Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s U-turn on Guangdong risk status not based on CY Leung’s criticism, sources say
- Last-minute call to pull neighbouring province from list of medium-risk destinations was due to confusion over mainland classification policy, one says
- Slammed by the former city leader on social media, the move would have meant Hongkongers in the province were no longer eligible for quarantine-free return
The timing of the Saturday night U-turn night raised suspicions that health officials backed down after Leung, currently vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, hit out at the idea of halting the cross-border arrangement because of a single coronavirus case in Guangzhou, the provincial capital.
Centre for Health Protection officials on Saturday afternoon had said Guangdong would be joining Anhui and Liaoning provinces on the list, meaning Hongkongers could no longer cross the land border under the “Return2HK” scheme, which grants exemption from quarantine.
Health experts on Sunday urged the government to further explain its mechanism for classifying places as medium or high risk, and proposed the city work with mainland authorities to improve their information sharing and decision-making mechanisms. Some other analysts questioned whether political considerations had played a role in the about-face.
“The addition of Guangdong province would not be in line with top officials’ eagerness to revive cross-border travel,” said Dr Ma Ngok, a political scientist at Chinese University. “The U-turn calls into question the consistency of the government’s decision-making.”
