Lam Hopes Border Opens in December

There are hopes Hongkongers can go to Shenzhen next month

There is some cautious optimism that the border between Hong Kong and China may be opened as early as next month -- though there are restrictions and the key word is "gradual", according to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

Hong Kong travellers will be able to go to the mainland -- but only to Guangdong province. 

"You cannot enjoy this quarantine-free travel directly to Beijing or Shanghai. It's logical because we start with the Greater Bay Area," she said.

Lam says the border reopening will be "gradual"

There will be a quota system of how many are allowed in, and priority will be given to those with business interests.

When asked to confirm if the border will open by the end of the year, Lam replied, "I hope very much so. But I just can't promise it. We are still in discussion."

Ah, there's the rub.

As much as Lam hopes the border will reopen, it is still beyond her control.

According to a mainland health official familiar with the negotiations, Hong Kong travellers would have to use the same contact-tracing app that is used in China and display the green health code issued by the city, indicating a low risk of Covid-19 infection.

"Travellers from Hong Kong could go to other cities in Guangdong province after arriving in Shenzhen if they have valid health codes and meet other requirements, which are being finalised," the official said.

"If the Hong Kong government manages a smooth roll-out of the system, we might see the first trial of such an arrangement in mid-December."

China's health code: green, yellow and red

The Chinese health code can store the travel history of users and generate a colour-coded warning system based on exposure risks to Covid-19 patients with green being low, yellow and red, meaning high risk and not eligible to enter.

Lam said better contact-tracing ability and a higher vaccination rate would help Hong Kong convince mainland health experts to support the resumption of quarantine-free travel.

Despite Hong Kong not having any local infections for 27 consecutive days, while China recorded 93 infections yesterday, it seems odd that Beijing still has the upper hand. 

Nevertheless, when Lam doesn't even know for sure when the border will open, that means it may not happen in December. 

Priority given to businesses first to cross border

And with restrictions even tighter in Beijing with the Winter Olympics less than 90 days away, the chances of Hongkongers getting into the capital are next to zero.

That's why the keyword is "gradual"... 

Lam Promises Better Sleep in New Metropolis

Lam says Northern Metropolis residents can sleep better

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is selling her Northern Metropolis project as a way for families living there to have a better quality of life because they will have more time to sleep.

Towns near the border become metropolis

In a speech to the Global Conference of the Alliance for Healthy Cities, Lam said the government will try to ensure that the new metropolis is self-contained, adding this will be a first for a new town development in Hong Kong.

She explained that with some 650,000 jobs that are envisaged in the metropolis, by the border near Shenzhen, residents would not have to travel into Hong Kong's existing urban areas for work. In other words Central district will now be in Fanling or Sheung Shui...

"When I am driven from the urban area where I live into the new development to attend a meeting, to officiate at a function, I always see buses coming the other way, that is from the new development areas into the urban areas, and the majority of passengers on the buses are falling asleep.

"So you just imagine, if we have more jobs in the areas where these people live, they will have an extra hour of quality sleep, in home, and not on the bus."

A bus tour in Tuen Mun to catch some sleep

Maybe she didn't hear about those tour buses specifically for people to sleep on because they like the gentle rocking on public transport that lulls them to sleep. 

Anyway this Northern Metropolis won't be completed in at least the next 15 years so people won't be sleeping better until then... what does Lam suggest in the meantime for people to catch their zzz's?

Half of Secondary Students Depressed

Half of secondary students are depressed and stressed out

 

It's not surprising to find that secondary students in Hong Kong are stressed out. This was confirmed by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups that half the students surveyed are feeling stressed, and about the same amount are having symptoms of depression.

Federation says pupils can't concentrate, sleep

The federation conducted an online survey, with questionnaires given to 3,600 students in October. 

The results revealed 49 percent reported suffering from high levels of stress. While this is four percentage points lower than the result of a similar survey last year, it is still higher than before the coronavirus pandemic started.

In addition, 52 percent of pupils reported depression symptoms, such as trouble concentrating and sleeping, the federation said.

Deputy executive director Hsu Siu-man said although these students may not actually have depression, the situation is still concerning.

She said the students' stress was mainly related to academics, but some were also struggling to adjust to full-day in-person classes again, after the pandemic earlier forced students to attend classes online. 

Difficulties adjusting to in-person class

"Some tell us that they do not have enough rest time, because when they go home, it is already evening. Although this kind of situation is quite similar to that before the pandemic, they have spent already nearly two years [having] online classes or in hybrid mode... When they resume back to 'old normal' they have to spend their whole day at school, they need to adjust," she said.

Hsu also said pupils were having to adjust to a wave of emigration from Hong Kong, with some losing their friends.

"When they went back to school, many students found that quite a lot of classmates had disappeared...  they had moved with the whole family to other countries," she said.

Unfortunately this is the new reality in Hong Kong -- young people and their families moving away from the city which has a big psychological impact on them, and on top of it the pandemic social distancing measures and borders being closed have not been helpful for anyone, let alone students.

Classmates leaving also affects students

It is also difficult for them to deal with what has happened to Hong Kong in the past two years politically, socially and economically, and seeing the direction the city is going doesn't give them high hopes for the future.

 

Hongkongers React to Mandatory Tracing App

People using the app on their smartphones at govt buildings

As expected, the first day of making the Leave Home Safe app mandatory in many government buildings including wet markets, libraries, swimming pools did not go as smoothly as expected.

Even a man who had fallen, bloodied his head and rushed to emergency, had to use the app in order to enter the hospital.

And in a show of force, five people who work at Immigration Tower in Wan Chai were arrested for using a fake app. Two were immigration officers, one a member of staff at the Audit Commission and two contractors.

An injured man had to use app to go to hospital

And these people are working for the government...

Meanwhile for ordinary folk, this morning there were lots of people in front of the entrance of the Pei Ho Street Market in Sham Shui Po as many elderly people sought the help of others in installing or using the contact-tracing app.

One shopper, surnamed Wong, resorted to buying a new smartphone to use the app.

"It is too troublesome to fill in a form every time you enter a venue. I had no choice but to buy a new phone," said the 60-year-old.

The media also discovered there weren't enough security guards at all the wet market entrances to enforce use of the app so many snuck in without scanning the QR code.

At Sha Tin Public Library, people moaned about using the app.

"It's convenient for some of us, but not convenient for elderly people who don't have a smartphone... To be honest, many jobless people don't have a phone. What can they do?" asked a man surnamed Ng.

A woman who gave her name as Jenny said she had planned to go to the library but was not willing to use the app to go in.

"Since they require me to scan the QR code, I decided not to enter," she said.

A housewife surnamed Chan said she had been turned away from the Lok Fu Post Office because she didn't have a smartphone.

"It's disruptive. I don't understand why they have to do this. I just want to send some mail. It's unfair to those of us who don't have the app."

There is a big market for second-hand phones

It is evident there is a lot of mistrust of the government and why it is so anxious for residents to use the app.

If that wasn't enough, pro-establishment politicians, in a bid to show their patriotism, have suggested the government enforce using the app in other places too. Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun believes diners of B-type restaurants (four to a table and open until 10pm) will be forced to use the app by mid-November. 

And the University of Hong Kong's health expert Dr Ho Pak-leung, expects supermarkets and shopping malls will adopt the Leave Home Safe app as well. Currently the QR code is at the entrances but no one scans it.

If that wasn't enough, pro-Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po's editorial said the government should proactively stop people from buying a spare phone specifically for the Leave Home Safe app as a passive tactic against the authorities.

But that only fueled the market for second-hand or cheap smartphones today. People flocked to second-hand electronic stores in places like Mongkok and Sham Shui Po to snap up phones that cost HK$800 (US$102). Most of the buyers were elderly people, according to salesmen.

Tien suggests using app in type B restaurants

"I installed [the app] for the elderly people if they didn't know how to... Some people really don't know how to use a smartphone, just like the customer I served just now. She has never used a smartphone," a seller surnamed Chan said.

This exact scenario was played out back in February when the government pushed residents to use the Leave Home Safe app. Lots of people rushed out to buy cheap smartphones just to use the app. And now it's happening again as it is becoming mandatory in so many places.

They are all buying a second phone for the same reason -- distrust of the government and a belief that the authorities will use the app to scan people's phones to extract personal data.

It's amusing how far each side will go -- the residents versus the government -- in trying to be one step ahead.

But for sure the government will keep pressing people to scan the app wherever they go, again in a bid to make Beijing happy. Because our fearless leader has one goal -- to open the border -- and she will do whatever it takes to get there.