Monday 8th November 2010
Dear Reader,
NEW ARTICLE
Your ID number is not a password
There is a common
misconception that HK identity card numbers are secrets, a misconception that
Government is promoting by its policy actions, putting us on the road to
increased abuse of the HKID and higher economic losses from fraud. To prevent
this, the register of ID numbers and names should be published, after a
transition to allow commercial abusers to stop abusing the ID for
authentication. This article also looks at the unfulfilled potential of the
Smart ID Card, including biometric authentication and electronic
money. (8-Nov-2010)
RECENT ARTICLES
The
Community Collusion Fund
We look at the numerous problems
with Donald Tsang's proposed Community Care Fund. The boards of listed companies
which support it either expect sufficient corporate benefit in return or are
breaching their fiduciary duties. We call on Legislators to kill the CCF by
vetoing the HK$5bn allocation and instead get the government to reform its
welfare system using the normal budgetary process. (4-Nov-2010)
Hong Kong Land Lease Reform, Part 2
We advocate a
rebalancing of HK's land lease system, reducing up-front premiums in exchange
for a perpetual stream of future ground rents and addressing a number of
festering problems simultaneously. We also suggest a Premium Release Scheme to
return hoarded capital to the market, and PRS Bonds or HIPS (HK Income Protected
Securities) to help finance it, providing a new long-term investment option for
retirement funds. (1-Nov-2010)
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