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Opinion | Beijing’s stance on Covid-19 and Ukraine magnifies Hong Kong’s dilemma over East vs West narratives
- When China’s policy on Covid-19 containment or Ukraine clashes with the West’s, Hong Kong feels emotional dissonance
- Hong Kong’s plight is part of a larger geopolitical contest over hearts and minds everywhere, with Western democracies painted as desirable against an autocratic China
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The age of anxiety troubles us because the world as we know it is fracturing before our eyes. There is no quick and easy fix, unfortunately.
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The explosion of Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong affects everyone personally. Few would have thought in early 2020 that the pandemic would go into a third year.
Before Omicron, Hong Kong thought itself safe with its low Covid-19 infection rate and deaths but this has changed with the arrival of the highly transmissible variant. Cases are only expected to peak several weeks from now and the decline will take time, as it has done elsewhere.
Hong Kong is in for a tough period. On top of having to cope with the virus and all the inconvenience, there are competing narratives over whether the authorities are doing the right thing, rocking people’s trust in how the government is containing the outbreak.
One element of the competing narratives has to do with the difference between experiences on the mainland and elsewhere, particularly in Western countries.
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Breaking down Hong Kong's dynamic zero Covid-19 strategy
Breaking down Hong Kong's dynamic zero Covid-19 strategy
China has evolved a “zero Covid” policy where, once cases emerge, massive resources are directed to quell the outbreak. The mainland method needs about two weeks to successfully contain new outbreaks.
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