Although some officials and councillors who had attended Hong Weimin's birthday party, deputy to the Hong Kong People's Congress, had been allowed to leave the Penny's Bay Quarantine Center earlier, the Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, issued instructions on Sunday (9th) evening, ordering those who left the camp to leave the camp early. 11 government officials continued to use their holidays to self-isolate at home to reduce the risk of transmission. In disguise, there are still many senior officials who have not been able to return to work.
There is no need for the 16 Legislative Council members who have left the Penny's Bay Quarantine Center to theoretically attend the first meeting of the Legislative Council this Wednesday (12th), but Legislative Council Chairman Leung Kwan-yin strongly advised them to continue to take measures when meeting reporters on Monday (10th). Take appropriate measures, and try to stay at home and avoid going out until the final test is completed on the 22nd of this month, in order to cooperate with the government's epidemic prevention requirements.
Leung Kwan-yin also emphasized that the relevant approach is a personal decision of each member, but said that the decision will "test the member's own political wisdom".
Legislative Council Chairman Leung Kwan-yin still did not forget to strongly advise when meeting reporters on Monday (10th) that the relevant lawmakers should continue to take appropriate measures and try to stay at home and avoid going out until the final test on the 22nd of this month to show their cooperation with the government's epidemic prevention requirements. .
(Photo by Lu Yiming)
Epidemic prevention should be watertight to ensure survival
Whether Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ordered government officials to continue to stay at home for isolation, or the strong persuasion of Legislative Council Chairman Leung Kwan-yin, in fact, the practice is necessary and should not be taken lightly.
Ultimately, isolation and quarantine arrangements are designed to prevent the spread of the virus in the community, thereby safeguarding overall public health safety.
Even for many MPs, isolation may be a very long process, but the past few waves of epidemics were precisely caused by taking it lightly.
Since officials have also been ordered to stay at home and continue to observe and isolate, a member of the House of Representatives should not take it lightly, so as not to become a loophole in Hong Kong's epidemic prevention again.
Furthermore, Legislative Council members themselves should be held to a higher standard than ordinary citizens.
As the President of the Legislative Council, Mr Leung Kwan-yin, said, the public's demands on members are often higher than the front line.
Even according to the current epidemic prevention regulations, not every party attendee needs to go through a long quarantine period, but in fact it is still better to follow the strictest standards.
Not only will this show the legislature's support for the government, it's the safest thing to do.
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What's more, the Legislative Council is an important part of Hong Kong's constitution and is responsible for the deliberation and approval of all bills. Therefore, a tight-knit epidemic prevention policy is even more necessary.
If there is a Legislative Council member who is unfortunately infected with the virus and is in the incubation period, but shows up in the Chamber because he did not continue to isolate himself, the entire Legislative Council may need to be sent to quarantine and quarantine, thus hindering the legislative work of the SAR Government. The result can be said to be Incredible.
This shows that Members need to consider the overall situation and must not make purely personal decisions.
One thing is long and one is wise
The party incident involved many "newcomers" to the council. It is undeniable that many members are looking forward to attending the first meeting.
Moreover, both the central government and the society are all looking forward to a new look in the new parliament.
Not being able to hold meetings together inevitably calls into question the awareness of some members of the epidemic prevention, and they may also be eager to expose themselves to gain performance.
But even so, the Hong Kong society should not pay a greater price because of small losses.
The term of the Legislative Council is as long as four years, which involves a large number of policy agendas that the society and the central government are concerned about. Epidemic prevention is only the first test for lawmakers.
After this incident, a member of the House of Representatives should act more cautiously, especially when making decisions, taking all risks and costs to society into consideration.
If reflection during home quarantine can help lawmakers better cultivate political wisdom, it may actually be even more rewarding.
Yan people must be strict with themselves in order to fight the epidemic. Legislative council members "get out of the gate" and teach a heavy lesson. Only by facing up to the problem can we solve the problem.
