Editorial | Handling of scandal over party will put Carrie Lam to test
- With top officials and lawmakers among 170 people in quarantine after ignoring health advice and attending birthday celebrations, all eyes are now on Hong Kong’s leader
Unlike some countries where politicians have come under fire for breaking government Covid-19 rules, Hong Kong had kept clear of such controversy until this week when some officials and lawmakers were found to have ignored health advice and attended a big birthday party amid a worrying Omicron outbreak.
What is clear, though, is that the political fiasco cannot be resolved without resorting to the highest level of accountability.
04:09
Hong Kong businesses cry foul over abrupt return to anti-Covid-19 social-distancing rules
The outrage goes beyond the fact that the public is now bound by the evening dine-in ban and other restrictions. The party, to mark the 53rd birthday of state legislator Witman Hung Wai-man, was held at a Wan Chai restaurant on Monday.
Most officials were initially spared quarantine as they were said to have left before the arrival of a guest who later tested preliminary positive.
The decision to send all those who attended to Penny’s Bay quarantine centre only came on Friday after another guest tested positive.
Whether the isolation of lawmakers will affect the Legislative Council, which begins its new term next week, remains to be seen.
However, there is no worse way to start the term than in disgrace just days after the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office chief set out his expectations for the “patriot-only” legislature.