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Anti-government protesters on Nathan Road in Mong Kok on February 29. Photo: Felix Wong

Home-made masks, a night of mayhem and failed asylum bids: 10 of readers’ top Hong Kong stories from 2020

  • The city had barely recovered from the social unrest of last year, when the pandemic hit and Beijing moved to rein in activists with the national security law
  • With thousands of reports, the Post covered the changes and impact on the lives of residents
This time last year, residents of Hong Kong were still trying to fathom the unprecedented violence that had been convulsing the city for months. What more could the city endure? Some sort of calm must surely be next.
But the social unrest soon gave way to the first waves of the coronavirus pandemic, which brought economic destruction in its wake. The city’s activists and opposition politicians were put on notice in June when Beijing imposed the sweeping national security law, a step later met with sanctions by several Western governments. With thousands of reports, the Post covered the changes and their impact on the lives of residents. Here are some of readers’ favourite stories from 2020.

1. Taking cover

Masks are ubiquitous now, but in the initial months of the outbreak, many countries were still hesitant to believe the coverings were effective in preventing the spread of Covid-19. The Post broke down the arguments on both sides. “There is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks by the mass population has any potential benefit,” said Dr Mike Ryan, the executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies programme.

But others in the medical community were pointing to Hong Kong, where masks have long been commonplace, and up to that point, the spread of the disease had been kept in check. Writing in The Lancet medical journal, top microbiologist Professor Yuen Kwok-yung described the case of a seven-year-old girl who travelled with five family members to Wuhan, then the epicentre of the nation’s pandemic. The girl was the only one in the family who did not contract the virus. She had worn masks throughout the trip. The WHO would eventually change its position, and the world came around to the wisdom of wearing masks, even US President Donald Trump.

2. Home-made protection

In the initial weeks of the pandemic, Hong Kong was gripped by panic-buying. Residents lined up for hours outside pharmacies to stock up on masks, but the huge demand left others without any of the coverings. But using a handful of items commonly found around the house, scientists in Hong Kong devised a cheap and easy way for residents to make their own coverings. Tests by City University found the do-it-yourself version achieved 80 to 90 per cent of the function of regular ones in terms of filtration of aerosol and droplets.

3. Beijing takes aim

The central government revealed in May that the National People’s Congress would table a resolution allowing the nation’s top legislative body to craft a national security law for Hong Kong. A mainland source familiar with Hong Kong affairs told the Post that Beijing had concluded it was impossible for the Legislative Council to succeed at passing security legislation on its own given the hostile political environment and deeply divided city.

Pasta bugs, plastic salt and ice cream bacteria: 2020’s top food scares in Hong Kong

4. Falling deeper into the red

As the economic slump worsened in Hong Kong and jobs continued to disappear, the government took the extraordinary step of handing out HK$10,000 (US$1,300) to most adult residents and extended a HK$700 million (US$90.3 million) lifeline to the tourism industry. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced the measures in his budget address, but warned fiscal reserves were expected to drop to HK$908.5 billion in 2019-2020, down from HK$1.1 trillion.

5. Clashes during a health crisis

After months of relative calm, the city was convulsed on February 29 by the largest outbreak of violence since the pandemic began. Protesters had gathered to lay flowers outside Prince Edward MTR station, where they believed police had killed demonstrators during a clearance operation in August – a claim officials have denied. Officers urged the crowd to disperse, but about 100 protesters blocked busy Nathan Road and their numbers steadily grew. Protesters began to hurl petrol bombs and bricks at riot police, who fired back with tear gas and pepper spray late into the night. By morning, 115 people had been arrested over a range of suspected offences, including arson and possessing weapons.

From temples to dance halls, Covid-19 clusters cut across every level of society in 2020

6. Escape to Taiwan

“I will never go back to Hong Kong,” Jack Chan told a Post reporter from his flat in Taipei, the Taiwanese capital he now called home after fleeing Hong Kong. With his name changed at his request, the young man recounted the string of events over the previous year that had turned him from a casual political observer into a hardcore member of the anti-government movement. He was on vacation when police came looking for him at the home he shared with his parents.

He declined to say what he did during the protests, but said violence was needed when peaceful demonstrations failed. Self-exiled in a city where he did not speak the language, Chan took odd jobs under the table to survive. As for the future? “It’s not a matter of whether I can get used to life here,” he said. “I have no other choice.”

The article was the fifth in a series analysing how key players of the movement have fared.
A man suspected of stabbing an officer is detained at the airport after officers removed him from a London-bound flight. Photo: Handout

7. Last-minute arrest

A police officer stationed at the airport received an anonymous call just before midnight on July 1, saying a man wanted for stabbing an officer during an afternoon protest was about to leave the city aboard a Cathay Pacific flight bound for London. Officers raced to the boarding gate and entered the plane to search for the 24-year-old suspect, who they found sitting in the row ahead of his designated seat. He was carrying about HK$40,000 and an expired BN(O) passport along with a valid local one. He was taken into custody, ending an eight-hour citywide manhunt for the primary assailant in the attack.
The Cathay Pacific bailout marked the first time the government had taken a direct stake in a private company. Photo: Reuters

8. Rescuing Cathay

Cathay Pacific went through the greatest upheaval of its history this year. The pandemic decimated airlines around the world, and Hong Kong’s flagship carrier was not immune. As passenger traffic plummeted, Cathay was heading towards collapse until the government stepped in, leading a massive HK$39 billion bailout. Via a new company called Aviation 2020, the government would buy HK$19.5 billion (US$2.5 billion) in preferential shares and offer a HK$7.8 billion bridging loan. The move was aimed at protecting Hong Kong’s role as a global aviation hub.
The late Bonnie Evita Law, with her husband Danny Chi and their son. Photo: handout

9. Death of an heiress

A scion of the Bossini clothing empire died in late January after cosmetic surgery in Seoul. Bonnie Evita Law, the 34-year-old granddaughter of late textile tycoon Law Ting-pong, was undergoing liposuction and breast augmentation at a dermatological clinic in the upscale Gangnam district when her oxygen levels suddenly dropped, turning her face pale and her lips blue. Law fell into a coma and later died at hospital. Seoul police launched an investigation, and widower Danny Chi vowed to sue the clinic, its two doctors and a nurse for damages. “Nothing can bring my wife back. It’s to raise awareness for others,” he said of the lawsuit. “I don’t want the same tragedy to happen for other families.”
Four activists made a failed asylum bid at the US consulate in Central. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

10. Diplomatic row averted

A Post reporter witnessed four activists dashing towards security guards posted outside the US consulate on Chater Road in Central one afternoon in late October. The group was allowed inside the compound but later seen leaving after failing in what a source said was a bid for asylum. At least one in the group was facing charges stemming from last year’s social unrest.

That morning, officers from the national security unit had arrested the former leader of a now-defunct pro-independence group at a coffee shop across from the consulate, before he could make his own attempt at seeking refuge. Hours later two other former members of the group were taken into custody. According to insiders, mainland officials had been tracking the developments across the day.

Which stories mattered most to you in 2020? Find out with our Year In Review 2020 retrospective

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