Eric Tsang
29 May 2000

History does repeat itself. Any bubbles burst sooner or later, they come and gone like the tides rise and ebb. Everything seems to be moving along a cycle, a pendulum. Having high time as well as low time. Is the Boo.com a boon for dot.com? Now there are signs indicating the so-called tech stock or Net stock frenzy is cooling down, and cooling down fast. Ebbing tides always come after the flood. The higher the rise, the greater the ebb. It's natural and forever true.

No one knows when and which dot.com folds in Hong Kong, but a long history English newspaper has officially folded today (29 May 2000). And being re-presented in a new format, yet it seems to be old wine in a new bottle, but less wine in a smaller bottle, a tabloid.

The Hong Kong Standard is dead. Perhaps Hong Kong needs a new standard for everything, such as the language teachers have to sit and pass further examinations to prove their capability on language. Well, the iMail does have a fresh look and it's indeed a bold attempt. According to the editor, the i refers to "nothing in particular and a great deal in general¡K which is independent, international, interactive, inclusive, influential, Internet-savvy, information, intelligent and interesting¡KThe word mail¡Khas been given a new lease of life through the modern love affair with email."

By the same token, however, i can also refer to indecisive, intermediate, ignorance, illness, incorrect, inappropriate, irritate, inferior, insane, illusive, imperfect, infantry, inequality…The paper is just old wine in a new bottle, yet a smaller bottle that holds less wine. For instance, there are two pages devoted for China, each can only have one main story, and there're indeed only two stories and two commentaries on today's edition plus several news in brief. However, there are eight pages for sports! Perhaps it has better supports from wires!

Interactive is another fancy slogan. Imagine, when tens of hundreds of readers (if they have) rush in and giving ideas attempting to move the paper along and make it more "individualistic" to themselves. What kind of paper it will be? Can it be independent and maintain impartiality? How the paper positions itself and be influential? Vow, anyway, the South China Morning Post still enjoy more than 90% of market share of Hong Kong's English newspaper market.