HK needs to learn humbly from the mainland: Tam

Hong Kong’s sole deputy to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, Tam Yiu-chung, has called on the SAR government and all civil servants to “learn humbly” from the mainland when it comes to areas like making plans for a mandatory, territory-wide testing scheme.

In an article published on the mainland’s Global Times newspaper, Tam said Hong Kong is undergoing its toughest battle against Covid-19 two years since the pandemic began, adding that the SAR authorities had been caught off guard by the sudden outbreak.

“There’ve been some unnecessary chaos. We must admit that there are some loopholes in the government’s anti-epidemic work, with some of the policies failing to keep up with people’s needs,” he wrote, citing problems like long waiting times for tests, a “severe shortage” of quarantine and treatment facilities, and the lack of medical experts.

Tam pointed out that the mainland has very good experience in fighting the pandemic, adding that there is a lot that Hong Kong can learn from.

He called on people here to stay united and work on achieving “dynamic zero infections”, saying he believes Hong Kong will definitely win the battle against Covid-19 with the support of the mainland.