How to Exit Hong Kong

Some pointers to make it easier to leave Hong Kong these days

Here's a quick rundown on how to exit Hong Kong...

Pay your tax before you leave

Come here to do all your tax paperwork

When you resign from your workplace, be sure to get a letter from the HR department about your termination of employment due to departing Hong Kong, along with the requisite IR56G, the notification form from your employer to inform the Inland Revenue Department that you will depart from Hong Kong.

Do not leave this to the last minute before you leave. Take these two pieces of paper and your HKID to the 1/F of  Inland Revenue and it's best to go before it opens at 9am. You will get a ticket and when your number is called, tell the person at the counter you are leaving and show them these letters from your company.

They will tell you to go to the 26/F, where again you queue up and get the requisite green tax form to fill out (hence the IR56G form is handy). Be sure to bring any receipts that you may have made for charitable donations to declare in this form as well.

Hand in the green form and the person may tell you come back in the afternoon.

You will need to fill out this green tax form

At that time they will give your tax bill, which you pay by going back down to Hong Kong Post on the 1/F. There will be several people in front of you with the same white piece of paper with red ink. You cannot pay by credit, only cash or debit.

When this is processed, go back up to the 7/F to get your release letter. This is important to have in order to apply to withdraw your mandatory provident fund (MPF) if you are a foreign passport holder.

All the above can be completed in one day.

Withdraw MPF

You need to say an oath that is witnessed by the Home Affairs office before you can apply to withdraw your MPF, along with the release letter.

Because of the fifth wave, this oath could only be done by appointment only. Best to go to your closest Home Affairs office and get the phone number to make the appointment -- no walk-ins allowed. It's a very antiquated way of doing this, as you cannot book online. Just press redial on your phone 30, 40 times until you get through. 

In my case the oath service was only available Monday, Wednesday and Friday at select times. You might be lucky and get the next day booking or next week. They will ask for your name and contact phone number.

On the appointed day arrive a few minutes early (there will be a queue). A person will check each person against their appointment list (hence no walk-ins allowed). Your request is processed and then an appointed person will witness you reading out a statement in English or Chinese. It is a basically a run-on sentence in legalese saying that you abide by the Oath and Declarations Ordinance, that everything you have declared in your forms are true. While I was waiting for my turn, I was given the Oath and Declarations Ordinance to read...

Oath office is around the corner on O'Brien Road

Once you have read out the oath, the witness will sign and stamp a chop on a letter saying you have completed the oath. Send this original copy to the MPF provider along with the application to withdraw your MPF from either your provider or the MPF website. 

It will ask for information about where you are moving to, your contact details and which bank account the money should be sent to.

Your MPF provider may contact you for further information; in my case it was my tax number in the country I will reside in, and I filled that in online. 

From there it should take about a month for it to be processed.

Others have told me they received two tax refund cheques from Inland Revenue.

Packing up

Purging can be a tough exercise, but when it comes down to it, try to be as ruthless as possible. Give away as much as you can to friends and family, or to charities that could use clothing, stationary, tableware, kitchenware, and so on. 

Mail as much as you can ahead of time

If you don't have any furniture, best to send back things via Hong Kong Post via ship as the cheapest option. Either find a sturdy cardboard box or use the ones sold at the post office and make sure they are secured well with packing tape. 

When you fill out the form, you will need to itemise everything in the box and put a total value on them, so best to make a list as you pack the box -- once it's sealed it's hard to remember what exactly what was in there! Around 10kg is over HK$600 which will arrive in about three months' time. So best to ship off what you don't need first.

Before I left, SpeedPost was available -- packages under 2kg could be sent in two weeks. To make sure I was under 2kg, I brought the unsealed box to weigh it before using the packing tape. The staff don't mind you weighing the box as long as they aren't busy, hence going in the morning is a good time.

You cannot mail any electronics, liquid like perfume, but something like hand cream is OK. Obviously no batteries, lighters or hand sanitiser (anything with alcohol in it). Here's the list.

Miscellaneous

If you are renting, be sure to inform providers for electricity, gas, water, etc that you are leaving and to pay up the bills. They will return the deposits to you via cheque. Same goes for settling mobile phone and internet, gym memberships and so on.

Most people will keep their bank accounts active to either receive the MPF withdrawal or to keep paying mobile phone fees while abroad to retain their Hong Kong numbers. I have heard it is harder to open bank accounts in Hong Kong now, so if you can keep a basic one open, that could be handy.

Try to complete your "bucket list" if you have one. In my case because of the social-distancing measures during the pandemic, and time was ticking fast, I was just happy to see whoever wanted to meet up. 

Departure

Check once, twice, three times to make sure you are clear of the Covid-19 requirements for your destination, as they can change suddenly. In my case from the time I booked my flight to departure rules had changed so that there was no need for a PCR test in both the transit city or the final destination.

Some countries may require you to download a specific app to input all your flight and passport information.

Even though it's all digital, be old school and print out everything. Wifi doesn't work all the time.

Hong Kong International Airport is a ghost town when it comes to services and shops. Practically all of them were closed in the check-in area, and nothing was open past security and immigration except for washrooms and free water. Bring snacks if you want to nibble on something before your flight, or eat a big meal beforehand.

If you are flying economy, be sure to get there at least three hours beforehand as there will be a big queue to check-in, otherwise those in business and first class won't have much of a wait. Be sure to pack all your electronics in your hand carry luggage, not check-in suitcases for inspection.

OK One more post tomorrow on a few of the final things I did in Hong Kong!

Police Continue to Punish Businesses

Char siu pork ribs on the far right, pork shoulder on far left

Late this afternoon I met up with a restaurateur who insisted that I try his latest creation -- char siu pork ribs for an early dinner before his eatery closes at 6pm.

And they are delicious -- why hasn't anyone else thought of this before? Why just use the pork shoulder to make char siu when the ribs are just as good?

We asked him if he was excited to finally have dinner service back on April 21, but he shook his head.

Police in casual clothes out to fine people in TST

Then he told us that he was upset to find that his two restaurants (next door to each other) were recently fined when the police descended on them and checked everyone's LeaveHomeSafe app to see if they had scanned the restaurants' QR codes.

It turns out one diner did not scan the LeaveHomeSafe app, and both restaurants -- which are under one license -- are banned from operating for the next two weeks.

Now he has lost the opportunity to not only make money back from months of just serving lunch, and what is he going to do with kitchen and wait staff having nothing to do for two weeks. 

So please -- everyone -- scan your LeaveHomeSafe app in restaurants and other establishments if you want to support these businesses! A fine is a minor financial hit compared to being banned from running a business for two weeks.

In addition, anyone who has been out of work for 30 days can apply for HK$10,000 compensation from the government, but since hairdressers were out of work for 28 days, they are not eligible for this money. 

So basically the government looks like it is helping people, but when looking at the fine print, it really doesn't.

Use your LHS app when supporting a business!

The same goes for the police raking in some HK$90 million from fines, some from jumping in the bushes to ambush runners on trails who aren't wearing masks, to making domestic helpers pay HK$5,000 -- more than their monthly salary -- for being in what may look like groups of more than two.

There is talk that the sixth wave could come in a few months -- how much more financial punishment can people take?

While the restaurateur I saw today has accepted the financial hit of the punishment, he found out he is not the only one who was caught with not every guest scanning the LeaveHomeSafe app. 

After over two years of being hit hard by the pandemic, how are businesses in Hong Kong supposed to get back on their feet again when they are constantly being knocked down?

HK Covid-19 Cases Drop to Below 1,000

Children can soon finally play on playgrounds from April 21

Hong Kong reached a new milestone today -- 946 cases were recorded, the first time in over two months that the number has dropped to below 1,000.

Of the total, 471 cases were detected from PCR tests, 475 from rapid antigen tests, and 11 imported.

There were also 67 people who died, of which 36 passed away in the past 24 hours.

Chuang urges people to remain vigilant at Easter

While the infection number is lower than what it was a few weeks ago, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection advised people to continue to be vigilant by wearing masks and washing their hands regularly, especially now during the Easter holiday with more people going out there is a chance of cases rebounding.

Nevertheless the drop of cases to three figures also means the end of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor hosting her daily press conferences.

At times she was combative with the media when it comes to their questions, either asking them to be more understanding about how tough her job was, to blaming them for not bringing up the correct facts in a question (where she was factually wrong). 

Lam ends her daily press briefings on Covid-19

Yesterday when a reporter asked Lam that since the numbers have dropped significantly, when would the government conduct mandatory testing and she side stepped the question completely. 

Inquiring minds want to know, Carrie! It's a legitimate question to ask.

Hopefully the downward trend continues, though there is word the sixth wave could come as early as June...

HK to Fiinally Relax Some Measures April 21

Restaurants are excited to have dinner service next week

Finally the news everyone was waiting for -- DINNER IS BACK ON!

Today Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor confirmed that social-distancing measures will be further relaxed on April 21, with dinner available until 10pm and four to a table, while gyms, beauty salons, religious venues and cinemas will be reopened. The ban on no more than two households meeting together will be lifted too.

However, swimming pools, beaches and barbecue sites will have to wait for the next phase together with bars and pubs...

Lam proudly showing she's got her fourth jab

Interestingly anyone seeing a movie in the cinema or be employed there will also have to be triple jabbed.

"At this point in time and into the near term, Hong Kong is much, much better prepared to handle another wave," Lam said during the daily press conference. "Nobody wants a sixth wave, but if a sixth wave hits us, we are now much, much better prepared, she said, pointing to the sufficient treatment facilities, quarantine centres and ample supply of Covid vaccines.

"With this greater capacity, it will be very, very unreasonable and perhaps unacceptable to the majority of Hong Kong people to continue to close all these premises and allow people no chance to lead a normal life."

Interesting she says this now after howls of complaints and multinational companies fleeing Hong Kong, but perhaps she can now that she's leaving office.

Anyone interested in living in isolation cells?

And yes there are plentiful quarantine -- or rather isolation units, shipping container units converted into cells that Chinese state media like to call "mobile hospital units", when in fact they are just a bare room with four beds. Toilets and showers are elsewhere...

This is what the next phase of Covid-19 will look like in Hong Kong. Any takers?

Was the Three-Day Test Successful?

Lam says social media was checked if people did RAT tests

For the past three days, some of the 7.3 million Hong Kong residents have tested themselves using the government's distributed rapid antigen tests to see if they have Covid-19.

But of course it's voluntary, so not everyone did the exercise, and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor admitted so.

The government-issued rapid antigen test

"Anecdotal evidence suggest that many have [done the RAT test]. We have been asking around, we surfed the Facebook of different groups and social media, and so on," she said.

"But naturally in a city like Hong Kong, I am sure there will be people who do not respond to the government's appeal."

Well... if you say it's voluntary and no need to report test results if they are negative, then what is the point?

It makes no sense.

Here were the numbers of positive cases from RAT tests:

Today: 1,033

Yesterday: 1,638

Friday: 1,265

The start of the line to vote in Kennedy Town

Nevertheless, she said the three-day exercise had no bearing on the government preparing to relax social-distancing measures from April 21, which would include allowing dinner for up to four people per table until 10pm, opening up gyms and entertainment venues.

"By now it's quite clear that we are trending down... By and large, unless there's an exponential surge, otherwise we will continue to implement the relaxation. But the relaxation will be gradual, it will take three stages over three months in order to remove most of the social distancing measures we have put in. But apparently, it will have no particular relevance to the RAT exercise," Lam said.

It's great to see Hong Kong tax dollars being spent for public health...

Meanwhile today was the start of voting for the Philippine elections and today on our walk along Victoria Road in Kennedy Town we saw thousands of domestic helpers lined up waiting to cast their ballots.

The end stretched to U of Chicago HK campus

The voting booths are at the Banyanihan Kennedy Town Centre which is at 55 Victoria Road, and the line snaked all the way up to 168 Victoria Road, around a 15-minute walk! It was shocking to see so many people having to wait in line for possibly hours and police were helpless to try to enforce social-distancing measures.

But at least these Filipinas can cast their votes in this election that will take one month to complete...

Despite Fifth Wave, Grave Sweeping Continues

Many ignored government warnings and went grave sweeping

Today is Ching Ming Festival, or grave sweeping and also a gorgeous day. 

The government and health officials had warned people not to go today, but many who adhere to tradition continued the practice.

A friend and I walked from Wan Chai to Kennedy Town and up Victoria Road, where we saw packed buses and lots of people clutching flowers to pay their respects to loved ones. 

There were fewer people at cemeteries today

The police were on hand to control the crowds, helping them cross the street periodically. While there were less people in general, it was still a sizeable number in the hundreds.

Health officials are concerned there could be an uptick in the number of Covid-19 cases following not only Ching Ming, but also the upcoming Easter holiday too.

Today there was a slight rise in the total number of cases today at 3,238, though the number of deaths has decreased to 87, with 81 newly reported, and six backlogged.

The other victims of the fifth wave are restaurants. 

I just found out that American restaurant Red Lobster shut its doors in Causeway Bay. It had only opened three years ago. 

Red Lobster was another victim of Covid-19

The owner said Covid-19 and the dining restrictions made it untenable to keep going and in the end the company sustained too much loss to keep going.

He thinks that those with deep pockets and can survive will live to see a rebound in 2023.

For many that's a long way off when living day by day.

Other restaurants have been taken down too, like Duck and Waffle that I had no idea had disappeared until I walked through IFC Mall and the space was completely empty. Others include Mana! and La Rotisserie, Silencio, Poem, and Second Draft (but for rent reasons).

The other day I wandered to Shun Tak, where people used to go catch ferries to go to Macau. The departure floor is completely eerie, with the floor covered, and every single shop space that used to sell ferry tickets or arrange hotel rooms or junkets are all shut down. 

Shun Tak departure hall is completely empty

When the pandemic eases, reopening Hong Kong and telling the world the city is open for business will be the hardest task for the next chief executive. The Hong Kong Tourism Board also had formidable challenge in promoting the city that has changed so drastically after the 2019 protests and the implementation of the national security law two years ago.

But hey -- let's not worry about that now, and instead focus on getting those Covid-19 numbers down...

Chief Secretary May be a Chief Executive Hopeful

Lee may run for the next chief executive of Hong Kong

The big news today -- the nominations for candidates to run for the next chief executive kicked off and it is widely believed Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu will throw his hat in the ring.

He was the former Secretary for Security and before that had a career in the Hong Kong Police Force. 

Lee made it easier for CE hopefuls to do their campaigning because he exempted them from bans on public gatherings.

Lam says CE hopefuls can have gatherings

From April 23, candidates whose nominations are validated by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee are also allowed to conduct election-related gatherings with the public in indoor settings.

During her daily Covid-19 briefing, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor explained the government had considered both the need to safeguard public health and the importance of the election.

"I hope people will realise this is a very important occasion for Hong Kong and we would like to see the prospective candidates having this opportunity to seek sufficient nominations during the nomination period, and thereafter for those who have been validated as a CE candidate to participate in all sorts of electioneering activities," she said.

"So the exemptions granted by the Chief Secretary were very well-justified."

Indeed as he will want to take advantage of this chance to press the flesh. But will the 1,462 members of the Election Committee actually come out during this fifth wave, even though the number of cases is dropping daily?

Chan doles out first batch of vouchers April 7

Lam still has not revealed if she will be running again or not.

Nevertheless, while we agree choosing the next chief executive is a very important exercise, it isn't when you're not eligible to vote.

Perhaps that's why Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also announced today that the first batch of electronic vouchers will be doled out on April 7, perhaps to keep people busy in figuring out what to spend their free money on and not get too worked up on not being able to have a hand in picking Hong Kong's next leader...

Today the number of Covid-19 cases was 3,699, and 111 deaths, of which 96 were new, 15 backlogged.

Anti-Epidemic Kits Arrive for Three-day Test

Lam asks people to test themselves from April 8 to 10

The Hong Kong government has already begun distributing the anti-epidemic kits to households (though I have yet to receive mine).

It contains: 10 lateral flow tests - sounds like a euphemism for rapid antigen tests (RAT); 10 KN95 masks; and some Lianhua Qingwen Jiaoning capsules.

This govt photo was taken on the carpet!

For the record there isn't any paracetemol.

Today Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor instructed local residents to test themselves everyday from April 8-10 and to report any positive results in a bid for health officials to get a "snapshot" of Hong Kong's infection rate.

And then she added the exercise was voluntary.

"We could only appeal to people's cooperation, riding out their aspirations to resume normal, daily living as soon as possible, and also to be able to travel," she said.

"We need the full cooperation and support of the people; we don't just rely on legal instruments."

So she would like people to test themselves, but it's up to them if they want report the results... how is this exercise going to be useful then?

Lam was hard at work putting the kits together

Lam also said this three-day exercise would not replace the mass testing which she still believes is still "necessary and essential". She did not have a time frame in which it would be carried out either.

Meanwhile today Hong Kong reported 4,457 cases, and 116 deaths, of which 99 were in the past 24 hours and 17 backlogged.

The numbers are slowly coming down, thanks to the peak already having happened in early March, but also with RATs being easily available and relatively inexpensive now, many are testing themselves daily to ensure they aren't spreading the virus at work or to friends and family. 

Covid-19 Cause Spike in Elderly Suicides

Increased number of seniors contemplating suicide in fifth wave

Now into its third year, coronavirus pandemic has claimed more victims than just those who are infected with the virus -- elderly people who are have committed suicide or are contemplating it.

On Tuesday researchers at the University of Hong Kong said their suicide warning index recently surged to an unprecedented "crisis level", with elderly people more at risk of taking their own lives during this fifth wave of the pandemic.

The Suicide Early Warning System had a daily estimate of suicides at 1.69 on February 23, and as the number of Covid-19 infections rose to the tens of thousands, the estimate hit 4.05 on March 21. The average figure over the past year was 1.8.

Yip says elderly suicides is at "crisis level"

The March 21 figure is the highest since the warning system was created in 2020, though the daily estimate has since dropped.

Professor Paul Yip Siu-fai from HKU's Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention said social distancing measures have affected people's mental health and elderly people are particularly vulnerable.

He said eight people aged 65 and older committed suicide in the past seven days and it's estimated that 400 seniors will take their lives this year -- double the number last year.

"Social distancing [measures] have introduced not only physical distancing but also emotional disconnectedness. I think it's this emotional disconnectedness that leads to the sense of isolation, a sense of being abandoned by family members or by community. It has an adverse impact on our mental health," he told an online press conference.

"For the elderly people, if they live by themselves, I think the community can proactively engage with them," Yip added.

The group Suicide Prevention Services reported handling 220,000 calls in January and February, an average of nine a day from seniors.

Suicide Prevention Services worries about elderly

It said elderly people are worried about getting infected with Covid-19 and so they are scared of meeting relatives during the pandemic. Their sense of crisis also becomes even more heightened if they or a family member contracted the virus, which could then trigger suicide, the group warned.

There were news reports over a week ago about an elderly couple who killed themselves after finding out they tested positive for Covid-19 and didn't want to be a burden on their family.

Justin Leung, a program manager with the service, added most elderly people are not tech savvy either, making it difficult for them to find out the latest information about the pandemic.

"It's very complicated for the elderly. It's difficult for them to learn in a short period of time," he said. 

Yip called on the government to relax social-distancing measures and reopen leisure facilities as soon as possible to help people improve their mental well-being.

He also said the media should do its part by reporting on more positive stories to help reduce people's anxiety.

Many elderly are terrified to meet relatives

Everyone's anxiety levels have spiked during the pandemic, and even more so during this current fifth wave when the number of cases was over the 50,000 mark.

Thankfully they have dropped in the past week and hopefully in the next few weeks will be below 1,000.

It doesn't help when the government is more focused on fighting the virus than being concerned about its residents' well-being.

Hopefully the authorities will heed this study's warnings. While the 2003 SARS epidemic was relatively short lasting only a few months, it was a terrifying time for Hongkongers. Now 19 years later, people need to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel to hang on and survive, mentally and physically.

Stocked Public Fridges for the Poor

A public fridge where people can freely take what they need 

More and more people are starving in Hong Kong thanks to the coronavirus pandemic that has forced them to lose their jobs and businesses and scrounge for food.

Wong Wai-kit tried to help some by giving them his takeaway meal.

"I tried not to make them feel they were a bunch of poor and miserable people waiting for my almsgiving. They had their dignity," said Wong, 40, who has founded several social enterprises that help the underprivileged and unemployed.

He came up with the idea in August of setting up stocked-up fridges in various public locations for anyone in need, for free.

The growing number of poor rises each year

The "Gift n Take" fridge project began in places like Dragon Centre shopping centre in Sham Shui Po and Eaton HK hotel in Jordan. A group of 20 volunteers fill the fridges every two to three days with dry food and provisions donated by NGOs, individuals and retail outlets.

As soon as the project started the fridges were cleaned out as fast as the volunteers could fill them, and now there are fridges in 40 locations across Hong Kong, including restaurants, schools, shopping centres and retail stores.

"I noticed a rising number of people who suddenly lost their livelihoods because of the tough social-distancing curbs. They feel helpless without anyone to turn to," Wong said.

"I hope to let them know people do care and are willing to help."

He has also helped some people find part-time work.

Charities and NGOs are seeing a spike in people looking for free meals, including young people.

In 2020, 19,438 people sought help getting food, a 48 percent increase from 13,142 in 2019. The number rose to 21,987 last year.

One of Wong's partners is Martin China Ka-shun, founder of social enterprise Amity, which distributes provisions to the poor in Sheung Shui, including those staying in sub-divided flats and elderly people living alone.

A public fridge can be found at Eaton HK hotel

"Most don't want to apply for social welfare or support from food banks as the application takes at least eight weeks," he said. 

"They don't have the money to pay for food, so we hope to help them survive this difficult period."

Fifty-eight-year-old Tong Shing-choi lost his job as a casual cleaner and delivery worker in late January when the companies he worked for temporarily closed.

Divorced and living alone in Mongkok in a sub-divided room that costs HK$2,700 (US$344.83) a month in rent, Tong said he had to borrow money from friends to get by. For him the fridge project, along with meal coupons he received from NGOs have made him less miserable about his situation.

"I rely on free meals from a charity group for survival. I got to the fridge from time to time for some canned food, cakes and instant noodles to fill my stomach, but I don't want to ask for more as I feel ashamed," he said.

Tong said he didn't want to apply for welfare help, as he hoped he could get another job again.

"I really feel gloomy and depressed, but help from Brother Kit [Wong] and other NGOs let me know that at least I don't need to worry about my daily meals."

Where is Lam's compassion for those in need?

Thank goodness for these NGOs and social enterprises for stepping up and helping those who were living pay cheque to pay cheque and now the pandemic has made their lives a daily struggle for survival.

Meanwhile what is the government doing to help these people? They did not become poor out of choice - it's up to the authorities to give them the help they need. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has a background in social work and yet has no compassion for these people, whose population is growing by the day.

If Hong Kong is going to pull out of this pandemic -- and Lam will drag the city out if she has to -- she needs to also make sure people are not starving to death before then.

Have we really reverted to the real meaning of 吃饭了没有？

By the way the number of cases has gone down to below 8,000 at 7,860 today and 168 deaths, of which 143 are new, 25 backlogged.

Carrie Lam on the Defensive

Lam speaking at her daily press briefing today

While the tide is turning for the better day by day in the pandemic, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is getting a political raking over the coals, particularly from the pro-establishment who have been backing her all along, but now are questioning how she intends to wrestle the fifth wave of the pandemic down for good.

The numbers are looking better today -- 8,035 cases, and 151 deaths (of which 130 are from the past 24 hours, 21 backlogged) -- but Lam has backtracked or flip-flopped, or U-turned on many decisions that has made the pro-Beijing camp frustrated that she doesn't seem to have people or the economy's interests at heart.

Businesses have had a difficult time with Covid-19

It has been reported Lam will face a grilling tomorrow by lawmakers on her pandemic policies. 

Everyone get out the popcorn...

But one can expect Lam to be on the defensive and strongly so, swatting away any annoying accusations with pithy statements that raise eyebrows.

One example is in recent days, Bernard Chan, convenor of the Executive Council, Lam's de facto cabinet, conceded many multinational companies that had used Hong Kong as their Asian base have already moved to rival cities like Singapore and Dubai, and the chances of them returning were slim, unless the Greater China market was their focus.

"If they had moved to other places such as Dubai and Singapore for a while, their chances of moving back are significantly lower because moving back will be quite a complicated process," he said. "I think we cannot stick to the [current] quarantine arrangement for a long time."

When a reporter asked Lam about Chan's comments, she said:

Chan says multinationals have left Hong Kong

"I can tell you that although he is ExCo Convenor, he is expressing his personal views. Because there are so many people with so many views on this anti-epidemic issue, especially about Hong Kong being an international city, whether we should open up more, whether we should be worried about people leaving Hong Kong. The more authoritative stance could come only from me and the Hong Kong SAR government," she replied.

Ouch. 

"I would advise that you only treat Mr Chan's views as his personal views, especially as he comes from the financial sector, certainly his view will be influenced by his colleagues and peers in the financial sector," Lam continued. 

"But at the end of the day, as I said, our ultimate objective for Hong Kong is to suppress the fifth wave as soon as possible and then we would aim to resume some travel into the mainland and preferably also with overseas so that business could resume and the economy could bounce back."

Many firms have moved to Singapore and Dubai

Chan is pointing out the fact that many multinational companies have moved out of Hong Kong and may never come back. How is that a personal view? There have already been many articles written about this, how 50 per cent of European companies are planning to leave the city or only have a smaller presence.

Businesses cannot wait for Hong Kong to open up anymore. Lam is dreaming if she thinks the city's economy will just bounce back to what it was before.

Lam seems to have no idea what is really going on, as she is so focused on fulfilling Beijing's expectations, or tired of hearing other people's opinions of how things could be done better.

They are only trying to help...

Covid-19 Numbers Drop to below 10K

Albert Au of CHP (left) reports under 9,000 cases today

This afternoon was a sign of good news -- in the first time since February 24, the number of coronavirus infections in Hong Kong dropped to below 10,000 to 8,841, of which 3,978 were from PCR tests, 4,957 from RATs. Six cases were imported. 

The Centre of Health Protection's Albert Au Ka-wing said that while the number of infections has definitely peaked, he urged people not to let their guard down. Also the number of deaths is still relatively high at 139, of which 114 are from the past 24 hours, 25 backlogged.

One of the deaths was a three-year-old girl, but she had pre-existing long-term health issues including severe brain lesions and was diagnosed with pneumonia. The Department of Health will investigate her death. The oldest person who died was 106 years old.

A quarantine room at the LMO from HK$10K

Meanwhile the lifting of the flight ban on nine countries from April 1 has led to non-stop inquiries from people overseas needing rooms in quarantine hotels for a week. The Landmark Mandarin Oriental has had a flood of people trying to book rooms, and with room rates from HK$10,010 (US$1,278) for a 83 sq metre room per night, it's yet another bumper year for the hotel in Central.

Then there are other hotels in the city that have converted into community isolation facilities to prepare for the possibility of universal testing. While this is good money -- HK$1,600 per room per night paid for by the government, some hotels are loathe to kick out long-staying guests.

One hotel in Sheung Wan has had people staying there for over three years. That's because they are elderly and have no family in Hong Kong to look after them and rely on the hotel's staff to check up on them.

It's quite sad to hear that they are living in these small hotel rooms, but this is the best way they can ensure there is someone looking out for them -- to help them get to the hospital for regular health check-ups, and for disabled guests who need physical assistance on a daily basis.

Rooms at Novotel Century are now for isolation

Luckily some hotels are taking pity on these people, while others have evicted some long-staying guests, leaving them with little choice but to find alternative housing. The Novotel Century Hong Kong in Wan Chai has turned into a community isolation facility, and one of its long-staying guests luckily managed to find accommodation at a serviced apartment nearby at very short notice. 

While this pandemic has turned people's lives upside down, we've all had to deal with the challenges the best we can. And finding compassion can be a godsend for many who need it.

Cases Coming Down, Anti-Epidemic Kits Arriving

Lam presenting the anti-epidemic kits at the press conference

I'm hearing from many friends and colleagues about their experiences of contracting Covid-19 and many have no idea where they got it from.

Some said they had stayed home most of the time, only going out for groceries and other supplies. As all of them are vaccinated (Sinovac or BioNTech), many reported the sore throat was the worst part of having Covid, as some didn't even have a fever, but flu-like symptoms such as aches and pains. 

It took on average about eight days or so before they became negative, but the whole experience especially in the beginning left them exhausted and they had to rest a lot. 

People putting together anti-epidemic kits

One says since her recovery about three weeks ago, she feels like her lung capacity is not like before, while another reported losing his sense of smell and taste and it has taken a few weeks for it to return; that really worried him as he enjoys not only his food but wine too.

All these people have experienced Covid in the last few weeks and it is only now that the Hong Kong government has announced that it will distribute anti-epidemic packs to every household starting from next month and hopes to complete the deliveries within a week.

Each pack contains 20 rapid antigen tests, 20 KN95 masks, and Chinese medicine from across the border.

"Things inside are mainly resources the central government gave Hong Kong in support, to show their motherland's care and support for Hong Kong compatriots," acting home affairs minister Jack Chan Jick-chi told a press conference.

He said the packs will be handed out through the Housing Authority, building management firms, the Heung Yee Kuk and volunteer groups.

And if anyone doesn't get a pack, they can get one from collection points that will be set up later, Chan added.

Where is Hong Kong's Lion Rock spirit? 

While it's nice to know the central government cares for Hong Kong residents, how come we are only getting these supplies now when at least half the population has already been infected with Covid-19?

This would have been helpful at least three weeks ago when the number of cases were rising exponentially and items like rapid antigen kits were hard to find or very expensive. Now they can be bought at around HK$30 (US$3.83) for one test. 

But yes, we should be grateful, like Hong Kong government and health officials who reiterate their thanks over and over again to Beijing for all the assistance.

Whatever happened to the Lion Rock spirit and Hongkongers self-subsisting?

Probably not part of the "one country, two systems" mandate...

Today there were 10,401 infection cases -- the lowest drop in a month, while the number of deaths recorded in the past 24 hours was 162, and 30 backlogged.

Tale of Two Cities

Singapore will soon scrap the outdoor mask mandate

Hong Kong and Singapore have always been rival cities. When the pandemic hit, the virus looked out of control in the Lion City, while Hong Kong shut down its borders and imposed strict quarantines.

But today over two years later, the two metropolises have gone completely different directions in their response to Covid-19 and the contrast could not be more stark.

Lee made the happy announcement today

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is still imposing strict social-distancing measures on residents, and expecting them to report positive Covid-19 tests that will result in them being sent to jail-like isolation quarters. While the flight ban on nine countries will be lifted on April 1 and travellers will only need to hotel quarantine for seven days, they will still need to self-monitor and have a final test on the 12th day to confirm they are indeed negative.

Across the pond, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong declared that the outdoor mask mandate would be scrapped, fully vaccinated travellers could enter the city state quarantine-free, and his government was working towards a full resumption of air and land travel with its neighbour, Malaysia.

Singapore is obviously moving towards "living with Covid", compared to Hong Kong's "dynamic zero Covid", where we are still not sure what "dynamic" means.

Nevertheless, Lam was on the defensive today when asked if Hong Kong would follow Singapore's lead.

Lam is still pursuing "dynamic zero Covid" policy

"As I've also said on many occasions, the policies and measures to be adopted by each government in combating the Covid-19 epidemic will differ. I don't think that there's one size that fits all. I also don't believe that there are only two pathways," she said.

"That's why I said that perhaps it's not meaningful to ask us to choose whether we're going for route A or route B."

So does she mean there's a third or fourth pathway?

Lam also refused to be drawn into the debate as to whether Singapore had snatched the title of "Asia's global hub" from Hong Kong.

She argued Hong Kong remained an attractive financial centre and aviation base, as well as "a good place to live and work".

Perhaps before the coronavirus pandemic erupted in January 2020?

Children playing outdoors must wear a mask

It's 2022 and Hong Kong is struggling to survive economically. Bloomberg has released a report saying nearly 50 percent of European firms intend to either fully relocate staff out of the city or partially as a direct result of the draconian Covid-19 restrictions.

But Lam seems to think people and companies are still patiently waiting.

"I remain very optimistic that once this wave subsides, we'll pick up on the earlier discussions [on reopening the mainland border], and at the same time we'll be able to open up to the rest of the world," she said.

The rest of the world has moved on, Carrie... Hong Kong has already been long forgotten...

Today the city recorded 13,074 cases, of which 7,342 were from rapid antigen tests. Another 201 deaths were logged, including 42 backlogged. There are now over 1.1 million Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong and 6,770 deaths since the start of the pandemic.