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Hi there Inkstoners, It’s Juliana here. One of my favorite stories ever was covering the 100th anniversary of the double-decker tram in Hong Kong a few years ago. They’re such an anachronism: winding slowly through some of the city’s busiest streets. You’d think, in a city built for speed, that these trams would fall out of favor. But they’re more popular than ever. It helps that a full-price adult ticket costs just 34 cents each way, no matter how far you ride. 
Now that’s a streetcar named desire. The trams are also available for private booking. I once considered booking one for a birthday party, but was told that the party trams didn’t have any bathrooms, which is a bit of a letdown. So imagine my surprise when I heard that a tram car has been converted into a private members’ club. It has just started running and, yes, it does have a bathroom. To see the tram in all its brass-accented glory, check out our fifth story today. |
The US has just announced a deal to sell $330 million worth of arms and military parts to Taiwan. China has, naturally, decried the sale. It’s a drop in the ocean compared to the $1.4 billion worth the US sold to the self-ruled island last year – but announcing the move in the middle of a still-escalating trade war with China smacks of curious timing, Xinyan Yu reports. |
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Well, it’s finally happened. Months after saying it would do so, the Hong Kong government has finally banned the Hong Kong National Party, a fringe group that advocated for the city’s independence from China. The government says it’s banned the group the grounds of national security. Are its fears well-founded? Or is this decision opening the way to a future clampdown on more mainstream parties? Grace Tsoi lays it out. |
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Cantopop singer Jacky Cheung is a legend in the biz. He’s sold more than 25 million records in his career. It’s why they call him the “God of Songs.” But he’s picked up another name online, thanks to the Chinese criminals who just can’t keep themselves away from his gigs, and who get caught! |
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People always used to say that China’s lack of domestic oil was its great weakness. But times move on, and now it’s China’s reliance on foreign-made semiconductors that may bring it to heel. Can the country throw enough money at the problem to create a domestic chip industry, or does the US have a vice grip on semiconductors? |
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Here’s the world-first tram we were talking about above: a plush private members’ club, with the benefit of also getting you to a destination. |
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Last night marked the Mid-Autumn Festival, when people came together to light lanterns and gaze up at the full moon. But in one ramshackle Hong Kong village, a creature of fire and smoke and good fortune was being born. AFP’s Anthony Wallace was there to bring you the photos. |
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| If you've got time |
China’s long game on human rights China is finally willing to discuss human rights, says Ted Piccone of the Brookings Institution. |
Trump’s Tariffs May Hurt, but Quitting China Is Hard to Do The realities of the global supply chain mean that US companies will find it very hard to move out of China, reports the New York Times. |
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 |  | | | Get more Inkstone | | | Inkstone is a daily digest of 6 China-focused stories providing unvarnished insight into a rising potential superpower. |
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