Still worrying about the Wuhan coronavirus, the Hong Kong police, and Hong Kong's overall future

 

 Cinemas have re-opened in Hong Kong, but with social distancing 

and other anti-Wuhan coronavirus measures in place

 

The "X"s mark the spots where no customers 

are to be seated in this ramen restaurant!

 
There was (more) bad news for Hong Kong yesterday -- this time also on the Wuhan coronavirus front. After going for 23 consecutive days without a local transmission, a 66-year-old woman and her five-year-old daughter -- neither of whom have been out of Hong Kong in recent months -- tested positive for the coronavirus.  And after a respiratory expert said that the city can expect to continue to see sporadic coronavirus cases for a time, Hong Kong reported another new case today: with the husband of the 66-year-old woman turning out to have been infected too.

Even while people here get to worrying some more about the Wuhan coronavirus though, it really needs to be borne in mind that Hong Kong's total number of reported infected cases (1,041 to date) and fatalities (four since the pandemic began) is really low compared to those of much of the rest of the world.  Consequently, the way Hong Kong has been handling things have been seen as exemplary; with much credit being due to the community and also those medical experts advising the government (like Dr. Yuen Kwok-yung and Dr Ho Pak-leung) who are veterans of SARS.   

Although the Hong Kong government (particularly Carrie Lam) were initially found lacking in their response to the threat of the Wuhan coronavirus, they appear to have upped their game in recent months; this particularly after apolitical bodies like the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) were allowed to not only go about doing their job but take the lead.  Journalist Laurel Chor's account of her first few hours after flying back into Hong Kong today from France gives a good sense of how fine a job they are doing and should help ease the minds of Hong Kongers fearful of new waves of infections coming from outside the territory.

If only other government bodies could engender as much respect and trust.  I am thinking specifically, of course, of the Hong Kong police -- whose already tarnished reputation and record has been added to in the recent 48 hours by: an officer being charged over the theft of HK$56,000 from a wallet stolen at the airport; human rights group, Civil Rights Observer, accusing the police of systematically torturing arrested protestors; and the police continuing with their pepper spraying and other bully boy tactics designed to terrorize protestors last night.  Also extremely disturbing are the attempts by the police to discredit -- and even arrest -- a young woman who has spoken about having been gang raped in a police station last September.  

Speaking of arrests: after he was essentially assaulted as well as arrested by the police last Sunday, legislative councillor Roy Kwong refused bail and was released unconditionally -- undoubtedly because there was no evidence against him.  After his release (from hospital as well as by the police), the popular lawmaker issued a statement that: "No matter how much pressure we face, it's our responsibility as elected legislators to stand on the frontline and protect Hong Kong people."

If only courage were enough to protect Hong Kong people and Hong Kong.  As it turned out though, he and the other pro-democrats in the Legislative Council were unable today to prevent the voting down of all 52 amendments tabled by their camp, including one seeking to deny the HK$25.8 billion funding for the police.

Truly, there are days when I worry that Hong Kong is lost and that maybe those people wanting to leave really do have good reason to think the way they do.  On the other hand, as a recent article ominously entitled Shanghai's Past, Hong Kong's Future puts it: "Maybe now it’s less a matter of when to go than where to head. Leaving only makes sense if there is somewhere to go (setting aside for the moment the restrictions on travel of any kind brought on by the global pandemic)."

And here's how it concludes: "The lack of options adds to the sense of a last stand, which many protesters in Hong Kong now have. This is one of the reasons they keep taking to the streets. They do so in a city where banners boosting the metropolis as “Asia’s World City” are sometimes hidden, not by harbor haze or Hong Kong’s trademark typhoon rains, but by tear gas."