Hong Kong TV Protest On October 15th, the government renewed licenses for PCCW and i-Cable, Hong Kong's two existing pay-TV operators. They failed to give one to HKTV without clear reason, however, leaving thousands questioning the decisions of the government. Ricky Wong, the Chairman of HKTV, has invested more than 900 million HKD in the network (US$116 million) in anticipation that he would receive a license. He said the decision is "unreasonable, unfair, and lacks transparency" and has already fired 320 people who have produced more than 300 hours of original programming. Wong didn't take part in the rally (http://on.wsj.com/15GUdTQ). Record High Income Gap The protest comes at a time when the income gap is at a record high. According to a report commissioned by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying released on Sept 28, 19.6% of the city's population is in poverty while 35.7% are millionaires. The Gini coefficient (a measure of income inequality) of Hong Kong rose 0.537 in 2011, the highest it has been since records began in 1971. Analysts say a score above 0.4 means a higher chance for social unrest (http://bloom.bg/1biP7yj). Low Government Ratings Currently, Hong Kong government ratings are also at an all time low. According to an index by HKU, poll ratings for Chief Executive Leung Chun-Ying have hit 62.2 on a scale of 0-200. Internet users have recently discovered that a paragraph from an article titled "Television Broadcasting in Hong Kong" from the Commerce and Economic Development Burearu, was quietly removed in September before the government failed to grant HKTV a license. It read: "The government carried out a comprehensive television policy review in 1998, and subsequently opened up the television market in 2000. There is no ceiling on the number of licenses to be granted, subject to physical or technological constraints." When asked about the deletion, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung said: "We will answer questions about free-television licences on some other occasion." World's Freest Economy Last month, the Fraser Institute published the Economic Freedom of the World 2013 Annual Report, saying Hong Kong was the world's #1 freest economy in terms of size of government, rule of law, securities, credit, labor market regulations, and hurdles doing business (http://bit.ly/1cAqHRv). Nevertheless, locals say that you can't spend a day in Hong Kong without spending money at one of the businesses run by Li Ka-Shing, Hong Kong's richest man (http://bbc.in/AbMSvc). Billionaires Richard Li and Peter Woo control PCCW and i-Cable respectively, spurring some protestors to think the government favors tycoons, potentially limiting opportunities for entrepreneurs such as Ricky Wong. Music by Kostas Antonakoglou, 'Another Eclipse' http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/320433/another-eclipse