Can Hong Kong’s relations with mainland China survive the coronavirus crisis?

The fact that the Hong Kong government has upset people on both sides of the border reflects how problematic everything has become now

The city is crying out for a strong and well-prepared leadership that will free its citizens from fear and panic, while also maintaining healthy cross-border ties

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Hongkongers felt city leader Carrie Lam was putting them at risk because she dared not offend Beijing. Photo: Warton Li

Tammy Tam

Tammy Tam is the South China Morning Post's Publisher.

Published: 5:19pm, 9 Feb 2020Updated: 11:42pm, 9 Feb 2020

Local residents are not the only ones frustrated by the Hong Kong government’s messy handling of protective equipment supplies, in particular face masks, amid the coronavirus crisis – mainland Chinese are upset, too.

What does it tell us?

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who earlier openly admitted her administration’s failure in sourcing masks globally, including from mainland China, declared on Saturday that 17 million masks made across the border were on the way after a lot of back-and-forth coordination by the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.

But that’s still a drop in the ocean, and no applause can be expected locally as the atmosphere has changed completely after months of anti-government protest violence. Street demonstrations have transformed into long queues at shops for all kinds of protective products and daily necessities amid a buying frenzy for even toilet paper.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam earlier openly admitted her administration’s failure in sourcing masks globally amid the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Robert Ng

Surprisingly – or perhaps not that surprisingly – mainland social media platforms have also been awash with negative comments after Lam’s announcement.