll be discussing voter suppression with Sean Kenji Starrs from the City University of Hong Kong. But first, some background.
The Covid-19 pandemic and attempts at voter suppression have made life difficult for many people who want to vote in the US presidential election. This year a record number of votes have been cast by post, and many states need more time to process them. Some battleground states have asked to extend the deadline for mail-in ballots. On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to extend Wisconsin’s deadline to six days after voting day. For now though, post-Election Day deadlines for mailed ballots are still allowed in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. With us to talk about this and voter suppression in the US is Sean Kenji Starrs, Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian and International Studies at Hong Kong’s City University.30/10/2020收看 -
US Election Special I: Trump & Biden final debate discussion: CUHK’s Peter Beattie & misinformation in 2020 election
There is just 12 days to go before the United States Presidential election. It’s being billed as the most crucial election in US history, in terms of America’s own democracy, and its role in the world. This week, and in the coming two weeks, we’ll be looking at some of the key discussions and issues. The term “fake news”, popularised by Donald Trump, became mainstream during the 2016 election. But misinformation and disinformation on social media – some of it provided by hostile countries - is increasingly plaguing politics, and not only in the US. More on that later.
The first televised presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on 30th September was chaotic. The debate held this morning Hong Kong time was more orderly and there was a chance for the candidates to describe their policies – whether they made full use of this opportunity is, like the debate itself, debatable and with me to talk about this and what’s at stake in this election is Peter Beattie, professor at the Faculty of Social Science of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.23/10/2020收看 -
Cancelling of registration for life of a school teacher discussion: Eunice Yung & Ip Kin-yuen & int. w/ Benjamin Cowling on the latest of Covid-19 in HK
The government is full of surprises these days. On Monday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam abruptly cancelled her annual Policy Address. It had been scheduled for Wednesday but will not be delivered until an unknown date in November. Instead of going to Legco Lam went to Shenzhen to attend a ceremony where president Xi Jinping was celebrating the special economic zone’s 40th anniversary. Her stated reason for postponement however was the need to consult Beijing on economic policies. Meanwhile, last Monday, the Education Bureau announced the lifelong de-registration of a schoolteacher for allegedly “spreading pro-independence” messages in class. This is the first time a teacher has been de-registered for professional misconduct unrelated to sexual or criminal offences. Secretary for Education, Kevin Yeung warns there are more purges to come. To talk about this issue is Eunice Yung of New People's Party and Ip Kin-yuen, lawmaker and Vice-president of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers Union.
With Autumn in the air, there is still no sign that Covid-19 is going away. On the contrary there has been a resurgence of cases in Europe. France declared a state of emergency, with Paris and eight other major cities imposing a night curfew. Spain’s capital, Madrid is also currently in a 15-day state of emergency. New lockdowns have also been imposed in the United Kingdom. Here in Hong Kong, fears have been expressed of a new spike in cases as winter approaches.16/10/2020收看 -
Russian interference in US election and Belarus: discussion with Stefan Auer & mini-series "Long Time No Chat: Calling Belarus"
At one point United States president Donald Trump called Covid-19 “a hoax” and said that “there is no pandemic and it’s just a flu”. As he has now discovered “the hoax” was capable of putting him in hospital. Trump, his wife Melania, and at least 27 people around him have contracted the virus. With the election in just three weeks, his quick return to the White House, and the consistent downplaying of the virus has outraged health experts and those who have had or have lost relatives to Covid-19. Whether he likes it or not the pandemic stubbornly remains in the forefront of next month’s election. Back in the 2016 Presidential election there were widespread allegations of Russian interference. In August, after a three-year long bipartisan investigation, the Republican-led Senate intelligence committee released a nearly 1,000-page report on Russian interference that found it had posed a “grave counterintelligence threat”. On Tuesday, White House national security adviser Robert O Brien told his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev to “stay out” of the November election. And there’ve been similar concerns raised about Russian interference in the UK’s Brexit polling and its influence in Belarus. With us to discuss this is Stefan Auer, Associate Professor of European Studies at the University of Hong Kong.
This week another bump in Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong after a long holiday weekend and the easing of social distancing measures had health experts predicting another resurgence in the virus. The pandemic has restricted travel and limited personal contact between friends and families. As person to person fades there is Increasingly interaction through online platforms. “The Pulse” is also using this method to introduce an occasional mini-series, “Long Time No Chat”, in which we invite a local person to call friends overseas to talk about what’s going on in their countries. Today, the topic is Belarus.09/10/2020收看 -
Pan-democratic camp stay in extended Legco discussion: Alvin Yeung & Robert Chung & re-opening of schools
The government says it delayed last month’s Legislative Council election due to Covid-19. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the decision was not political but a public health issue. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress then decided to extend the sixth-term Legislative Council for no less than a year to address the lacuna. However, there is no mention of a time limit for such extension. This has led to a rift in the pan-democratic camp over whether incumbent lawmakers should continue to serve the present term. The Civic Party and the Democratic Party decided to conduct a public poll to decide. The result came out on Tuesday and offered no clear majority. To talk about the decision to stay on and the poll itself are Alvin Yeung, Leader of the Civic Party and Robert Chung, President of Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19 at the beginning of the year, on-campus classes for primary and secondary schools have been suspended. For most students, online classes have become the main learning platform. But apart from the educational difficulties, many parents, teachers and medical professionals are arguing that not being able to go to school and mix with other children in person also affects children’s well-being. Now, schools are gradually reopening.02/10/2020收看 -
12 Hong Kong people detained in China: discussion with Cheung Yiu-leung & health code
Last month, China’s Coast Guard arrested 12 Hong Kong people as they attempted to flee on a speedboat to Taiwan. Barrister Cheung Yiu-leung to talk about the legal situation these 12 people may face in mainland courts. I should add that to get an alternative view on this we did ask more than a dozen other individuals if they could come, among them Thomas So, Ambrose Lam, Louis Chen, Christopher Wong, Eunice Yung, Lawrence Ma. None could make it.
Hong Kong’s two-week universal community testing programme ended on Monday. Some 1.78 million people were tested, less than a quarter of the population, and far from the government’s five million target. The exercise discovered just 32 previously unconfirmed cases. The cost of the tests for the exercise alone is about HK$500 million. Some estimate the total bill could be around HK$1.3 billion. The government has rejected criticism of the scheme’s cost effectiveness and says it will help map out strategies to tackle the next wave of the pandemic and other health surveillance. One other plan the government is considering is the introduction of health code software on people’s mobile phones, which is now widely used in the mainland.25/09/2020收看 -
Covid-19 vaccine nationalism and equity
When will we get a widely usable Covid19 vaccine? It’s been a big topic for discussion this week. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said it would be out by mid-October, not coincidently before the presidential election. That’s not what the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say. Its earliest estimate for vaccine readiness is middle to late 2021. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, experts in China said they will have a vaccine ready for public use as early as this November. Both China and Russia have already tested vaccines on people designated as belonging to “high risk” groups, including medical and military personnel. Early this week, the United Arab Emirates became the first country to approve one of the China-produced vaccines for emergency use. So, the race is clearly on and political pressures are playing a big role. On Thursday, Oxfam published a report showing that rich nations have already snapped up more than half of the promised output of the five leading vaccine contestants, leaving poorer countries to wait longer. To talk about the tensions between “vaccine nationalism” and health equity, especially at times like this is Yeoh Eng-kiong, Director of The Jockey Club School of Public Health & Primary Care at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Also in part two, virologist, David Ho, microbiologist Sridhar Siddharth and Kate Elder, Médecins Sans Frontières' senior vaccines policy advisors on Covid-19 vaccine nationalism and equity.18/09/2020收看
