Friday, November 4, 2022

Hong Kong is neither back nor back to normal :(

  
The sun's struggling to cut through the gloom
that Hong Kong has been under for much of this week
 
For some months now, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee has been trying to "tell the world the good stories of Hong Kong".  And this was the week which was supposed to show the world that "Hong Kong is back".  But from what I can see, things haven't been quite going to plan, for multiple reasons -- some of which the authorities couldn't have controlled, others of which they could have but opted not to.
 
 
It didn't help matters that Hong Kong's government bent or just dispensed outright with a number of Covid (including "social distancing") regulations for the attendees -- something which got many people thinking of the famous quote in George Orwell's Animal Farm that "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".  As a New York Times piece noted: "Bankers in town for the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit were told they could skip mandatory quarantine and leave on a private jet if they tested positive for Covid."  And the attendees were pictured maskless at the conference and weren't required to use the Leave Home Safe trac(k)ing app that Hong Kongers have had to use for months now.     
 
 
For a time, it also looked like Hong Kong finance secretary Paul Chan would not be in attendance at the finance summit, thanks to his having contracted Covid on a visit to Saudi Arabia last week.  But instead of being restricted to appearing via Zoom (like was the case for the Fintech financial technology conference which also took place earlier this week -- which attracted just around a little more than half the 20,000 attendees that its organizers had expected), he somehow got adjudged to be okay to attend the finance summit and be maskless for at least part of the time at it!  
 
Something else quite miraculous/against the norm: the finance summit going ahead despite the T8 signal being hoisted as Severe Tropical Storm Nagae came near the city on Wednesday.  (In contrast: M+, which I was planning to visit again, closed -- along with all of the city's other museums and art galleries along with schools, many businesses and such like!)  
 
 
And now, today, we have attention turning to another one of those marque events that the Hong Kong government hopes will show that "Hong Kong is back": the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens.  Only, well... take a look at the pictures showing sparse crowds and large warning signs (with regards to such as masks being required when you're not eating or drinking), and the reports of people who couldn't get into the stadium because they don't have a "green" vaccine code and you tell me if Hong Kong is really back to normal.  Oh, and umbrellas are banned from Hong Kong Stadium, the venue of the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, too!  
 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi There,

I guess this is one of the hazards of getting old, which we can do very little about it.

T

YTSL said...

Hi T --

I'm wondering: did you mean to leave this comment on my blog post about friends dying and/or having ill health? ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi There,

Ah, yes. It was supposed for your 8th Nov piece. See, it still demonstrates the hazards of getting old as one's forgefulness or clumsiness may just kicks in at anytime.

T

YTSL said...

Hi T --

Thanks for the confirmation. Also, good to know that "Anonymous" was, in fact, you! :)