weekly
Written by: Chen Kangqi
2020-02-15 09:34
Last updated: 2020-02-15 09:35The outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan caused by the new coronavirus has continued. Since the outbreak, many countries have chartered flights to evacuate the diaspora from Wuhan. However, the Hong Kong government has been indifferent to the plight of thousands of Hong Kong residents stranded in Hubei. Three days ago (12th), the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau finally confirmed that of the more than 2,000 Hong Kong people stranded in Hubei Province, 10 were confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus and are being treated at the local hospital. In the face of the growing epidemic, the people of Hubei and Hong Kong are isolated and helpless. In the end, why has the government not withdrawn their actions? The Administrator stated that picking up citizens from the affected area to return to Hong Kong is a high-risk arrangement, and the government must carefully evaluate public health risks and feasible solutions. In fact, for the sake of humanitarian relief, it is urgent to evacuate Hong Kong people. As the Government seeks an ideal place of isolation, Hong Kong people should also fight the epidemic with empathy.
With the development of the epidemic, many hospitals in Hubei Province are overwhelmed. Hong Kong residents stranded there can only "request for more blessings" and pray that they will not be infected with any disease. In addition to worrying about food shortages among these Hong Kong people, some of them with chronic illnesses urgently need medical assistance and medical staff to take care of them. What's more desperate is that they don't know when and how they can return to Hong Kong. Legislative Council Member Liang Meifen revealed earlier that airlines have been contacted to accept Hong Kong people. The aviation industry also pointed out that there is no technical problem in arranging charter flights to Hubei. CHP personnel can also be equipped with sufficient protective clothing randomly. Obviously, chartering is not a problem. The real difficulty facing the Hong Kong government now is to set up a sufficient isolation center to accommodate high-risk Hubei harbor residents and new local cases.
Many hospitals in Hubei Province are overwhelmed and refuse to accept the disease-Hong Kong people stranded in the local area can only "seek more for themselves" and pray that they will not contract any disease. (Profile picture)
People need to be empathetic
The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau stated earlier that the key to the removal of Hubei people is to find a quarantine site of sufficient capacity to ensure that Hong Kong people will not infect each other when they return to Hong Kong. Social support in this regard is very important. However, recent public sentiment reflects that Hong Kong people have not manifested the spirit of helping one another in the spread of the epidemic. The government has repeatedly sought suitable sites for isolation centers, but it has repeatedly encountered fierce opposition from various district councils. At first, the government requisitioned Fanling Huiming Village, which is only 500 meters away from residential buildings. The residents' dissatisfaction is understandable. But taking the Meifu Cuiya Mountain House as an example, although the epidemic prevention expert Yuan Guoyong stated that the isolation center on the mountain would not pose a threat to nearby residents, the Sham Shui Po District Council still ignored the scientific opinions and opposed the government's acquisition of the Cuya Mountain House. Recently, many district boards have also opposed the government's requisition of nearby areas as isolation centers. The mentality of "everyone sweeping the snow from their doors" is obvious.
In fact, during the SARS outbreak in 2003, the government had requisitioned Tianen Village in Tianshuiwei and Qiongxuan Court in Diamond Hill as temporary medical dormitories. It is inevitable to set up an isolation center during the anti-epidemic period. Citizens should return to rationality, trust expert opinions, and understand that isolation points at a safe distance will not increase the health risks of the community. At present, the three quarantine centres under the management of the LCSD have been saturated. If the government's work of setting up isolation points is repeatedly delayed, the date of the return of Hubei harbours to Hong Kong will not be far away, and local cases and medical care will only hinder the epidemic prevention work.
Although epidemic prevention expert Yuan Guoyong made it clear that the isolation center on the mountain would not pose a threat to nearby residents, the Sham Shui Po District Council still ignored scientific opinions and opposed the government's requisition of the Cui Ya Mountain House. (Profile picture / Photo by Yu Junliang)
In Hubei's "evacuation of overseas Chinese", it is inevitable that there will be opposition in society. Some people may think that the trapped people in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong are responsible for their own blame. However, the spread of the epidemic situation is difficult to predict. People stranded in Hong Kong did not learn about "blocking the province" beforehand, so they were unprepared. Among them, a 15-year-old Hong Kong teenager went to Hubei to visit his grandmother alone during the Lunar New Year, but failed to leave before the local "closed city". The situation is worrying. If this group of Hong Kong people are our friends and relatives, I believe we also They will not hold their own mentality, and leave them indifferent in the face of humanitarian disasters such as insufficient food and lack of medicines for chronic patients. Whether it is to set up an isolation center or to "evacuate overseas Chinese" from Hubei, Hong Kong people should respond with the mentality of fighting against the epidemic and "falling together"-we need to know that the enemy we face is the epidemic itself, not the one deeply affected. Harm to innocent citizens.
The government should increase the transparency of segregation center locations and show the public the locations of other segregation centers that have been reviewed. (Profile picture)
Governments should be open and transparent about transparency
Of course, effective government anti-epidemic measures are a major prerequisite for citizens to work together to fight the epidemic. Picking up Hong Kong people from Hubei and returning to Hong Kong is a high-risk operation. Citizens will inevitably have some concerns. If the government does not handle them carefully, it may lead to a large-scale social rebound. In addition to quoting expert scientific opinions to reassure the public, the government should also increase the transparency of the location of isolation centers and show the public the locations of other isolation centers that have been reviewed. Taking Shigang Military Camp and Penny's Bay Phase II near Disneyland as examples, they are all feasible isolation points that can easily receive social support. The government should continue to work hard to coordinate with relevant stakeholders and explain relevant work to the community. In the process, the government should make every effort to make the public understand that setting up a quarantine center near the residential area but in a safe isolation before the above-mentioned location is not successfully implemented is an alternative and urgent solution to the epidemic situation.
In addition, it is the basic responsibility of the government to actively communicate with the public when requisitioning places. Taking the case of Fo Tan Junyang Village as an example, the government has requisitioned the land before contacting the local community in a posture of "overlord bowing hard", and the residents of the area naturally feel disrespected. In fact, the government has encountered community opposition one after another in setting up a quarantine center. In the face of an unprecedented crisis of confidence, the authorities should be aware of the importance of managing public sentiment and actively communicating with residents. With the development of the epidemic, the government should reorganize its fanfare, carefully formulate comprehensive prevention decisions, and lead the public to fight the epidemic together.
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