The purchasing managers’ index (manufacturing) of the mainland plunged in February to a record low of 35.7 from 50.0 in the previous month. Hong Kong’s PMI for February has yet to be announced, but there is little doubt it will plunge too. Already Hong Kong’s unemployment has been rising steadily over the past few months and is widely expected to hit 4 percent before long, and many Hong Kong employees are experiencing pay cuts, mandatory leave without pay, while employers witness losses mounting. The financial secretary is projecting a fiscal deficit at 4.8 percent of the GDP for the 2020-21 fiscal year, while this year’s growth lingers between -1.5 percent to +0.5 percent, and even this is conditional on there being no more political and social unrest.
The SAR government has announced its HK$120 billion (US$15.4 billion) countercyclical measures to boost the economy. But if Hong Kong people continue to fight among themselves, there will be little hope for the economy to revive. This is the time we all need to put down our differences and work together.
Unfortunately, this past Saturday riots erupted again in Mong Kok. The rioters wanted to commemorate the alleged killings by the police on Aug 31 in Prince Edward MTR station. Sadly, some people keep the rumors alive by mourning the “victims” from time to time at that MTR station, even though no family members of the allegedly killed ever came forward to seek justice. Petrol bombs were thrown, an MTR entrance was set on fire, some traffic lights were vandalized, police officers were attacked, and the police had to respond with pepper sprays and tear gas. One officer had to take out his pistol in self-defense, as the crowd continued to throw various objects at him.
The SAR government has announced its HK$120 billion (US$15.4 billion) countercyclical measures to boost the economy. But if Hong Kong people continue to fight among themselves, there will be little hope for the economy to revive. This is the time we all need to put down our differences and work together
I have been hoping that with the economy tailspinning after the onset of the novel coronavirus outbreak, the protesters will regain their senses, so Hong Kong will at least have peace back. I was counting on Hong Kong people uniting in the fight against the epidemic. I was appalled when the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance started a strike, allegedly trying to force the SAR government’s hand to close our borders against all mainlanders “in order to save Hong Kong.” As my friend Professor Sung Yun-wing wrote in a couple of his articles, the SAR government’s decision to quarantine anyone crossing the borders into Hong Kong is quite adequate, and that our neighbor Macao has never closed its borders and still is able to avoid new infections for many days.
In all fairness, although new infection cases still appear in Hong Kong almost on a daily basis, since the beginning of February, none can be traced to a mainlander coming into Hong Kong. The Hospital Authority Employees Alliance started its strike on Feb 3. But infections related to mainlanders coming to Hong Kong all happened on or before Jan 29. Thus, the closure of the borders to mainlanders, even if immediately implemented on the first day of the strike, would not have achieved anything.
At this hour, what we need in Hong Kong is working together to revive the economy. Assuming that we successfully contain the epidemic, for tourists to come back to Hong Kong, so that our retail sector, our restaurants, our hotels, our taxi drivers can earn a living, it is important that our streets are safe, and that no more arson, vandalism and blocking of traffic will take place. If our economy remains in the doldrums, our university graduates this year will have little chance finding jobs, and economic pains will linger on. That will lead to a lot of suffering for many families.
Some members of the Sai Kung District Board have proposed naming two parks after two students who had respectively been found drowned and fallen from a parking garage in Tseung Kwan O. The mother of Chan Yin-lam, the girl whose corpse was found floating in the sea, had urged the protesters to give her daughter some peace, saying that she had committed suicide. There was also no evidence whatsoever that the young man’s falling from the garage had any connection with police actions. There is a need to put these rumors to rest. A Coroner’s Court should look into the deaths, so that facts may prevail. Alternatively, and better still, is setting up an independent, authoritative commission of inquiry over the social unrest that had taken place in Hong Kong since June last year.
This seems to me the only way for the SAR government to regain the trust of the public. The commission should include top-notch forensic scientists and be given the power to subpoena and the access to files and any source of evidence. The commission is not to tell who is right and who is wrong, but merely to tell which is fact and which is fiction. Rumors cannot subside without an authoritative inquiry with credibility and investigative authority. I hope the government will consider this, and that this will start the revival of Hong Kong.
The author is a senior research fellow at Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute, Lingnan University.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
