A game changer? Hong Kong leader performs ‘difficult balancing act’ on easing strict Covid-19 measures
- Lifting of flight ban partly result of rare plea from more than half of Carrie Lam’s de facto cabinet in an attempt to retain city’s status as international finance hub, sources say
- Observers say they expect Lam to continue to face mounting pressure on whether administration is decoupling from mainland’s dynamic zero-Covid strategy
The lifting of a flight ban on nine countries from April 1 was partly a result of a rare plea from more than half of the city leader’s de facto cabinet in an attempt to retain Hong Kong’s status as an international financial hub amid the Omicron-fuelled epidemic, the Post has learned.
But observers said they expected Lam to continue to face mounting pressure over whether her administration was decoupling from mainland China’s dynamic zero-Covid strategy and putting aside its previous priority to pursue cross-border quarantine-free travel. The city leader gave no indication on this front at a press conference on Monday.
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“The government doesn’t have many cards in hand. It must tame escalating grievances on international travel before rethinking routes to pursue border reopening with the mainland, which has now become impossible due to outbreak in major cities,” said Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of semi-official think tank the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies.
The expatriate community and business heavyweights welcomed the lifting of the flight ban, with Lan Kwai Fong Group chief Allan Zeman describing it as “a game changer” to restore the faith of the international business community in Hong Kong.
“This was a pragmatic, sensible move as Lam took note that many people were leaving Hong Kong for elsewhere,” the entertainment tycoon told the Post.
Lam said flight suspensions were “no longer timely” as the epidemic situation in the listed countries was often “no worse than Hong Kong’s”. The city reported 14,068 new Covid-19 infections on Monday.
The chief executive stressed the government was not moving towards “living with the virus”, but the measures, including the phased easing of social-distancing rules, were more of a progress report that left the city’s options open.