Typhoon and misgovernment alerts in Hong Kong!

 

Getting ready for a typhoon's visit today

 

After a severe typhoon hit Hong Kong 

(the last time back in September 2018)

 

The Hong Kong Observatory raised the alert regarding Typhoon Higos coming near Hong Kong today -- and over the course of the day, typhoon signal numbers 1, 3 and 8 have been raised; the last -- and highest -- at 10.40pm.  If I'm not mistaken, this is the first visit by a typhoon in the vicinity of Hong Kong of the year -- and like Tropical Storm Wipha last year, raising the T8 signal for it feels akin to a storm in a teacup since, thus far at least, Higos hasn't brought that much rain (including compared to this day last year), wind and damage!

 

Maybe I've become blasé after having experienced the really severe typhoon that was Mangkhut back in 2018.  But I can't help but wonder whether the decision to raise the T8 signal with this (as with Wipha) is as much an excuse to further get Hong Kongers to stay home.  And if the principles of Li Ka-shing's field apply once more and the typhoon's severity is downgraded in time for people to head to the office tomorrow, I will not chalk it down to coincidence and/or good fortune once again that this is so!

 

By a similar token, many of us can't help but suspect that Hong Kong's social distancing measures for the Wuhan coronavirus will only be relaxed after September 6th (the original scheduled date for the now postponed Legislative Council elections) or even as late as October 1st (so that there will not be another mega protest that day); and this despite Hong Kong reporting 44 new Wuhan coronavirus cases yesterday and 36 today -- making it two weeks now since our new daily case numbers started climbing down from their triple digit third wave peak. 

 

That this most infectious and most deadly of the waves of the pandemic to hit Hong Kong to date stemmed from some of the over 200,000 individuals that the Hong Kong government exempted from testing and quarantining is hard to deny anymore. As a reminder: the 33 categories of exempted persons included seamen and aircrew but also selected business executives from major listed companies and government personnel from Mainland China.  Another reminder: among that last group are the 60 medical "technicians" here to take part in a planned mass testing of the local populace which local medical experts have deemed unnecessary, unhelpful and a big waste of money -- and many Hong Kongers view with suspicion as a scheme to collect our DNA (a la the Uighurs in Xinjiang).

The powers that be are expecting some four to five million Hong Kongers to take part in this (thus far) officially voluntary testing scheme. I wouldn't be surprised though if that number ends up being far lower -- in which case the disparity between government estimates and actual reality will show once again how big is the disconnect between "the gormless government under the leadership of the toxic Carrie Lam" and the people. 

Speaking of Hong Kong's worst Chief Executive ever: today happens to be the 40th anniversary of her time in government.  And if it wasn't bad enough that yesterday saw the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) release the results of its latest survey which showed that she has a jaw-droppingly bad -54 percent net rating but this career civil servant chose today to defend a new civil service guideline to dismiss newly recruited civil servants if they get arrested and charged for taking part in protests and illegal activities.

What happened to the common law presumption of "innocent until proven guilty"?  Some would say it fell by the wayside after the coming into effect of the national security law in Hong Kong less than two months ago.  But, in truth, a good many of those who are supposed to uphold the law ceased to be trusted to do so years ago. :(