Macau turns 10

This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of Macau’s switch from Portuguese colony to Special Administrative Region of China. Over the past decade, Macau has been successful beyond anyone’s expectations. In 1999, with criminal gangs shooting it out in the streets, this city of 550,000, measuring just 29.2 square kilometers (11.3 miles), with virtually no resources, three official languages that don’t include English, and a centuries-long legacy of misrule looked set to remain a backwater with a colorful past and grim future. Ten years later, Macau has attracted billions of dollars in investment en route to becoming the world’s leading gambling destination, boasting the world’s fourth highest per capita GDP.

So why isn’t Beijing smiling about Macau’s success? Read all about it in Asia Times.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, financial crisis, and cheap lingerie.

Put Mother Earth on Your Holiday Gift List

Apropos of the season and the Copenhagen climate change conference, think about Christmas trees. Not the usual evergreen for Yuletide (or whatever holidays you may or may not celebrate) but giving trees as presents. For example, Project Oikos sells trees and lets recipients do the planting in selected locations. There are other organizations that will make Mother Earth part of your holiday celebration, and there’s never been a better time to support them. You’ll be helping a friend in need.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, financial crisis, and cheap lingerie.