Summoning property developers to help boost vaccination|Sheung Fei Yan
To avoid falling short of their quotas of vaccination, governments all over the world try by hook or crook to boost immunization. Hong Kong is no exception. Notwithstanding a property developer donating a residential apartment to a lucky draw, the chance of winning is as slender as 1:1,000,000 (up to May 30, 1.004 million Hong Kong people were jabbed twice). With such slim odds of winning, it is barely worth giving it a shot. Other rewards for having a vaccination are sheerly of little value and interest as compared with those given away in some states in America.
After the information of the chance of winning an apartment made public, the number of people inoculated per day has reached 42 thousand, a record high. As Hong Kong people are crazy about owning an apartment in their life, it is interesting to know how many of them did it for a residential unit. In comparison with the possible damage caused to a human body by vaccine, the 30% discount on food and drink, free air ticket and year-round free MTR rides are dispensable; though 1.5 million stocks given by financial institutions are innovative, there’s a question mark over whether they can be cashed in, as their turnovers are low; the 1% HKD time deposit preferential interest rate has simply become a laughingstock of the learned people.
Let’s look at what’s happening in the US. The government is pragmatic and has been rewarding the people with cash in a lot of states. Ohio has launched a “million-dollar vaccine lottery”, 10 lucky winners of which are awarded USD1.5 million. With no intention at all of spending cash or an apartment in boosting vaccination, the Hong Kong government, however, has only been applying pressure on the business sector. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the government had spent a lot of public money in handling the epidemic and the mass inoculation, so private institutions should be responsible for cash rewards and prizes.
To pull in Hong Kong people to get jabbed, giving out cash and apartments are the best choices. Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung stated outright that he is looking forward to the 2nd and 3rd apartment coming up. Actually, he should admonish the Chief Executive to take the initiative to donate public housing units to lottery; the obedient property developers should follow what India did, cooling down the property market by relieving property tax paid by the vaccinated, or even giving them 50% off on an apartment! With all the above-mentioned coupled with the government following the US to contribute HKD100 million to lottery, the vaccination rate will probably rocket up.
(Sheung Fei Yan, columnist)
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