It’s doubly exciting to see that Chief Executive John Lee is launching a public consultation for Hong Kong’s inaugural five-year plan.

The first reason for excitement is that we’ve just experienced a pretty well-run public consultation; the recently updated Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan generated a lot of submissions from NGOs, companies, and members of the public.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) seems to have done a good job of taking those submissions into account. In short, we’ve seen a proof of concept that public consultations seem to be effective.

The second reason for excitement is that China takes sustainability quite seriously in both word and deed. In aligning with China, the Hong Kong government has a golden opportunity to step up its sustainability game.

The outline of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan is 83 pages long. However, just as a very rough indicator of how seriously the topic is taken, Article 1, Chapter 1, Section 1 includes several comments about the energy transition and pollution.

Sustainability is considered important enough a topic to warrant some space in the prime real estate of those first few paragraphs, rubbing shoulders with big hitters like GDP and life expectancy. 

It might not be very scientific to measure a topic’s importance by which paragraph it lies in, but it is incredibly refreshing to see sustainability topics getting headline treatment instead of being tucked away on page 18.

In a similar vein, the top number in the Key Indicators of Economic and Social Development is GDP. However, in that very same table, there are binding objectives for carbon intensity goals, PM2.5 levels, and forest cover.

I get the sense that these are not just handwaved in order to hit a game of buzzword bingo – something that corporations are frequently guilty of. Rigorous thought has been put into integrating sustainability into the Five-Year Plan.

At the April 21 press conference, when Lee talked about the public consultation for the five-year plan, sustainability, carbon and pollution were not mentioned at all. Of course, GDP growth and the perennial issues of housing and education are all vital issues that need to be addressed.

However, if we’re talking in terms of five-year plans, it’s probably worth noting that in five years from now, the world needs to have carbon emissions at half of what they are today. And that in 25 years from now – just five more five-year plans away! – we need to be at net zero. Sustainability is vital too.

Of course, Hong Kong’s tiny landmass is not home to vast factories, refineries or farms. Most of the carbon that we emit is from producing electricity to power the towers that are our homes and offices.

So while emulating the priority that sustainability is afforded in China’s five-year plan is important, copy-pasting it wholesale would miss important nuance: that Hong Kong’s carbon shadow is much larger than our territorial footprint.

We import almost everything – food, energy, goods, and even water. The spectre of our carbon emissions haunts not only what we consume, but also the vast amounts of financing that flow across the world from our international financial centre.

Sustainability in Hong Kong is not just about plonking a few solar panels down; it’s a much deeper question about consumption and green finance.

That’s not to diminish the role of sustainability in our own territory; there’s plenty of room for more ambition, not just in carbon but with other forms of pollution.

For example, the Municipal Solid Waste charging scheme’s failure to progress beyond the pilot study means that there’s little push to reduce waste at source.

While it’s true that landfill rates are going down, incineration is going up – in other words, the generation of trash is not slowing down, but is instead just being diverted to the landfill in the sky. That’s not a long-term solution.

I hasten to add that putting sustainability higher on the agenda is not just important for the Hong Kong government. Company boards and executive teams ought to be discussing sustainability during their strategy meetings.

Hopefully, seeing sustainability high on the agenda in the government’s five-year plan will light a fire under corporations to up their sustainability game too.

All told, the idea of a public consultation for Hong Kong’s five-year plan is a wonderful opportunity. Public consultations have a prior form in moving the needle – the Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan has demonstrated that.

And by aligning Hong Kong’s five-year plan with China’s, we can achieve one of the most important things of all – putting sustainability on the agenda.

LONDON, June 12 — British Defence Secretary John Healey quit yesterday, accusing beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the finance ministry of failing to commit enough money to protect the country.

His resignation weakens Starmer’s authority at a precarious moment for the Labour leader, a week before a by-election that could prompt a bid to replace him.

In stinging criticism, Healey warned that Starmer’s long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP) for funding over the next decade—which the leader has yet to publish—risked making Britain “less safe”.

“You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats,” Healey wrote in a resignation letter to Starmer posted on his X account.

“After explaining to you that I would not be able to accept a DIP settlement that does not give our Forces the resources they need, I am now left with no other option than to submit my resignation.”

Hours later, Starmer wrote back to Healey saying his spending plans would allow the armed forces to transform and modernise, adding: “I will always do what is needed to keep our country safe.”

In the evening Al Carns, another MP sometimes mooted as a possible leadership candidate, resigned as armed forces minister, along with Healey aide Pamela Nash.

Former army officer Dan Jarvis was named as Healey’s replacement, moving from a junior ministerial post at the Home Office.

The defence plan has been repeatedly delayed but Starmer has insisted he will publish it before a NATO summit in Turkey on July 7.

Starmer’s centre-left government, elected in July 2024 following 14 years of Conservative rule, has pledged to raise spending and prioritise NATO, as the threat from Russia grows.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged NATO allies to spend more and become less reliant on Washington for security.

Starmer has vowed to raise defence spending to 2.5 percent of economic output from next year, increasing to three percent if Labour wins the next general election, expected in 2029, before reaching 3.5 percent in 2035.

But media reports have suggested discontent behind the scenes over the specifics of the spending plan.

Healey said in his letter he was first given full sight of the DIP on Monday and it sees defence spending rise to only 2.68 percent of output in 2030.

A source close to the former defence secretary told AFP the deal offered by the finance ministry did not put a date on the three percent commitment.

The plan fell “well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time”, Healey wrote.

Labour MP Tan Dhesi, chair of parliament’s defence committee, said the government must take Healey’s warning “with the utmost seriousness”, calling his resignation “a grave moment”.

Starmer faces political peril in next Thursday’s contest when Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham stands for the Makerfield parliamentary seat.

Both men have said they would participate in any Labour leadership race, although none has yet been triggered.

Wes Streeting quit as health secretary last month following disastrous local and regional election results for Labour and has also said he would run in any future contest.

Healey has been talked about as another potential contender, but there was no immediate suggestion that his resignation is linked to the leadership speculation.

It “underlines that Starmer has become a lame duck prime minister who cannot get decisions through his own government”, Patrick Diamond, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, told AFP.

The investment plan, originally due to be published in late 2025, has repeatedly been pushed back, to the frustration of industry and others.

Healey’s resignation “creates a sequence of political headaches”, starting with finding a new minister and then trying to get the investment plan published, said Ed Arnold, senior associate fellow at the RUSI think-tank. — AFP

The thriller genre has always been oversaturated. Every year, the box office sees an influx of stories about serial killers, detectives, and wild conspiracies. Now, the problem here is that most of them feel like the same film because they rely on the same formula of constant twists, shock value, and predictable moments designed to keep audiences reacting every few minutes.

China proposed changes on Friday to its household registration system, calling for more cities to abolish restrictions that have impacted migrant workers for decades, state media reported.

The permanent residence system, or “hukou”, was first introduced in the 1950s to regulate population mobility, and classifies Chinese people as either “urban” or “rural”.

Most Chinese citizens can only benefit from certain public services, including health insurance and education, where they are registered — generally their place of birth — despite a huge migrant worker population in most major cities.

On Friday, China’s cabinet, the State Council, released guidelines calling for cities to give citizens “fair” access to services despite their residency status, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The document “very much reflect(s) the spirit of the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan”, China’s recently released economic and social blueprint for the next five years, said Ying Zhang of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

“So this is not surprising, though it is encouraging to see these ideas emerging at this particular moment.”

The guidelines called for the “complete elimination” of household registration restrictions on migrants’ participation in employee social insurance.

Their access to “basic medical security” in their place of residence should be strengthened, the statement added.

The guidelines also proposed improving “educational guarantees” for migrant children, including increasing the proportion of them attending public schools during the compulsory education stage.

“Promoting equal access to basic public services for non-registered permanent residents and registered residents is conducive to meeting the people’s growing needs for a better life and releasing domestic demand potential,” the State Council said.

Experts said that smaller cities in China have already implemented similar policies as part of their efforts to attract more people.

“The key question that needs to be examined is the extent to which China’s mega-cities such as Beijing and Shanghai will adopt such measures,” said the EIU’s Zhang.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Gas Malaysia Bhd has deployed the first LOOP system in Asia Pacific, using technology developed by Levidian Nanosystems Ltd to produce graphene and capture carbon from methane.

This breakthrough reinforces Gas Malaysia’s transformation under its GM32 growth strategy, evolving beyond its traditional role as a gas distributor into a provider of high-value solutions and an ecosystem builder in advanced materials.

Developed in collaboration with United Kingdom-based Levidian, the LOOP technology transforms methane into high-quality graphene and hydrogen-rich gas, creating new value from existing gas infrastructure while enabling cleaner and more efficient industrial applications.

Speaking at the launch of the “From Methane to Graphene: Revolutionising Industry with Graphene” initiative here today, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Chang Lih Kang said the strong collaboration between Malaysia and the UK, as evidenced by the partnership between Gas Malaysia and Levidian, will complement NanoMalaysia Bhd’s (NMB) ongoing efforts and further galvanise the national advanced materials ecosystem.

He said the deployment of Levidian’s LOOP technology in Malaysia, marking its first installation in the Asia Pacific, reflects growing international confidence in the country’s industrial ecosystem.

“The new graphene production technologies, such as Levidian’s LOOP, can complement existing graphene production facilities in Malaysia, thereby increasing national graphene output, strengthening supply

security and supporting broader downstream adoption by Malaysian industries.

“More importantly, such partnerships create opportunities beyond technology deployment alone. They facilitate knowledge exchange capability development, talent enhancement, and collaborative innovation, thereby strengthening Malaysia’s long-term competitiveness,” said Chang.

Also present were Gas Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, British High Commission Kuala Lumpur Trade and Investment director Richard Colley, and Levidian United Kingdom chief commercial officer Ian Hopkins.

Chang highlighted the role of NMB in advancing the development and commercialisation of graphene-based solutions through the National Graphene Action Plan 2020 (NGAP 2020) and the Graphenovation Programme under the 11th and 12th Malaysia Plans.

He said that through these initiatives, NMB, an agency under his ministry, has brought together industry players, universities and research institutions on a triple-helix platform to stimulate market demand and accelerate the growth of Malaysia’s graphene ecosystem. 

Chang said the ministry also provides further support to NMB to establish the local supply side of graphene through the Strategic Research Fund for the Biomass Innovation Circular Economy Programme (BICEP).

He said that, via BICEP, NMB has been working with a local university on developing local technology to convert palm-based biogas, specifically biomethane, into hydrogen and graphene to support Malaysia’s emerging Hydrogen Economy and National Industrial Master Plan aspirations.

“This effort is important because it demonstrates how Malaysia’s natural and biomass-based resources can be upgraded into higher-value outputs.

“Instead of treating methane merely as a fuel or an emission source, it can be converted through a locally patented hydrogen pyrolysis process, which produces graphene, supporting the development of high-value industrial applications.

“As a byproduct, the technology also enables its conversion into hydrogen. By the same token, if methane from fossil fuel sources is used, the process can be interpreted as a carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) mechanism, thereby supporting the clean energy agenda,” he said.

Chang said this is significant as Malaysia remains the only country in Asean with a national-level graphene programme, positioning the country as a regional frontrunner in graphene application development, industrial adoption and commercialisation.

“To date, these efforts have also contributed to a growing portfolio of graphene-related intellectual property (IP), including 92 IP filings and 16 patents granted, demonstrating Malaysia’s progress in translating graphene research and development into protectable, commercially relevant technologies,” he said. — Bernama

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My Own “I Like The Kitty” Moment

Many of us recall the famous Seinfeld episode, “The Cartoon” (written by my New Yorker colleague, Bruce Eric Kaplan) that includes the scene where Elaine Benes goes into “The New Yorker” to confront the editor (“Mr. Elinoff”) about a cartoon she doesn’t understand.

Here’s the dialogue:

• Mr. Elinoff: Miss Benes, cartoons are like gossamer, and one doesn’t dissect gossamer.
• Elaine Benes: Well, you don’t have to dissect it if you could just tell me why this is supposed to be funny.
• Mr. Elinoff: Oh, it’s merely a commentary on contemporary mores.
• Elaine Benes: But what is the comment?
• Mr. Elinoff: It’s a slice of life.
• Elaine Benes: No, it isn’t.
• Mr. Elinoff: A pun?
• Elaine Benes: I don’t think so.
• Mr. Elinoff: Vorshtein?
• Elaine Benes: That’s not a word. You have no idea what this means.
• Mr. Elinoff: No.
• Elaine Benes: Then why did you print it?
• Mr. Elinoff: I like the kitty.

I had my own “I like the kitty” moment yesterday when a Mr. Cooper from Victoria, Canada wrote in asking me to explain a drawing of mine that appears in the 1987 collection (edited by Sam Gross), Cats! Cats! Cats!. 

Here’s the drawing:

My immediate reaction was to write Mr. Cooper back saying, “Vorshtein.” But instead, I admitted I had no idea what the cartoon meant. This morning I showed the cartoon to my wife (who is also a long time New Yorker cartoonist). She immediately furrowed — not a good sign.

If any cartoonist out there has had a similar experience (that is: not “getting” one of your own drawings) I’d love to hear about it.

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The Tilley Watch Online, June 1-5, 2026

An end of the week listing of New Yorker artists whose work has appeared on newyorker.com features

Daily Cartoon: Matt Reuter(twice), Elisabeth McNair, this cartoonist, Jorge Penne.

A Cartoon Soccer Selection: “Kicking It” 

A Cartoon Basketball Selection: “Full-Court Press”

Barry Blitt’s Kvetchbook: “Data Centers Bring The Buzz”

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LONDON, June 5 — Britain is running out of time to boost its defences in response to the threat posed by recent Russian ‌actions, the country’s military chief said today, after months of delays to the country’s Defence Investment Plan.

“Russia is definitely raising the stakes and risks crossing a line,” Chief of the Defence Staff Richard Knighton told BBC Radio. “We need to spend more on defence and do it faster.”

The Defence Investment Plan will lay out the funding for military equipment and services to ensure the armed forces move to a state of “warfighting readiness”, but reports say it has been held up since last year by budget rows within government.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed on a visit to a drone factory today that the plan would be published before a July 7 Nato summit, following a period ‌of close work between government and military leaders.

“It is no exaggeration to say that we’re living ⁠in more dangerous and volatile times than at any ⁠time in my life,” Starmer said.

US President Donald Trump, who has ⁠repeatedly called on Starmer and other European ⁠leaders to spend more ⁠on defence and become less reliant on Washington for the continent’s security, is due to attend the summit.

Threats greatest since Cold War

Knighton said the risks and threats to Britain were greater than at any ⁠time since the Cold War, and the government needed to spend on defence accordingly.

“The challenge for ministers is to make those difficult trade-off decisions,” he said.

Media reports say military chiefs have warned Starmer that there is a £28 billion (RM151 billion) shortfall in funding over the next four years, and say that is behind the delay to the investment plan.

Starmer has pledged the largest sustained increase in defence spending ⁠since the Cold War, aiming to lift it to 3 per cent of national output in the next parliament, but he has been criticised for not following through on his promises.

George Robertson, ⁠who served in the 1990s as Britain’s defence secretary and then as chief of Nato, said in ⁠April that there ⁠was a gap between Starmer’s rhetoric and action and he was “not willing to make the necessary investment” in defence.

Knighton said Russia was stepping up its threat, with more incursions into British airspace and through regular “probing, challenging, testing” ‌of defences, as well as being behind cyberattacks, sabotage and attempts to steal technology.

“We do need to step up and enhance our capability as the threats from potential adversaries grow,” he said. — Reuters