HK Delegates Told Not to Come to Beijing

Tam was told Friday not to come to Beijing next week

To illustrate how paranoid Beijing is about Covid-19 coming into the Chinese capital, Hong Kong's only delegate to the National People's Congress Standing Committee Tam Yiu-chung has been strongly advised not to come following one untraceable Covid-19 case.

It is that of a 48-year-old cargo handler who was infected on October 8 and the source of the infection is still unknown.

Tam's chances of coming into contact with this person is so small and yet Beijing has told him not to bother coming on Monday for the session from Tuesday to Saturday.

A cargo handler was infected on October 8

Three other NPC delegates from Hong Kong won't be going either: Choy So-yuk, Nicholas Chan Hiu-fung, and Wong Kwan-yu.

"I got a notification from the country's epidemic control office informing me that I would not be allowed to attend the NPC Standing Committee meeting," Tam said in a video clip posted by his party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong. 

"Recently there was one unknown case in Hong Kong. The mainland attaches great attention to unknown cases," Tam said, adding that no Hong Kong-related items were on the agenda anyway.

Nevertheless, it signals Beijing is not ready to open its borders with the city anytime soon.

"Beijing's prevention and control measures are very stringent. When there are changes to the pandemic situation in Hong Kong, especially when there are cases with untraceable origins, they will be even stricter," Tam said.

Hui says Beijing concerned of untraceable cases

While Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was able to go to Guangzhou for the opening of the Canton Fair a few days ago, Beijing is even more stringent when it comes to Covid-19. 

Government pandemic adviser David Hui Shu-cheong says measures for meeting top officials is even stricter, as they are worried of untraceable infections coming in.

"I am not too optimistic about the progress of reopening the border between the two sides, given what has happened," Tam said.

Neither are we.

Carrie Lam Snubbed by Shenzhen?

The Canton Fair is the largest and oldest trade fair in China

Just days after her policy address highlighting the Northern Metropolis as a major infrastructure project to bring Hong Kong closer to the mainland and the Greater Bay Area, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was snubbed by Shenzhen officials today.

Earlier in the day she was in Guangzhou for the opening of the Canton Fair, the largest and oldest trade fair in China. She joined some 600 officials and business leaders from the mainland and overseas, with the event officiated by Premier Li Keqiang.

Premier Li Keqiang opened the Canton Fair

Lam met with Guangzhou Party Secretary Zhang Shoufu, city mayor Wen Guohui, and other local government officials, briefing them on her policy address.

Then later in the day she was supposed to meet with senior Shenzhen officials to brief them on the "Northern Metropolis" plan and how it would interface with Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area. 

However, in a press release issued on Thursday night, the Hong Kong government said: "After [Lam's] arrival in Guangzhou, [she] noted that the meeting with the Shenzhen leaders in Shenzhen originally scheduled for [Thursday] afternoon had to be cancelled. The governments of the two places will fix another date for the meeting."

Lam met with Guangzhou officials

The Shenzhen side pulled out citing unexpected commitments... though one wonders why the last minute change as Chinese officials like everything to go according to schedule...

Sadly Lam had to go home empty handed, leaving behind Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who will attend a forum tomorrow in Guangzhou.