Here's a fun one. The government now wants Hong Kong to be a "philanthropic hub." Not a shopping hub, not a finance hub, a philanthropic hub. Where rich people from the mainland and around the region come to Hong Kong specifically to give money away. There's a logic to it: Hong Kong has the trust structures, the lawyers, the banks, all the plumbing you need to set up a foundation properly. RTHK reported the push this week, alongside officials also talking up Hong Kong as crucial for firms going global and horse racing as a driver of the "mega event economy." Yes, all in the same few days.

Look, I get the strategy. If you can't be everyone's factory floor anymore, be everyone's back office, for everything. Trading office, event office, now the giving-money-away office. But there's something a bit funny about a city hustling this hard to be the place where OTHER people's spare cash gets managed, while a lot of us are still checking if the noodle place put the price up again. Nothing wrong with chasing rich people's foundations. Just don't pretend it's the same thing as ordinary people having more in their pocket. It's a different business, and it's fine, as long as everyone's honest about which one we're actually running.