Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, does not have a crystal ball. But his prediction of a victory in the nationwide battle against the novel coronavirus sounds very convincing.

Luo told Hong Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress and Hong Kong members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in an open letter released on Thursday that he firmly believed the current epidemic would be overcome soon, and the SAR would regain its vigor after getting through such a tough time. He said Hong Kong people must maintain their confidence, remain compassionate and continue to make concerted efforts.

Luo noted that confidence is inarguably one of the most crucial factors for any victory. It enabled the country and the SAR overcome the SARS epidemic in 2003; it also helped the country withstand the global financial tsunami in 2008 and emerge from it in relatively good shape. As then premier Wen Jiabao so aptly put it in September 2008, shortly after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, “Confidence is more important than gold and money”. Such confidence doesn’t come out of thin air. It is well supported by national strength.

He said compassion will enable Hong Kong people to fight against the novel coronavirus together as they did with the SARS epidemic. People who are kind to one another will refrain from hoarding daily necessities and protective gear such as surgical masks; they will not oppose the setup of quarantine facilities in their neighborhood just because of a selfish "not in my backyard" (NIMBY) mindset; they must strictly comply with quarantine orders when required. 

Luo said concerted efforts were also indispensable for containing the highly contagious and wily SARS-CoV-2 virus. The lessons learned from the battle against the SARS epidemic tell us that it needs the joint efforts of health authorities, medical professionals and residents to overcome an epidemic.

The novel coronavirus has proved itself as formidable an enemy as the SARS virus - if not more. But Luo emphasized that with joint efforts, the country and the SAR will certainly win the battle. “No mountain is too high to climb; no river is too wide to cross”.