Letters | Apolitical? Hong Kong’s largest voter group is just not that into politics
- Readers discuss Hongkongers’ apathy, the problem with testing records and government apps, the pros and cons of full-day school, and suggest a wild boar sanctuary
Incidentally, I first started writing about the Legislative Council in the late 1980s. I have found that Hong Kong’s three broad political divisions (China-friendly, China-hostile and “I’m not big on local politics”) have remained remarkably consistent over the past 30 years, with the third group being the largest, the quietest and, some might say, the wisest.
Nury Vittachi, Causeway Bay
Missed flight because of PCR lab mistake
On Sunday night, I went to the airport to check in for a 12.15am flight to Los Angeles and discovered I could not board because the laboratory that sent me the full report of my negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test had mistyped my date of birth, which is the password they use, so the report could not be opened.
We then discovered that the lab, Health Hope International Medical Laboratory Limited used by the government testing facility at Shek Tong Tsui, closes at 6pm and has no 24-hour helpline, so it was impossible to get any recourse at 11pm on a Sunday night. Why does the report need to be password-protected when it comes to my private mobile phone? Why use a lab that does not have a 24-hour hotline?
I had not been worried about not being able to open the report earlier because the negative test results had also been posted on my iAMSmart and eHealth apps. I had also received a text message from the Hong Kong government saying that my “test result is negative”.
However, the airline staff pointed out that these apps do not include the name and date of birth, even on the Electronic Testing Record page on iAMSmart that is posted by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer. Yet, such details on test results are a requirement now of most governments requiring a PCR test for arrivals.
The testing record on iAMSmart has a QR code and I asked the airline staff if perhaps they could scan that to get more complete information and they said they could not.