‘They don’t want Hongkongers’ – how city’s rising wave of Covid-19 infections is snarling deal on opening border with mainland China

Name: Millions on the move as China welcomes ‘golden week’, first major holiday after coronavirus
Uploaded: 2020-10-09T02:00:19.000Z
Duration: 1 min 24 s
Description: Millions on the move as China welcomes ‘golden week’, first major holiday after coronavirus

The mainland has been highly successful in limiting the spread of the pandemic, with zero infections viewed as the national standard

Hong Kong, desperate for a travel agreement to bring in tourist dollars, might find that a difficult target to hit, especially with a fourth wave on the horizon

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A woman crosses the Lo Wu border before it was closed due to the pandemic. Photo: Edmond So

Chris Lau,Gary Cheung,Natalie WongandVictor Ting

Published: 10:00am, 9 Oct 2020Updated: 7:07pm, 9 Oct 2020

Talks to reopen the border between Hong Kong and mainland China will prove difficult – even if the city manages to dodge a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections – because the neighbouring provincial government would prefer a track record of zero infections before reaching a deal, the Post has learned.

Getting people moving over the border is vital to help pull Hong Kong’s economy out of recession, as the pool of mainland tourists with cash to spend has dried up, leaving hotels, restaurants and luxury retailers struggling.

But the government and its counterpart in Guangdong province have been struggling to find middle ground on what would constitute an acceptable infection rate in the financial hub for a travel deal to be struck.

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Millions on the move as China welcomes ‘golden week’, first major holiday after coronavirus

While the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau hoped to fully open the border before zero infections is achieved, provincial authorities have been hesitant about giving up what is viewed as the standard for pandemic control on the mainland.

“Mainland authorities don’t want to let Hong Kong people in as we have more [new] infected cases than the whole of China, Macau and Taiwan combined,” said a source close to the Hong Kong government.

Beijing has managed to get the virus under control using mass testing, tracking technologies and tough quarantine measures, recording just 11 new infections on Thursday, all imported, compared with 18 in Hong Kong, 14 of them local. Taiwan confirmed just a single case and Macau none.

The deadlock in talks had prompted Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to personally seek help from mainland authorities, as pressure mounted for her to deliver good news in her policy address next week, an insider said.

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