Unfortunately, there are going to be some more changes around here. Our founder explains why.

The coming end of Webb-site
12 February 2025

Dear Readers,

When I disclosed my metastatic prostate cancer in Jun-2020, I didn’t
expect to live as long as I now have – the

5-year survival (which I am now approaching) is about 30%. However, after exhausting 4 lines of therapy and
resorting to experimental treatments that are only available overseas, I have now reached the point where outcomes are
measured in months rather than years and my symptoms and side-effects are making it harder to function. I hope to reach
60 in August and all I want for my birthday is another one, but before I become more dysfunctional, I need to make plans
for the orderly conclusion of this pro bono, loss-making work rather than leave managing it as a burden for my family.
One of the few benefits of knowing that you’re dying is being able to plan the end on your own terms.

The Webb-site Database has grown over the years to include an enormous amount of material.
Much of it is collected by automated methods – I kept up my coding skills from the 1980s when I wrote books and games
for the first generation of home computers. But even in the dawning era of artificial intelligence, there are some
datasets which (so far) can only be accurately maintained by human judgment, for example, carefully parsing corporate
announcements to determine which individual has been appointed to a board, as many individuals share the same name and
no ID numbers are disclosed. Similarly, we track the membership of over 800 HK statutory
and advisory bodies – everything from the Executive and Legislative Councils down to
the Dogs and Cats Classification Board.

So a loyal assistant whom I have employed for 22 years has been maintaining anything that I can’t automate. All-in,
I’ve spent over HK$10m since 2003 building and operating the database, not counting the considerable opportunity cost of
my own time. I know that the database has been useful to journalists, regulators, researchers and of course investors,
as they have often told me so.

A lot has happened since my cancer diagnosis, which c