Not opposed to all of the Hong Kong government's latest measures but still disapproving of the Hong Kong police

Something I'll still be able to do in Hong Kong next week

(unless things change dramatically for the worse in the next few days)

Filming a movie that I wonder whether I'll ever see 

and, also, if I'll be able to do so in a cinema

 

Hong Kong's record for most confirmed cases of the Wuhan coronavirus in a day again today with 65 new patients being announced; bringing the total detected infections in the territory to 518.  On a day when the world's total number of confirmed cases has hit 558,357 and total number of recorded deaths has gone up to 25,262 (according to the worldometer's live count at the time of writing), that actually doesn't generally sound like all that much any more.  But in the Big Lychee itself, it was enough to get the authorities feeling entirely justified in introducing a number of tougher measures to try to combat this highly infectious and deadly disease. 

After earning much derision from many quarters and prompting objection from even her usual allies, Carrie Lam actually back-tracked on her proposed banning of alcohol in bars and restaurants.  Amazingly, the measures she has gone ahead and introduced instead generally seem pretty sound and valid.  For example, capping seating at restaurants to a maximum of four makes sense to this person who has opted against eating out with more than two other friends at a time for a number of weeks now.  And even while I do worry that the ban of gatherings of more than four people at a time could be used against pro-democracy protestors, it still is double the amount of people currently allowed to gather by the likes of Germany and Britain.

Actually, about the only measure announced today that I really disagree with is the announced closure of cinemas for at least two weeks beginning tomorrow evening.  This is not least because I feel that Hong Kong's cinema operators really have done a lot to make their theaters a Wuhan coronavirus safe zone; and, also, because movie viewing -- unlike eating and drinking -- is something that can be done with one's mask on.  So, really, what I would have ordered instead is that food and drinks not be allowed into movie theaters as well as require mask-wearing throughout a screening.

While we're on the subject of mask-wearing: A measure not (yet) implemented by the Hong Kong authorities that I think would be warranted involves requiring masks to be worn on public transportation.  And for those who think this is extreme: consider that the Czech Republic has now made mask-wearing mandatory in public!  (So yes, it's indeed possible for non-Asians to come to the conclusion that masks are an effective weapon against the Wuhan coronavirus!)

 

In view of how the masks (where to wear them or not) divide in Hong Kong is commonly perceived to be that between people of (East) Asian heritage and those who are not, it seems particularly strange that a Hong Kong police officer refused to wear a mask while being attended to by two medical staffers at a Hong Kong hospital.  After testing positive for the Wuhan coronavirus, the policewoman -- who had earlier been identified as being among the cluster of infected bar attendees -- has now caused the two medical staffers to have to be quarantined at the very least (and could be responsible for having caused them to be infected, and worse).  

 

At the same news conference where the tougher measures against the Wuhan coronavirus were announced today, Security Secretary John Lee took the rare step of criticizing a police officer for her actions and the Hong Kong Police Force later followed up with an apology on Facebook.  I am sure though that no apologies will be forthcoming with regards to such as the arrest of the pro-democracy chairwoman of the Central and Western District Council, using a colonial-era "sedition" statute not used since 1952, in the dead of night.  Her "crime"?  Allegedly posting on Facebook the details of a policeman alleged to have shot and blinded the eye of Indonesian journalist Veby Indah while she was covering the pro-democracy protests last September in a bid to identify the shooter.    

 

More than by the way, Cheng Lai-king was the 15th pro-democracy district councillor arrested since the November 24th District Council elections which swept so many of these pro-democracy representatives to power and emphatically stated what Hong Kong people wanted.  And as a recent poll shows: Support for Hong Kong's protestor demands remain strong, and has even risen, even as the Wuhan coronavirus has put a damper to rallies (and now also gatherings).  In short: we still don't approve of the Hong Kong government, most emphatically think the police are not the good guys and gals, and still are making -- at the minimum -- five demands, not one less!