Today (9th) afternoon, the government suddenly issued a message to the public through the emergency alert system, saying that Queen Elizabeth Hospital has changed its use, and non-COVID-19 patients should not go there.
Because the warning sound was similar to "air raid siren" and sounded for a long time, the market was full of curiosity and even panic.
Several members of the Legislative Council expressed doubts about the government's relevant practices, believing that the scale of the warning is not proportional to the importance of the news.
Legislative Council member Fok Kai-gang believes that the government's emergency alert system should only be used in very emergency situations, otherwise it will cause adverse effects and reduce the vigilance of the public.
Originated from the development cost of 150 million yuan after the mangosteen typhoon
At about 6 pm today, a large number of Hong Kong citizens' smartphones suddenly made a rapid and continuous alert sound, or there were several long-term vibrations. The situation was quite sudden, and the sound was very harsh. .
According to the government website, the emergency alert system was activated on November 26, 2020. Mobile devices that have activated the function of receiving emergency alert system messages will emit a warning sound and vibration for about 10 seconds to remind users to receive emergency alert system messages. A notification will also pop up on the screen.
The Emergency Alert System message has two alert levels, "Extremely Urgent Alert" and "Urgent Alert".
Government bureaux or departments that issue emergency alert system messages will assign alert levels to the messages according to the urgency or severity of the situation.
The government cost about 150 million yuan to develop the system.
Ge Peifan, a member of the Legislative Council of the DAB, explained that the system originated after the Mangkhut typhoon in 2018. Members generally reported that the government lacked an emergency warning system to notify the public of major natural and man-made disasters. Therefore, the Office of the Communications Authority spent 150 million yuan to develop it. It was put into operation last year, and this is the first time it has been used.
▼On March 9, Queen Elizabeth Hospital transferred non-COVID-19 patients in the hospital▼
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Fok Qigang: Don't issue an alarm in case of "wolf coming"
But the controversy falls on "is it necessary".
A closer look shows that the content of the message (the change of use of the Iraqi Institute) has actually been announced by the government earlier, and the scope of its influence has not yet extended to the whole of Hong Kong. The content of the questioned content is not proportional to its scale.
In fact, many critics on the Internet questioned the necessity of issuing this warning. Some netizens said, "All the people in the car are ringing at the same time. I don't know if they thought it was an earthquake." Describes how to turn off related notifications.
Huang Jielong, chairman and chief executive of Xufulou, satirized on the social network: "Although the head has a heart attack, there is no reason to worry about it (warning function), in case it really informs me that the last 300 people who have been selected can go there. Fangcai escapes doomsday counting." He added a label containing foul language: "#I think the head first really means that the whole of Hong Kong will be separated from each other and then X together."
Fok Kaigang, a member of the Legislative Council, wrote on the social network: "Actually, everyone will see a warning sign issued by the Jing Department. It's really not washing and burying the alarm sound. The elderly and children are really scared, and there will be an accident! The government! Don't you think about using this function next time in a very, very urgent situation! (It's better not to use it at all)" He added the tags "#真炋橋 scared to death", "#Heartload is less but not at all. have to".
In response to the reporter's inquiry, Fok Qigang said: "The emergency warning system should only be used in very urgent situations. If the government just wants to remind the public that a hospital has been converted into a designated hospital, a text message with a warning sign is sufficient. This sudden alert The sound frightens many citizens, especially the elderly and children. In the past, I have received an alarm notification due to a local earthquake when I traveled abroad, but of course I understand the matter involving personal safety. I hope that the government will make good use of the emergency warning system. Grading is not a matter of triviality, so as not to cause the adverse effect of 'the wolf is coming' and reduce the alertness of citizens to the government's warning."
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Rong Haen: A friend thought the atomic bomb exploded
Rong Haien, a member of the Legislative Council of the New Democracy Party, pointed out that when he was using his mobile phone at home, he suddenly heard a "strange noise" and saw the English words with "emergency warning" pop up. How about accepting new crown patients?” Personally, I feel that the content of the alert is not proportional to the scale of the alert. Citizens will expect that such emergency alerts will release more influential and updated information, and believe that information such as “hospital repurposing” will be sent to SMS via SMS. The public is enough: "A friend jokes with me and thinks it's an atomic bomb."
However, she pointed out that perhaps the original intention of the government this time is to test the effectiveness of the warning system. I believe that the government will not abuse this system in the future, and will only issue notifications when there is an emergency.
Ge Peifan: Citizens are shocked and should indicate in advance this morning that they may use
Ge Peifan believes that in principle, it is good to have such a warning system, and it should be used if necessary, without worrying about the effect of "the wolf is coming", but in practice "it may scare a lot of citizens, and it is usually useless. Citizens who open QE (Queen Elizabeth Hospital) may feel that it is urgent not to go there.” She believes that at the press conference on the epidemic this morning, the government can indicate in advance that it may use this system to release important epidemic information, so that the Citizens are mentally prepared.
COVID-19 | The Hong Kong government issues an emergency warning to a large number of citizens who are shaking their mobile phones. The system has been in existence for 2 years. The emergency warning system has been in existence for 2 years. Netizens’ mobile phones are beeping to frighten their relatives: I think the air raid and earthquake epidemic is the latest | The Hong Kong government issued the first emergency warning to call on ordinary citizens not to go to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The 150 million yuan emergency warning system of the Office of Communications has never been activated. IT experts call for unified release of epidemic prevention information
