Coronavirus: international students plead with Hong Kong to give them same vaccine deal as domestic workers
- Fully vaccinated students who previously tried to fly to Hong Kong from Philippines and Indonesia say existing policy is discriminatory
- Only travellers with recognised jabs certificates from the two countries can enter Hong Kong and they must undergo 21 days of quarantine
Fully vaccinated students who had attempted to fly to Hong Kong from the Philippines and Indonesia in the past academic year said the existing policy was discriminatory. Some had never set foot on campus since enrolling.
“The government recognises Indonesia’s vaccination record for domestic helpers but not for other Hong Kong residents like us? How are we any different?” a third-year global economics and finance student at Chinese University said on Saturday. “It has been a roller coaster of emotions for the past two years in trying to return to Hong Kong, especially these past few months.”
The 20-year-old, who declined to be named, has not been on campus since November 2019 when her university told foreign students to go home because of the social unrest rocking the city.
The government recently struck bilateral deals with Indonesia and the Philippines to accept helpers’ Covid-19 inoculation certificates, paving the way for the workers to come to Hong Kong to alleviate a shortage. But the arrangements triggered complaints as many other people and groups were excluded.