Birthday Party Political Fallout

170 people from the party now have to undergo quarantine

The 170 guests who attended Witman Hung Wai-man' s 53rd birthday party in a Spanish restaurant in Wan Chai are all considered close contacts and must undergo up to 21 days in quarantine at Penny's Bay after a second preliminary positive case was identified.

This celebration has now evolved into a public health scandal with political fallout too.

Immigration chief Au must go to Penny's Bay

Not only was Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui Ying-wai there, but also Director of Immigration Au Ka-wang, police chief Raymond Siu Chak-yee, ICAC commissioner Simon Peh Yun-lu, and lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu -- known for his combative and at times misogynist comments.

Needless to say many Hongkongers were giddy with glee to see these top officials sent to Penny's Bay, a bare bones quarantine centre on Lantau that has barely any wifi, lukewarm food and no air conditioning or heating.

One person on Twitter sarcastically remarked that the after party was now at Penny's Bay.

On Friday, immigration chief Au issued an apology over his conduct.

"Regarding the additional burden to the epidemic prevention work and the disturbance to the public as a result of my personal behaviour, I offer my sincere apology to all people of Hong Kong. I have reflected on this incident and shall be more vigilant in the future," he said.

But the fallout is not over.

The 13 officials who will be sent to quarantine have been temporarily relieved of their duties because they will be investigated, and that their subordinates will take over. 

Police chief Siu also attended Hung's party

This means the deputies from police, the ICAC, and Immigration departments will be acting chiefs, while Secretary of the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen will take on the additional role of Home Affairs, and Secretary for Commerce Edward Yau Tang-wah will also head the finance and treasury department.

It seems Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is using this opportunity to assert her power and possibly kick out the incumbent ministers, even though they were handpicked by Beijing. One wonders if this is another sign of Lam gunning for a second term...

Here We Go Again

Today Lam announced tough measures to contain Omicron

Hong Kong is on the cusp of the fifth wave with several local cases of Omicron in the community, and the government has clamped down hard with some severe measures. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor held the 3.30pm press conference that the entire city tuned in to hear and it was bad news.

From midnight January 7-20, all restaurants must close by 6pm until 5am, and depending on if it is a B, C, or D restaurant, there will be two, four and six people per table respectively. Large gatherings of any kind are banned, bars, venues with live music, karaoke, dancing, gyms, swimming pools, gaming arcades, government-run leisure buildings are all shut for two weeks.

In addition all "cruises to no where", local tours are banned, as well as visits to elderly homes and hospitals, mahjong parlours and cinemas.

Nine on this cruise ship are a possible cluster

Hardly anyone will be able to enter Hong Kong, as eight countries have been banned from returning to the city from January 8 for two weeks: Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the US and UK, including via transit. 

My colleagues were in a bitter mood when they heard the news. One joked he was doing "Dry January" anyway -- where he had stopped drinking for a month to give his liver a break. Another was more sanguine, saying Hong Kong International Airport's third runway could be used to build a quarantine camp since there were no more flights coming and going. Golf carts would be needed to get around...

While Lam hoped these strict measures will help contain the virus in time for Chinese New Year, after having been through this so many times, Hongkongers are not holding their breath. It could be months before Omicron is contained.

It also demonstrates the Zero-Covid strategy is practically impossible to achieve -- there needs to be an increase in the number of vaccinations and an acceptance of the reality that the virus will continue to be in the community one way or another.

Events like the Cyclothon is cancelled 

One piece of good news was that just over 50 percent of all seniors in Hong Kong have had at least one jab, though that means some 593,000 over 70 years of age have yet to be vaccinated.

That compares to 38,000 seniors in Singapore yet to be inoculated, which has a population of 5.6 million.

The other bit of relief for parents was that schooling has not been affected -- yet -- as Lam hoped to avoid as little disruption to classes as much as possible. 

She said the tough measures would be reviewed again on January 14 to see how well they were working or if even harsher measures needed to be adopted.

Health experts believe there could be up to 10 transmission chains already in the community. The cluster at Moon Palace restaurant has grown to six, and another cluster of nine people on board a cruise ship with 2,500 people; the ship had to turn around and come back a day earlier. There is also a possible dancing cluster -- again...

Restaurants must close by 6pm again

Meanwhile there are very long lines at vaccination centres to get either the first, second or third jab.

The government was caught flat-footed in anticipating demand for vaccines. Secretary for Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen will be questioned for sure on why the government has not prepared for the onslaught of people wanting to get jabbed. 

In the meantime people are disappointed 2022 has already started badly and wonder will happen in the next 360 days...

Forcing HK Residents to use Contact-Tracing App

NGOs are giving some donated smartphones to homeless

Starting November 1, the Hong Kong government will make it mandatory for anyone entering a government building, facility, wet market, swimming pool, library and post office to use the Leave Home Safe app in a bid to strengthen contract tracing, even though there are zero local cases for the past 23 consecutive days.

It has forced many, who up until this point, have filled out their details on slips of paper, to either finally download the app on their phone or get a second phone just for this exercise.

Chua hopes govt will be more lenient to people

However, there are still many, particularly the homeless who have no access to smartphones and the NGOs assisting them have asked the government for leniency for this group of people.

"I hope government departments will be lenient, understand people's needs and give them alternatives, like leaving their contact details so they would not be scared off and avoid visiting clinics or the government's social service offices," said Chua Hoi-wai, chief executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service.

He hoped there would still be slips of paper available for them to leave their contact details. Chua added some NGOs have handed out donated second-hand smartphones with the app installed to low-income residents and taught them how to use it. 

App must be used in all govt buildings

"We also hope the government will work with us to provide cheaper or second-hand phones to those who have the ability to use but merely cannot afford them," he said during a radio program.

During the same program, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said officials will be lenient at first, but residents should be cooperative in using the app. He added the administration was aware of vulnerable groups that may not have access to smartphones and was making an effort to take that reality into account.

"For those who do not have access to smartphones, they will be asked to leave their personal details. They will be asked to show their identity card and have their names, part of their ID number and contact details jotted down to ensure accuracy," Nip said.

"We understand there will be difficulties when it's first implemented. Our colleagues, based on actual circumstances, will be lenient at first, but we also hope everyone will be cooperative."

He said the number of QR code signs will be increased outside of markets to avoid long queues forming.

Nip says officials will be lenient at first

Does the Leave Home Safe app really work? Hard to tell since we haven't had any recent outbreaks  in the community, and there are many flaws with the app, including not having to register a name due to privacy issues, and not every shop or mall insisted on people scanning the code.

So it seems more of an exercise to tick off the boxes than really helping with contact-tracing...

HK to Push Up Elderly Vaccination Rate

Fewer than 30 percent of seniors over 70 have their first jab

 

Looks like Hong Kong might really be getting serious about pushing up vaccination rates now as there are plans for government workers to go door-to-door to visit the elderly and persuade them to get the jab. 

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, who is overseeing the vaccination drive, stressed the city was behind its target of inoculating at least 70 percent of the eligible population. Fewer than 30 percent of residents over 70 years old had gotten their first dose, and the rate was substantially lower for those over 80, he noted. 

"Elderly people in the city are the group least interested in vaccination. We have to be more proactive, and make getting into the community to reach senior people our coming strategy," he told a radio program.

Nip says workers will visit elderly door-to-door

However, one should keep in mind that many university students like the ones at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Clear Water Bay must be fully vaccinated to even be allowed on campus, teachers must be jabbed, and many companies have pushed hard for their staff to get vaccinated, particularly those in the hospitality industry.

At the start of the vaccination program, when seniors were invited to get inoculated first, there were reports of those who had serious side effects, and some died -- that were not at all related to the vaccine -- which scared off many elderly residents.

To that end Nip says talks will be organized as some housing estates and malls, with free consultations and immediate vaccination on site.

"We will also do more talks at care homes for the elderly, as most of them did not get vaccinated there due to family members' worries," he added.

Doctors will be on hand to give consultations

Going door-to-door is a very strong step up from trying to persuade people to get jabbed in press conferences. Depending on how they approach the seniors, government workers may get doors slammed in their faces or adamant refusals to get vaccinated.

Maybe they should have teamed up with the Census and Statistics Department a few months ago to not only count the number of residents in Hong Kong but also check to see if they have been inoculated.

Implementing this strategy now shows the government was not that serious about pushing for vaccinations, and seems to use this as an excuse to continue the restrictive social-distancing measures, particularly gatherings at a maximum of four people outside.

Meanwhile the Standard Chartered Marathon 2021 really is happening on October 24 when a total of 18,500 runners (all fully vaccinated) will take part in the 10K, half marathon and full marathon... 

The Standard Chartered Marathon is going ahead

I did not get chosen in the lottery to run the 10K, and just as well, as the starting point has moved to the Western Harbour Crossing toll booth, which means running through the cross-harbour tunnel (which I hear is a slog) and finishing at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. 

Running in October will also be more challenging with the humidity than the usual time of late January, early February, and I have hardly been training either, opting instead to walking.

Nevertheless, we wish the government good luck in trying to persuade seniors to get jabbed... they can be a tough crowd!

The New Normal on July 1

At noon the police shut down Victoria Park, occupying it

 

Today is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.

Well it's really July 23, 1921, but we like to keep things simple so it's July 1 from now on.

Officers check ID and film people's faces

And it's the first anniversary of the national security law implemented in Hong Kong!

To ensure there's no problems today, 10,000 police officers were out on the streets, particularly in Causeway Bay, setting up temporary tents as frisking stations taking up the places where grass roots organizations would have set up street booths to promote their causes.

Not only did the police check people's ID cards, but also asked them to remove their masks in order to video recorded their faces. This is the new reality along with Hong Kong without Apple Daily.

And to make sure no one gathered in nearby Victoria Park, the police shut it down, shooing everyone away, from young footballers to domestic helpers. This is the second time the force has closed the park down, since June 4. In other years people would have filled the pitches for the annual July 1 protest march, but it seems there will be no more peaceful demonstrations of any kind.

Grandma Wong carrying UK flag was arrested

Even Alexandra Wong Fung-yiu or "Grandma Wong" waving the British flag was surrounded by cops and arrested. 

One boy was chased down in a shopping mall by police and was terrified, the media pack following behind, reminiscent of the 2019 protests to ensure they documented everything. Thank goodness the boy was let go and led away by concerned bystanders.

What is Hong Kong turning into?

By the way Civil Service Secretary Patrick Nip Tak-yuen said it would be an "overstatement" that the city has turned into a police state, with John Lee Ka-chiu moving from the security portfolio to Chief Secretary, while police chief Chris Tang Ping-keung becomes the new Secretary for Security.

"It is an overstatement. We have a team of political appointees in different bureaus. we have clerical staff and officers in the disciplinary forces in the civil service. We have different backgrounds and experiences. So comments like this are basically incorrect," he said.

Wong says he's speaking out before going to jail

So how does he explain the 10,000 cops on the streets then?

Meanwhile the League of Social Democrats managed to setup a booth under a flyover in Causeway Bay, though the police were standing by. Raphael Wong told the media: "I can't say what will happen tomorrow, and I will be in jail next month... but as long as there is an available platform, the League of Social Democrats will continue to speak out."

Brave man.

Hong Kong has changed so much in the last two years and now everyday seems to be a "new normal"...

Almost 130 Civil Servants Fail to Sign Oath

Carrie Lam (centre) led oath for senior government officials

 

The Hong Kong government's human resources department is going to be extremely busy these days, with almost 130 civil servants refusing to sign the oath of allegiance and some have resigned, while others will be sacked.

The vast majority of the 180,000 civil service have signed the declaration, according to Secretary for Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen. 

Nip said 129 people did not sign the declaration

At a Legislative Council public service panel meeting on Monday, Nip said 129 civil servants either neglected or refused to sign and return the declaration. Among them are 16 disciplined service officers, the rest were civilians.

He said 25 have resigned, while most will be sacked under civil service regulations.

"For those who ignored or refused to sign the declaration, we will doubt whether they are willing to bear the responsibilities as civil servants and whether they are fit to carry out their duties. In other words, we don't have faith in them," Nip said.

Since October all civil servants must sign the oath of allegiance, pledging to uphold the Basic Law, bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, be dedicated to their duties and be responsible to the government.

Civil servants who have taken the oath are also expected to support government policies, including implementation of the national security law.

Civil servants expected to support policies, laws

"For those who sign the pledge, if they act or say something against the government, such as promoting Hong Kong independence or colluding with foreign forces, they would be deemed breaching their pledge of allegiance and subject to dismissal," Nip said.

The explanations of some civil servants on why they didn't sign the declaration include claiming it infringes on their freedom of speech, disagreeing with the oath's content, and that it might conflict with the foreign passport they held.

However, Nip found these excuses were not acceptable.

"As civil servants, they should not say something in public against the government or the Basic Law. I don't see how the oath-taking would infringe upon their freedom of speech, or be in conflict with holding a foreign passport," he said.

Nip does have a point -- why have people in the civil service who are wavering or feel it's against their ethics.

But he will also find it harder to recruit people in future, particularly young people to keep the civil service going...

"Environmental Factors" Damaged Vaccine Vials

Initial investigation found long travel time damaged vials

 

This evening a preliminary report was released by German drug maker BioNTech and Chinese distributor Fosun Pharma investigating the 57 cases of damaged vaccine vials and found no systemic errors that merit an extended suspension.

On Wednesday the Macau and Hong Kong governments abruptly stopped the vaccine program for BioNTech after several reports of cracked vials and stains on the glass exterior.

The vaccine program abruptly halted Wednesday

Perhaps hampering the investigation was the revelation that healthcare workers were instructed to dispose of the damaged vials -- making it difficult for the vaccine maker and distributor to determine exactly what went wrong and could only do random tests on existing vials and found there were no leakages.

Nevertheless, BioNTech and Fosun Pharma say "environmental factors" could have damaged the vials during the long-distance transportation, but concluded that the defects were not related to logistics and cold-chain management. 

"Our plan is if the current batches have no quality and safety concerns, we can resume the vaccination," said Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen this morning, adding priority would be given to those due for their second vaccine dose.

Nip says BioNTech jabs to restart soon

According to Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, co-convenor of the expert committee monitoring the effects of vaccines, expected the BioNTech vaccinations to restart next week.

So far about 437,200 people have gotten at least one jab, about 6.6 percent of the eligible population. 

Today was also the first time Hong Kong has no local infections since November 16 when the fourth wave began. 

"We are finally reaching a stage where we have a chance to achieve zero cases, and we hope it will remain that way," government pandemic adviser Yuen Kwok-yung said. "We have to be very careful with any lifting of social-distancing measures at this moment. If we can record a consecutive 14-28 days without a local infection, the city will be free of the coronavirus."

Yuen says HK needs 14-28 days of zero local cases

If more people get vaccinated then the chances of having zero cases is higher. Isn't that a good enough incentive to get the jab? 

In any event restarting the BioNTech vaccinations soon will be good news for those eager to get the jab. 

Hong Kong Mulls Widening Vaccine Scheme

Carrie Lam got her second vaccine yesterday

 

As of today, 403,000 people have gotten the vaccine in Hong Kong, but that's just 5.4 percent of the population. At this rate it could take 300 days for before the city achieves herd immunity.

More people are choosing to get the BioNTech vaccine, but the problem now is that another shipment is coming soon and we still haven't used up the first one! There aren't enough storage facilities for BioNTech that needs to be kept at minus 70 degrees Celsius.

This is how pathetic Hong Kong's uptake of the vaccine is.

People are choosing BioNTech over Sinovac

A recent poll on Twitter asked what reasons people were hearing from others as to why they were not getting the jab. In the results on Saturday, 68.6 percent said the reason was "wait and see", 16.4 percent have no trust in the government, 13.2 percent don't trust the vaccines, and only 1.8 percent are anti vaxxers. 

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen says 25,000 people are getting vaccinated per day, but that could be increased to double that daily.

But where is he going to get double that number of people willing to get the jab?

He said the government is now looking into possibly further widening the vaccination scheme to people 16 years and older. Again this won't solve the capacity issue as the vast majority of takers are expats, who are not exactly a big chunk of the population.

Nip added the government is aiming to get the majority of the population vaccinated by the end of the year.

Nip says capacity can be doubled, but with who?

Well almost one quarter of the year has already gone, so we really need to step up the numbers of people getting the jab.

It doesn't help that the government postponed the Legislative Council elections because of the pandemic and now the electoral system is being overhauled, completely ignoring the will of the people; this mistrust in the government has spread to vaccines, as a kind of revenge in preventing Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor from achieving her goal of zero infections, and inoculating the vast majority of the population. 

The push back from the majority of the population is kind of like laam chau, or "if we burn, you burn with us". They are not anxious for the economy to get back on track as soon as possible, nor are they in a hurry to travel either, further frustrating the government's efforts to get Hong Kong back to some kind of normality.

The sports hall in Sai Ying Pun was empty at 6pm

Some have suggested people not be allowed to be given the promised HK$5,000 handout unless they get the jab, or offer some other enticing incentives. But shouldn't getting the vaccine be a civic duty, much like voting? It's the most effective way to protect each other in our bid to fight the pandemic.

But some feel the vaccines have come out too quickly and would rather way a few months to see what happens to the first batch of people before deciding if they will get the jab or not.

However, getting a vaccine is a no brainer -- one has to take it eventually so why not now?

5.5M HK Residents can Get Vaccine

Nip announced more people are eligible for vaccination

In a bid to get more people vaccinated, the Hong Kong government has now allowed anyone from the ages of 30 to 59 to get the jab, along with domestic helpers and students 16 years and older who have studied abroad.

This potentially means 5.5 million people can register for the vaccine, and one expects the online registration system could crash tomorrow morning at 9am when millions of people will try to register for a time and date.

Many choosing BioNTech over Sinovac vaccine

They will also be fighting over the rest of the BioNTech vaccine, as there are growing concerns over the Sinovac one that has now recorded a seventh death and two people experienced mild Bell's palsy.

The announcement was made this afternoon at a press conference by Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen.

"After considering the supply of Covid-19 vaccines and operation of the vaccination scheme, we have decided to expand the scope of the priority groups to let more people who are eager to get vaccinated get the shots," Nip said.

"People aged 30 or older make up the majority of the city's working population... quite a lot of domestic workers also need to help take care of elderly people, children and the disabled. Some hourly paid workers also serve more than one family, therefore it is appropriate to include domestic workers at an earlier stage," he added.

So far 198,100 people have gotten the first dose of vaccine, either Sinovac or BioNTech.

Originally there was a schedule prioritizing people such as front line healthcare workers, seniors, residents and staff of disabled care homes, the police, postal workers, hygiene workers, and public transport workers.

Ursus Fitness cluster grows to 122 cases

But that has now all gone out the window and now 80 percent of the population can go register for the jab.

A few of my colleagues are already very eager to get registered for the vaccine. Some friends and a colleague have taken the BioNTech shot and have not reported any side effects so far. Others friends and colleagues would rather wait a few months and see how it goes.

At the same press conference this afternoon Secretary for Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said the vaccination rate will determine when the border restrictions will be lifted. 

Today Hong Kong recorded 30 new coronavirus cases, with the Ursus Fitness gym cluster expanding to 122 cases and 860 close contacts sent to quarantine. 

A debate on racism has flared up about how the gym cluster involves expats, but hopefully this incident will shake up that community to take the virus more seriously. There are many anecdotes of them congregating in large groups or not wearing their masks properly (many still wearing their masks below the nose or taking it off when on the phone)...

 

Vaccination to Start in March

HKers will have to wait until March for vaccinations to start

Today Hong Kong recorded 12 new coronavirus cases, though health officials said yesterday that the figures were lower these few days perhaps because doctor's offices were closed for the Lunar New Year, and also people don't like to seek medical attention during this period either.

Eu must be quarantined in case of infection

Which is why it's hard to understand why the government already announced a few days ago that restaurants could serve dinner until 10pm and with four guests per table, as well as open other venues like gyms, cinemas and theme parks IF the case numbers continue to be "low", without giving a threshold number. Why not wait two weeks after Chinese New Year to see what the situation is like then?

But hotels, restaurants, beauty parlours, spas and the above-mentioned venues are already preparing to pivot for this coming Thursday when it really is a big IF.

Of the 12 new cases is a hairdresser with RTHK and may have infected 20 people who will be sent to quarantine. One of them is prominent barrister Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, who said she interacted with the hairdresser for about five minutes who did her hair for her appearance in a show called Legco Review.

Unfortunately she was supposed to represent Apple Daily founder and tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying in a 10-day trial starting Tuesday, but Eu will be replaced by another senior counsel instead. Lai is accused of participating in an illegal assembly in 2019.

Nip says all 18 districts will have jab centres

Meanwhile the Hong Kong government had said repeatedly that it would start administering vaccine injections after Chinese New Year, but now that won't happen until March.

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine would arrive in Hong Kong at the end of February.

"As soon as the vaccine has arrived, we will kick-start the mechanism for appointments," he said, referring to the vaccine booking system.

He said at least 20 centres will adminster the jab in all of Hong Kong's 18 districts.

Nip said they had already done rehearsals to make sure the scheme runs safely and smoothly.

Over 700,000 have downloaded the app to use

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung wrote on his blog today that the government's goal is the vaccinate most of the population by the end of the year. 

And apparently some 700,000 people have downloaded the LeaveHomeSafe app.  

The Pledge for Political Obedience

All 180,000 civil servants must take oath within a month

 

Starting tomorrow, all government under secretaries and political assistants will take the oath of allegiance to kick start the process for the entire 180,000-strong civil service to be completed within a month. Sources say Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor will personally administer the vows for the political appointees.

Then on Friday, senior civil servants, including permanent secretaries and department heads will also take the oath which is:

Nip pushes through oath allegiance in civil service

I declare that, being appointed as a civil servant of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, I will uphold the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, be dedicated to my duties and be responsible to the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. 

It's a mouthful to be sure. 

But what is the point of this exercise?

One would assume if someone takes a job with the civil service that they would act in the best interests of Hong Kong, no? Does this really need to be spelled out?

But apparently yes, according to Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen.

Civil servants protested August 2019 in Central

He says those who refuse to take the oath could jeopardize their chances at promotion, or even lose their jobs. Originally Nip said if they breach their promise, they could be violating the national security law, but later revised his statement to say breaching the oath did not necessarily amount to a criminal offense. 

Being vague about it makes civil servants, and by extension the public even more skeptical about the whole oath-taking.

This exercise, where the rest of the civil service will have to sign the declaration, is a witch hunt to find those who participated in the anti-government protests that erupted in June 2019 over the since-withdrawn extradition bill. 

In August last year, thousands of civil servants gathered in Central to demand an independent inquiry into police handling of protests, and the withdrawal of the extradition bill.

Meanwhile those who already joined the civil service since July 1 have already signed the declaration pledging allegiance, almost 3,000 of them.

National security law makes it harder to protest

Why should the government worry about dissent in the civil service ranks when the national security law has already been implemented, making it near impossible for people to protest? 

On top of that because of the coronavirus pandemic, social-distancing measures have limited to two people in public spaces also make it practically meaningless to try to create any kind of visible push back.

Once the civil service have completed declaring their oath to the Hong Kong SAR, who is next? Teachers? The media? 

It can't come fast enough.

Friday's News Onslaught

Lam warns people to stay home for Christmas this year

Today, Friday, ended the week with many events that made it hard to not only follow, but also absorb.

Just minutes after the founder of the defunct separatist Studentlocalism Tony Chung Hon-lam, 19, was convicted of defiling the Chinese national flag and illegal assembly, there was news that tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was charged under the national security law for colluding with foreign forces and he would make an appearance in court tomorrow.

This was why the Apple Daily founder was denied bail when he was detained on fraud charges stemming from an alleged illegal leasing of space in Next Digital in Tseung Kwan O; the authorities were giving him a preview of prison while they looked on how to nail him on breaching the national security law, though they didn't have to look far.

Chung convicted for defiling flag, illegal assembly

Lai will be charged with colluding with foreign forces as he has previously campaigned American politicians to impose economic sanctions on senior Hong Kong government officials, which led to the passing of the Magnitsky Act. That resulted in Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor claiming in an interview last week that she cannot open a bank account and therefore her salary is paid to her in cash, with piles of money all over her residence at Government House.

However, Lai made these solicitations to the United States before the national security law was enacted on July 1 and it was stated that the law would not be retroactive. 

Nevertheless, many believe it was only a matter of time until Lai would be charged, but is he prepared for the possibility of being tried in a mainland court, and spending the rest of his life in jail?

Fellow activist Chan Kin-man, who was one of the leaders of the 2014 Occupy Central movement, visited Lai in jail today. According to Chan's Facebook post he wrote: "I shared some prison experiences. I told him not to count down the days, but live in the moment, to live each day well, he took (the advice) gladly... but when we spoke of family, he was gripped by guilt and wept."

Lai faces national security charge tomorrow

Meanwhile, one gets the sense Hong Kong's leader is perhaps miffed at the growing public discontent at how the government has been handling the fourth wave of the pandemic and held a show-stopping press conference to reiterate once again how serious the spread of the virus has been and that people should stop going out and socializing.

Flanked by her various senior officials, Lam reported Hong Kong has secured vaccines from two manufacturers, Sinovac and Pfizer, and with two injections per person that means 15 million doses have been secured.

She claimed the vaccines were not mandatory, almost sarcastically saying how can she force people to take it -- who wouldn't? -- though she refused to be drawn into the concern that the vaccines by Chinese company Sinovac may not be effective or have serious side effects.

"Don't get involved in politics," said Lam, replying to a reporter. "Look at it in a totally depoliticized perspective. This is about science... evidence. The experts will look at it."

Lam also announced from December 22, there will be 36 designated hotels that will take in travelers returning to the city and under go mandatory quarantine for two weeks. 

Want to spend your hotel quarantine in this suite?

The list of hotels is a very large range in terms of room rates. They range from HK$400 a night in the Ramada Hong Kong Grand in Tsim Sha Tsui all the way to a whopping HK$51,150 a night in the entertainment suite in the Landmark Mandarin in Central. 

For that price the almost 1,800 square-feet room includes a marble bathtub, 85-inch LED TV screen, Gaggenau kitchen, and Playstation equipment to keep you occupied for two weeks.

How many people are going to book this room for quarantine? That works out to HK$716,100 not including service charge...

In any event, during the press conference a reporter asked why it took so long (almost a year) for the government to come up with the plan to use hotels to quarantine travelers, whereas places like Singapore implemented the idea early on.

"If you look back at the early stage of the epidemic, I think the hotel sector was pretty hesitant, or even reluctant, to use the hotels for quarantine purposes for understandable reasons. And then as things develop, we witness that more and more hotels are accepting quarantine guests," Patrick Nip Tak-kuen , Secretary for the Civil Service explained.

Nip says 12,000 rooms ready for December 22

There were also concerns 12,000 hotel rooms would not be enough to cover the upcoming holiday season with about 1,000 people coming back daily, but the government had a wait-and-see attitude that was hardly reassuring.

Meanwhile, Lam claimed hotels were at first reluctant to take part in the quarantine scheme due to perceptions.

"The hotel owners were very worried about supporting the government in anything, because then they would be harassed and intimidated, and doxxed and so on," she said.

She seems to insinuate now that the economy has been battered that hotel owners are on their knees desperate for any business they can get now, and being a designated quarantine hotel would guarantee a flow of guests, though there are immense health risks to the staff in handling potential coronavirus cases.

In the meantime everyone will be watching what happens tomorrow with Lai because it will affect everyone else in Hong Kong...

With Testing, HK Govt Undermines Best Intentions

Almost 1.8 million people took part in the mass testing scheme for two weeks

Today it was reported there were no new local infections from the coronavirus since July 4, though there were four new imported cases.

Lam (centre) and her administration at a press briefing today

The happy news coincided with the afternoon press conference led by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her lieutenants, including Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee, Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, and Head of the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen.

It was revealed the universal community testing programme wasn't free at all -- it cost taxpayers a whopping HK$530 million, with HK$370 million (US$68.4 million) to pay for medical and support staff. That's a lot of money spent paying people to swab nostrils and throats for two weeks.

One reporter pointed out that with 42 people found to be positive with the virus through this scheme, that worked out to over HK$10 million per positive case (it's actually more than HK$12 million), and asked if this was a good use of money.

Lam defended the HK$530 million mass testing

Lam immediately defended the mass testing scheme, rejecting criticism the number of infections did not justify the cost of the exercise.

"This universal community testing programme has made multiple contributions to our anti-epidemic efforts, and it is not easy, or actually it's not quite right, to reflect or measure these benefits by the unit cost of a confirmed case," she said.

"The effectiveness and the success of public health relies in keeping the people safe, keeping the people away from disease infections and so on."

While it's true it's hard to put a price tag on health, the HK$530 million is only part of the total cost of the mass testing scheme -- the government did not disclose how much the central government chipped in.

Most of the money was spent on medical and support staff

The question was asked during the press conference, but not answered.

By not being transparent about the numbers this only increases people's distrust of Beijing and the Lam administration even more.

Their silence undermines all their efforts in showing concern for Hongkongers' health during the pandemic.

Something to think about when trying to win the hearts and minds of people...