Letters | Is Hong Kong paying too high a price for a limited border reopening?
- Readers discuss efforts to reopen the border with the mainland, vaccinations for children, the Omicron variant and improvements to the leisure facility booking system
How does this ever lead to a reopening of Hong Kong’s borders with the rest of the world? It is simply not feasible to have a border reopening that is liable to be suspended without adequate prior notice for such a flimsy cause. Travellers have to make plans, book flights, arrange meetings and so on in the certainty that the reopening can be implemented except in the event of a serious emergency.
Hong Kong owes it to its people to reopen international borders as soon as possible. It is essential for the economic well-being of Hong Kong, not least for our tourism, travel and hospitality industries. It is equally essential on humanitarian grounds to reunify families who have been torn asunder by Hong Kong’s heartless policies.
The government should not hide behind the excuse of low vaccination rates. First-dose vaccination rates of 45 per cent for people in their 70s and 18 per cent for people in their 80s represent a failing on the part of the government itself.
The government has a duty to get out into local communities to lead a drive to impress upon older people the need to be vaccinated for their own welfare, as well as that of the people of Hong Kong.