Xi Wants "Patriots Ruling Hong Kong"

Xi Jinping listens to Carrie Lam give her work report today

 

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-gnor gave a virtual work report to her boss, Presideng Xi Jinping today. 

He said he was concerned about the pandemic situation in the city and praised Lam for her efforts, the latest of which have involved "ambush" lockdowns, though Xi was not as pleased as he was with the other Chief Executive, Macau's Ho Iat-seng.

Xi praised Ho's handling of pandemic in Macau

"In the face of the sudden pandemic, you responded quickly, adopted stringent measures and brought it under control within a short period of time," he told Ho, noting Macau had gone more than 300 consecutive days without a local infection.

Meanwhile today Hong Kong reported 60 new cases, and last night's sudden lockdown in Yau Ma Tei tested some 300 people, yielding only one positive case.

But Xi seemed to be more concerned about Hong Kong's stability and hinted at some possible new measures.

"Hong Kong's significant change from chaos to peace again showed an important rule: We must insist on 'patriots governing Hong Kong', so as to ensure the stable and long-term implementation of 'one country, two systems'," he said, indirectly referring to the anti-government protests in 2019.

Tam says HK had to implement Xi's ideas

Xi said having "patriots ruling Hong Kong" is a "fundamental principle" that affects national sovereignty and security, and that it would also allow "various deep-seated problems" to be effectively resolved and result in greater stability.

Soon after the work report was over, Hong Kong's only delegate to the National People's Congress Standing Committee Tam Yiu-chung, said Xi only set out general principles and it was the task of local and central governments to decide how to implement them.

Political commentator Chung Kim-wah, said Xi's remarks shouldn't be surprising given that it is clear Beijing wants complete control over next year's Chief Executive election, and Hong Kong's situation in general.

But he didn't think Beijing would go so far as to have almost 400 pro-democracy district councillors dismissed from office.

"I don't think they would disqualify all DC members, because that would be too far-reaching and would arouse a lot of condemnation or criticism by the international community," Chung said.

Chung says Beijing wants more control of HK

"But they are trying to kick some people out to ensure that the Election Committee for the election of the CE in the coming year will be fully under control."

The government is currently looking into forcing councillors to take an oath of office to the SAR that could possibly be used as a way to expel them.

It is quite clear what Xi is expecting, and now Lam and her administration will have to do political gymnastics to somehow only have "patriots ruling Hong Kong".

However knowing Lam, she will do whatever it takes to win that praise at the expense of existing election laws in choosing Hong Kong's next leader...

One Virus, Two Different Leaders

Ho Iat Seng announced today all casinos will be shut for two weeks

This morning Hong Kong recorded its first death from the coronavirus, a 39-year-old man who had suffered from sudden heart failure. Now there are two deaths outside of China, over 20,000 confirmed cases, 427 dead and interestingly 664 have recovered.

However over 20,000 cases is a lot, and health experts are expecting even more cases in the coming days, as people return from their extended Chinese New Year holidays. It's going to be a long, tough slog for all of us.

Carrie Lam still refuses to close all borders and wear a mask!

Yesterday Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced that no one would be able to cross the border check point at the Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal, and then today her Macanese counterpart Ho Iat Seng declared at a press conference this afternoon that all 41 casinos would be shut down for two weeks.

He didn't say when this drastic action would start, but it was prompted by the case of a casino worker who fell ill with the coronavirus during the Chinese New Year holiday. Ho also shut the border between Macau and China.

Us Hongkongers have been impressed by his decisive leadership,  while Lam is still being pressured by striking healthcare workers to close the remaining borders with the motherland to prevent the fast spread of the virus.

And what is with her not wearing a mask at the press conference yesterday and today, claiming she ordered her ministers and staff not to wear them and give them to frontline healthcare staff instead?

Red and white ferries are docked in Shun Tak ferry terminal

The Hong Kong government surely has a steady supply now that prisoners are working around the clock to make these masks? Or does Lam want to show she is sacrificing her health for the cause? Either way it got no sympathy -- only confusion as infectious disease experts like Ho Pak-leung have strongly advised Hongkongers to wear a mask in public.

Her actions continue to confound...

This evening I walked to Shun Tak ferry terminal in Sheung Wan, where the ferries that would have carried people to Macau and back were all docked. In the last few days the ferries have been pretty empty anyway; from a distance I could see only a handful of people on each boat passing by the waterfront.

Upstairs the mall it was pretty dead, like Pacific Place and IFC, and it was only before 8pm. The McDonald's outlet only had one person eating there, though Maxim's next door had a few more customers.

The McDonald's outlet is practically empty at dinnertime

It's hard to see how businesses can be sustained here with the border shut down indefinitely.

All shops and restaurants are now basically depending on locals, but after eight months of protests and now this coronavirus have completely turned us off from wanting to dine out let alone shop.

Hong Kong has to seriously re-think how its economy is run and what kind of city it wants to be, what kind of talent it wants to attract, and who it wants to live here.

Sounds existential, but now is the time to really think hard about pressing the reset button on the city and consider what it wants its future to be. The current model we have been running on for over a century is not working.

In the meantime, though there is one good thing about this mess -- with significantly fewer boats passing through Victoria Harbour in the next few weeks and months, surely it will be a fantastic opportunity for the water quality to improve and the quality of life for the sea creatures that live below?