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TFF Policy ThinkTank
Our signature Student "ThinkTank" program. Here lies the collection of our staff and guest writers' opinions. From politics to societal issues, all topics are discussed and presented from the perspective of us students.


The Paradox of Sustainable Technology: How Can International Policy Close the Global Compute Divide?
Sustainability in the future world offers an image of a convenient, high-quality life characterized by AI-managed healthcare systems, automated agricultural plants. However, this image is starkly different for economies struggling with the "Great Compute Divide" (Ahmed et al., 2023)—a barrier built by expensive computer chips and the high energy costs required to supply modern technology. The paradox is therefore clear: technology can help solve global environmental and socia
Evan


Game of Airspace: Geoeconomic Rivalry and Norm Contestation in Aviation Practice
Aviation is widely perceived as a purely technical discipline focusing on aircraft operation and transportation services. However, personal flight training and research on civil aviation technological optimization reveal that airspace governance is deeply embedded in global geopolitical and geoeconomic interactions. Guided by the Chicago Convention (ICAO, 1944) and foundational geoeconomic theories (Strange, 1988), this paper argues that aviation development is constrained no
Jerry Zhang


Shifting Tides: The Rise and Fall of Raft-Aquaculture
In January 2026, the regional government of Yangjiang, Guangdong passed a policy to clean upaquaculture facilities in the waters of the Dongping Fishing Port.This port was designated to be a prohibited zone for aquaculture. The coast of Guangdong had long hosted mass aquaculture before then. Such a policy altered the lives of numerous households living in Dongping, forcing them to abandon jobs they have been practicing for the past 30 years. Part One: The Rise of Aquaculture
Lexuan Huang


Similarities Between the Hong Kong Legislative Council and the United States Congress
Legislatures are central fora in modern systems of governance for representation, law-making and scrutiny. Across political systems, legislatures institutionalise political representation and formalise the process of making laws. Although the number and structure of legislative institutions vary between political systems, there are similarities between them. This pattern can be observed in a comparison between the Legislative Council in Hong Kong (LegCo) and the United States
Jerry Zhang


After Habermas: A World Social Media Is Pulling Apart
Figure 1 Huke, W. (2008, January 30). File: JuergenHabermas.jpg . WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JuergenHabermas.jpg Jürgen Habermas, a thinker who deeply shaped postwar European intellectual history and consistently defended and advocated for a more rational and civilized public world, has recently passed away. There is sadness in his passing. Even more heartbreaking is that the world he leaves behind seems to be drifting ever further away from th

Shirley Ma


Corruption: Dissolving the Locks
Corruption is easy to condemn and hard to understand. In recent months, anti-corruption investigations and reforms have appeared in headlines from China to the United States, often framed as matters of financial stability, market confidence, and state credibility. Public discourse usually treats corruption as economically destructive. Indeed, corruption and bribery are condemned as sins, as Proverbs 29:4 declares: “By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who ar

Shirley Ma


The Dragon at the Gates: A Longitudinal Analysis of Hutchison Whampoa, the Panama Canal, and Great Power Competition (1997–2026)
This work examines the strategic expansion of Hutchison Whampoa (now CK Hutchison Holdings)—a Hong Kong-based conglomerate often viewed in Washington as a commercial proxy for the People’s Republic of China (PRC), or “the Dragon”—and how its port operations reshaped the geopolitical role of the Panama Canal from 1997 to 2026. The research is based on a long-term case study examining the controversial privatization of the Balboa and Cristobal ports, the associated legal benefi
Jerry Zhang


TFF ThinkTank | Billie Eilish’s Outcry: Igniting the Immigration Legitimacy Debate
Billie Eilish’s denunciation of ICE, distilled into a slogan-like line—“No one's is illegal on stolen land”—lands like a verdict. It stings because it ignites two emotional charges at once: shame and anger over colonial history, and anxiety and fear about border governance today. It names certain truths, yet it also smuggles in a leap of reasoning. If the conversation is to move from mutual condemnation to legitimacy, it must begin with a simple concession: moral intuition ca

Shirley Ma


TFF ThinkTank | Public Political Discourse and News Coverage of Hong Kong Wang Fuk Court Fire
The news cycle in Hong Kong at the end of November 2025 was dominated by a single event: the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po. It took over 40 hours to extinguish, burning down several residential towers and claiming the lives of more than 150 people (Ho-him & Rising, 2025). The scale of the tragedy, combined with the government’s failure to prevent it, raised doubts about government regulation, contractor responsibility, the governance of public housing, and the shrinking space
Jerry Zhang


TFF ThinkTank | The Dead End of Residency Doctors: The Predicament of Pressure
The Tip of the Iceberg On February 23, 2024, a residency doctor ended her own life. Her name was Cao Liping . When I read about Cao...
Yike Zhang


TFF ThinkTank|Speaking Frankly: Luigi as a Warning from Afar
Professor Zeynep Tufekci, a sociologist and public affairs scholar at Princeton University, remarked that the public's reaction should...
TFF Admin


TFF ThinkTank|Invisible Injustice: How AI Exploits the Marginalized and Why Regulation Must Act First
Introduction AI systems impact and shape the decisions of people worldwide in many aspects of life, from legal rulings and job...
TFF Admin


TFF ThinkTank|China's Growing “Gig Economy”: Opportunities and Challenges
The Forbidden Flourish November 23rd, 2024 09:00 China The gig economy , also known as the temporary worker economy , is a modern term...
TFF Admin


TFF ThinkTank | Everything Everywhere All at Once with Philosophy: Is Jobu Topaki a Taoist sage figure like Big Goose Dummy?
By Yujia Wang In The Essentials Chuang Tzu , Big Goose Dummy is a wise sage figure who guides Cloud General through his troubles. In the...
TFF Admin


TFF ThinkTank | Land Back: A Reforming of Narrative to Regain Indigenous Autonomy
By Yujia Wang Reflecting on the aftermath of personally experiencing sexual violence, Susan Brison argues that trauma fundamentally harms...
TFF Admin


TFF ThinkTank | To the Future - Current Shortcomings and Reform Proposals for China's
The Forbidden Flourish July 24, 2024 10:31 Shanghai "I died at the night after the college entrance exam ended" In June 2023, an...
TFF Admin


TFF ThinkTank | The Impact of Reduced Child Tax Credit in the United States
by Zheng Jia Yi The Forbidden Flourish October 11, 2024 09:00 USA Introduction The Child Tax Credit was first introduced in 1997,...
TFF Admin


Is Taxation Theft?
Jimmy Ji The Forbidden Flourish June 25, 2024 10:01 Shanghai Introduction Taxation is a fundamental aspect of modern society; it is the...
TFF Admin


Biden Can't Cool Down American Politics
Original Title: 拜登降不了美国政治的火 The Forbidden Flourish The following article is originally from FUTURE UTOPIAN Author Future Utopian FUTURE...
TFF Admin
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