Periscope

Overworked and underpaid - that's how many nurses in Hong Kong's public hospitals feel and they are leaving the public sector and even the profession in high numbers. So far, Hospital Authority efforts to stem the exodus don't seem to be working. Varsity looks at the underlying reasons behind Hong Kong's nursing shortage.

Many say the Hong Kong government is becoming less transparent, and not consulting the public enough on new policies. Why the change?

December's Periscope looks at poverty in Hong Kong: Young and Poor: poor youth face uncertain future Working More for Less: Hong Kong's working poor struggle to...

Tensions between Hong Kongers and mainlanders continue to grab the headlines, one of the more recent flashpoints being the shortage of infant formula and the restriction of the amount of milk powder visitors can take out of the city. But there is another simmering conflict. Hong Kongers themselves are increasingly polarised between those, such as the Hong Kong Autonomy Movement who identify with an emerging local consciousness, and nationalists who put their Chinese identity first.

Hong Kong used to be known for its manufacturing but most of its factories moved to the Mainland in the 1980s. Now, some are coming back and the government is trying to promote reindustrialisation to diversify the economy. Varsity looks at the challenges facing those who are trying to revive industry in Hong Kong.

Cases of improper fundraising and even fraud have raised public awareness about a lack of accountability and transparency in the way some charities are run. But a controversial proposal to establish a powerful charity commission to regulate charities was opposed by many groups who fear it could be used as a means to control charities. Although the plan has now been shelved, the debate highlights the difficulties of balancing accountability on the one hand and the autonomy of charities on the other.

Many of Hong Kong's South Asian residents were born and raised here. They have adopted very local styles of living and are unfamiliar with their ancestral countries. But the definition of what constitutes a local held by most Hong Kong Chinese means they remain outsiders.

A recent survey by The Economist named Hong Kong as the most "liveable" city in the world. The S.A.R. also came in tenth in a...

Hongkongers are reasonably aware of the need for environmental protection, but some people still throw away waste paper and recyclable takeaway containers, or leave the tap running for more than they need to. What does it take to move people from lip-service to actually protecting the environment?

In his most recent Policy Address, the Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying called on Hong Kong's young people to grab the opportunities offered by China's vast market, to go and make their fortunes there. Varsity talks to Hong Kong people working in the Mainland and asks whether greater economic integration is the only way forward for Hong Kong.