Hong Kong dragon boat boss calls for timeline to end quarantine so city can stage 2027 world championships, revive annual races
- Quarantine caused 2023 world championships to be moved, but local association wants to bid again, and revive annual International Dragon Boat Races
- City can host in 2027 if government removes all border quarantine, chairman says, adding: ‘We cannot afford so many maybes – we need an exact strategy’
The head of Hong Kong’s dragon boat federation has called for a clearer government road map for removing quarantine restrictions as soon as possible, so that the city does not continue to lose the right to host international events.
He told the Post that his association wanted to bid to host the 2027 global championships, as well as revive Hong Kong’s annual International Dragon Boat Races.
But he said efforts to do so could not proceed without greater clarity – and news of a rolling back of restrictions – in the coming weeks. He argued that the scaled-down “3+4” policy (three days of hotel quarantine plus four of medical surveillance), and talk of moving to “0+7”, had altered little.
“There isn’t much time, because we’ve decided to bid for 2027, and we have to submit the bid next year,” Chung said. “The government needs to provide a clear road map and timetable, telling us when Hong Kong will relax its restrictions from 3+4 and start 0+7 or take a more aggressive approach.
“We cannot keep telling people, ‘Oh, we presently have 3+4, but maybe we’ll have 0+7 soon, or no quarantine next year.’ We cannot afford so many maybes – we need an exact strategy.