Sharing economy

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Inkstone Explains unravels the ideas and context behind the headlines to help you understand news about China. They are fast, quiet, fashionable, and taking over the streets of America. The popularity of electric mopeds has spiked in major US cities in less than a year, driven largely by the popularity of moped sharing services.  Renters jump on mopeds for thrills (it can go up to 30 miles per hour) as well as convenience. The mopeds first caught on in Brooklyn, New York, where its small size and speed make for a convenient alternative to cars, bicycles, or walking. One company that is driving the moped popularity boom is a Chinese startup called NIU Technologies.

Safe to say, hoteliers in Hong Kong aren’t fans of the sharing economy. A leading hotel business group in the city has hit back at Airbnb, calling for harsh punishments to be levied on home-sharing hosts. The Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, which represents 90% of hotels in the city, has called on the government to come down harder on “illegal rentals” conducted through Airbnb. The group’s executive director Michael Li Hon-shing said that hoteliers had each invested tens of millions in their businesses, and it was unfair to have to compete with Airbnb hosts.   “How is it different from robbery?” Li said at a press conference on Tuesday. “You might as well go for communism.” Hong Kong