Letters | Hong Kong’s next leader should accept ‘living with Covid’ but have zero tolerance for violence

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With Hong Kong mired in its worst-ever wave of Covid-19, the chief executive election has been postponed to May. Even though most Hongkongers cannot vote in this election, the city’s next leader is key to our future in the post-pandemic era. I would like to express my expectations for the next head of Hong Kong.

First, the next chief executive should formulate a long-term and effective pandemic policy to return our lives to normal. From the first to the fifth wave, the government’s slow response to the latest developments on the epidemic front has become a matter of public censure.

In the long run, the city needs to adopt the “living with the virus” approach. The “dynamic zero infection” strategy may be efficacious before a high vaccination rate is reached. But as the next term of government begins in the second half of this year, our vaccination rate should have already exceeded 90 per cent.

Living with the virus will be possible by then. We should not let social distancing measures bring economic activity to a standstill again. A regular and compulsory vaccination policy, mandated by legislation, should be enforced, with a comprehensive contingency plan to cope with sudden outbreaks so that the city can respond to them swiftly.

Second, the new government should take a more authoritative approach. The social unrest, though suppressed by the pandemic, may arise again. Previous governments were too soft on illegal violent acts and their leniency was taken for granted by protesters.