Government has power and money but fight against epidemic is still a mess | Apple Daily HK
■林鄭月娥指聖誕節前將向立法會財委會申請撥款,推新一輪抗疫基金。
The fourth wave of the Wuhan epidemic continues to fester, with close to 100 confirmed cases every day. There is a sense of uncertainty as to when the epidemic will really ease. Precisely because of this, the government has not only been criticized by the general public but also by the pro-establishment camp and the Hong Kong version of the state media, both of the latter have always been obedient. Last week, a pro-establishment KOL pointed out that Carrie Lam’s government’s anti-epidemic policy was utterly out of touch with the plight of the people. Two days ago, the Hong Kong version of the state media even published an editorial severely criticizing the government for handling the epidemic with the mentality of “just doing a job” rather than “fighting a war” and without the determination to “zero out” the cases. In order to protect the authority of the chief executive as the number one person in the SAR, the Hong Kong edition of the state media certainly did not dare to criticize Carrie Lam by name. Nevertheless, to openly criticize the government for serious mistakes in major policies is already out of line, reflecting dissatisfaction that cannot be concealed.
To be honest, the criticisms from the state media and the pro-establishment KOL are afterthoughts. As early as the outbreaks of the previous waves of the epidemic, the anti-epidemic experts, pan-democratic legislators, the health care sector and the general public had already severely criticized the anti-epidemic and preventive measures of the Lam administration. The countermeasures are out of touch, out of focus, and lacking in efficiency. One of the key points is the failure to effectively seal the border to prevent the virus from entering the community through the port, thus making the epidemic persistent.
In the first wave of the epidemic, for example, it was clear that the virus had spread from Wuhan to other mainland provinces and cities and would follow the flow of people into Hong Kong. However, the SAR government was reluctant to close the border until there were many cases of failure before it changed its policy to restrict the entry of mainland residents. As a result, we lost the opportunity to prevent the virus from establishing itself in the community, making it difficult to clean up the damage. What is even more alarming is that the SAR government did not learn a lesson from the first wave of delayed border closure and underestimated the pervasive nature of the virus, so that the second wave broke out with the return of overseas students, the third wave was brought in by aircrews, and the fourth wave was brought in by Nepalese returnees. The epidemic is like an infinite rebirth that keeps tormenting Hong Kong people, and normal life becomes more and more distant.
In fact, all countries and regions that have succeeded in controlling the epidemic, such as New Zealand, Taiwan, Australia, and Singapore in the past month, have one thing in common, that is, they have strict and effective border control and will not easily allow the virus to re-emerge. The success of Taiwan is particularly obvious, and it can be said to be the forefront of success. However, the SAR government has always been unwilling and incompetent in intercepting the source of viruses from outside Hong Kong, and there have been many loopholes. Naturally, the city cannot escape the fate of the contagion zone and has begun to become the source of the virus to other places, including the Mainland.
The SAR government’s failure to contain the virus outside of the city is not only due to a sloppy attitude coupled with a lack of determination, but also because specific measures have always lagged behind the situation. Hong Kong people who have seen how Taiwan quarantines foreign visitors say that the whole process is meticulous and careful, strictly separating them from the community and fully traceable throughout. Not only does this provide peace of mind and comfort to the isolated travelers, but it also successfully keeps the virus out of the country. On the contrary, those who returned to Hong Kong from abroad had very poor quarantine experience with unclear instructions, no designated transportation or hotels, and no effective tracking capabilities. All of these are not the result of incompetent frontline staff, but of poor strategic planning and deployment of resources by high-level government officials. Carrie Lam and her government should be held fully accountable for the negligence.
In addition to the improper measures against the epidemic, the SAR government has also been so stubborn and out of touch, completely ignorant of the needs of the public and the business sector, when drafting contingency measures. Take the social distancing measures as an example, the restrictive measures introduced by the top government officials are either too lenient or too stringent, without carefully considering how to strike a balance between risk and impact, resulting in measures that are often costly and ineffective. Take the third wave of the epidemic during the summer vacation as an example, the government suddenly tightened the measures drastically and banned dine-in services at restaurants. As a result, a large number of people who still had to work were forced to eat outdoors in the rain and under the blazing heat. The pitifulness and the distress were really heartbreaking.
The fourth wave of the epidemic was initiated by imported cases then locally transmitted through dance groups. In general, restaurants were not the hardest hit areas. However, the government still took a slash and burn approach to all restaurants and tightened the dine-in hours, banning services after 6 p.m. It becomes very troublesome for the public, especially those working shifts, to solve the evening meal. In the recent cold weather, many people have to eat in open areas such as parks, and the unpleasant situation is not much better than in summer. In fact, the two people gathering restriction coupled with a dine-in restriction to 9 or 10 p.m. can significantly reduce the risk of social gathering and crowd gathering. Why does the government not consider opening up the dine-in services at night slightly to alleviate the difficulties of the public and the industry?
The epidemic has been haunting the people of Hong Kong for almost a year, but the Lam administration’s anti-epidemic policy has only continued to expand its power and use public funds recklessly with little success, while the public and enterprises have suffered a lot. Even the Hong Kong version of the state media finally saw such public discontent, is the Lam administration still indifferent?
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