Plenty of masks to choose from and buy
in Hong Kong these days!
And yes, some people have taken to wearing
more than one mask at one time! :O
This time last week, the big news in Hong Kong concerned 25 activists having been informed by the police that they'd be charged for taking part in the candlelight vigil at Victoria Park this past June 4th. Also that day, the Hong Kong government talked about introducing a voluntary coronavirus testing scheme which, right from the start, many of us suspected had political rather than health motives behind it; this not least since it seemed based on faulty logic if we were really looking at the medical benefits of doing so.
Especially with Hong Kong's third coronavirus wave looking to have peaked -- touch wood! -- with the territory's daily new case numbers now looking to have settled down to double digit numbers again (like today's 48; down from the high of 149 recorded on July 30th), there would appear even less need now for the mooted mass testing of the populace. However, I reckon that the chances of the government doing a u-turn about this -- the way it did with the all-day dining ban (after belatedly realizing that many people actually could not work from home) -- are super slim.
In addition, it's looking quite likely that pressure will be put on people to take the "voluntary" tests; this especially after the authorities would get further egg on their face if health secretary Sophia Chan's stated estimate that between four to five million Hong Kong residents will take these tests which the government is paying for out of its coffers ends up being way off. One way suggested to encourage (or, rather, coerce) people into taking the tests: requiring people to produce proof that they’re free of the coronavirus (by way of negative test results) before they’re allowed access to public places like malls, restaurants, or even public transport; something which comes across as a version of Mainland China's "social credit system" designed them to restrict the liberties of people the state considers to problem subjects!
Surely a better Wuhan coronavirus prevention measure is to further tighten entry into Hong Kong (or administer tests on more of those who are allowed to enter and/or pass through the territory)? Instead, a good number of people from Mainland China are still being let in to Hong Kong minus quarantining and/or testing: be they CCP officials, medical personnel here to help administer that planned mass testing or passengers allowed to transit through Hong Kong International Airport starting from Saturday (i.e., tomorrow)! And should it not be clear: Hong Kong medical experts do not unanimously approve of this -- or, for that matter, the mooted scheme to "reward" those who test negative after they elect to take coronavirus tests.
You'd think that a government with a low trust score would try to avoid making the public more suspicious of them than they already tend to be. But, alas, there are just too many things happening which makes Hong Kongers think that things really are not like they should be. Take for example the incident tonight involving democratic legislative councillor Ted Hui which saw him assaulted by the police after he stopped a car that he said had been following him for some days. The police claimed that the car contained journalists whose movements should not be impeded. But when was the last time the Hong Kong police treated journalists with such respect? Which is why the suspicion is that the people tailing Ted Hui were from the national security bureau (who operate outside the laws of Hong Kong).
Speaking of that national security bureau: Speculation has been mounting about their having commandeered another hotel for their use in addition to the branch of the Metropark over in Tai Hang. In recent days, area residents living in the vicinity of the City Garden Hotel have reported seeing suspicious alterations to it and way more police in the largely residential area than should be the case.
Suffice to say that they would not be happy campers if the secret police were to set up shop there -- be it in addition to the already established place over in Tai Hang or as the actual permanent location (since it was said that the Tai Hang Metropark would only be temporary housing for this still just less than one and a half month old office). And my sympathies would be very much with them since I used to live in that area not so long ago!
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