Editorial | Xi Jinping directive turns up heat on Carrie Lam team as Hong Kong virus numbers climb
- China’s president has made it clear that responsibility for tackling a devastating fifth coronavirus wave rests with the city’s leaders and people’s lives must come first
With the city reporting more than 18,200 Covid infections in just a matter of weeks, it would be unusual for Beijing not to be worried. But the “important directive” from President Xi Jinping has set a more serious tone for an all-out battle, not only on the part of the government, but also the city as a whole.
At stake is not just the performance of Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s administration, but people’s lives and social stability.
Reports on the front pages of two Beijing-funded newspapers on Wednesday underline the significance of the matter. Against the grim backdrop of another daily high of more than 11,000 confirmed and preliminary cases, the so-called three alls and two ensures from the state leader are telling.
Specifically, the government is required to make fighting the epidemic “a mission overriding all others”; to “exhaust all possible resources and manpower”; and “adopt all necessary measures” to “ensure the safety of public lives and social stability”.
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Hospitals overflow with Covid-19 patients as Xi sends message to Hong Kong's leaders
Separately, Vice-Premier Han Zheng has instructed the relevant mainland authorities to help tackle a range of pandemic-related issues facing the city, along with a new mechanism led by the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the National Health Commission to help coordinate antivirus efforts.
Xi’s remarks followed talks between Hong Kong and the mainland to strengthen testing, isolation and treatment facilities and to enhance the supply of food and daily necessities. They also came less than two months after a duty visit by Lam during which Xi “fully acknowledged” her leadership in combating the pandemic.