Coronavirus: don’t be fixated on ‘0+0’, Hong Kong’s John Lee says, while vowing to lift more pandemic curbs
- Chief executive says he will not describe ‘whether we are in a stage of ‘zero-plus-what’, amid pressure to end all travel restrictions and fully reopen city
- Pro-Beijing heavyweight writes in commentary ‘0+0’ not an option because of mainland China’s policy
Hong Kong’s leader has urged the city not to be fixated on a “0+0” Covid-19 arrangement which would end all restrictions for travellers, while reassuring the public he will lift more pandemic curbs even as caseloads rise in mainland China.
“Everyone has a different understanding of ‘0+0’. Therefore, I am not going to describe whether we are in [a stage] of ‘zero-plus-what’,” Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday, referring to demands to lift the three-day medical surveillance mandate for all inbound travellers, under the current “0+3” policy.
Pro-Beijing politicians and businessmen said Lee’s change of narrative was an attempt to avoid sending a signal that Hong Kong was pursuing a “live with the virus” policy, with one lawmaker saying that the government is considering allowing some restaurants to admit arrivals with amber health codes to designated zones.
Lee tackled the question at his weekly press briefing on whether authorities would give up pursuing the lifting of all travel restrictions, with a reporter citing an article by pro-Beijing heavyweight politician Lo Man-tuen, who said Hong Kong’s latest relaxations were equivalent to a de facto “0+0” policy, but the city could not declare that because of the mainland’s “dynamic zero” policy.
In an opinion piece in Ming Pao published on Tuesday, Lo, vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, wrote: “This is to take into account the perception of the mainland, in a bid to [allow the city] to better integrate with the mainland’s entry arrangements and facilitate more Hongkongers to enter the mainland.”