As the year of Sars comes to a close, it was all too predictable that we would be reminded of the epidemic's staying power. Another case surfaced in Taiwan on Wednesday, leading to fast reactions in Hong Kong and across the region.
Can Hong Kong do a better job with Sars, Round Two, than it did last March? As we recall all too easily, a fog of indecision, panic and official gridlock reinforced apprehensions about government mismanagement and fed into the massive displays of public discontent on July 1 and afterwards.
But the question is not just about the ability to manage a medical crisis or satisfy a craving for democracy. The re-emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome reminds us that Hong Kong itself is in a fragile state of social, political and economic health. Hong Kong has been all too slow to shake off its post-1997 malaise. Unless it can begin to put its considerable assets to work solving Sars and other problems, each new crisis will only make things worse.
As a non-Chinese expatriate living in Hong Kong for just a few years, I do not feel that I have any magic answers. However, in a week that saw the resurfacing of Sars, two other S-words provide some hope.
One was Hong Kong's response to the capture of Saddam Hussein. This may seem like belabouring the obvious, but when Hussein's bearded, dishevelled face suddenly appeared on the evening news last Sunday, people here instantly tied the event to its geopolitical implications for Hong Kong and China, by way of the US presidential elections next year.
Hong Kong's chattering classes and money people operate on the cusp of global events. So do their counterparts in London and New York, and perhaps Tokyo. But China's other major cities have yet to experience the same degree of interconnectedness, and this represents an advantage for Hong Kong.
