Unity and cooperation is key to defeating the virus

Chow Pak-chin offers advice on how we can overcome the crisis — stressing we need to work together, put divisons behind and learn to be tolerant

In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, there is no better time than now for us to revisit the tried and tested motto “United we stand, divided we fall”, and act in the interests of the common and greater good. In the case of Hong Kong’s battle with the viral outbreak, everyone in the city must put aside their differences and join hands to fight this virulent epidemic.

And when I say everyone, I mean everyone.

This means the HKSAR government, the politicians, the media and, last but certainly not least, local residents must band together to tackle this crisis headon as a unified front.

To win this war, we need to refocus ourselves and home in on two common enemies in this epidemic; one is physical — the 2019-nCoV virus — and the other psychological: the unwarranted, widespread panic that is wreaking havoc across the city.

For our society to return to normality, we must overpower these two colossal enemies by acting in unison, which means helping and looking out for each other, irrespective of one’s differences.

First and foremost, we need our government to continue to do its best in terms of prevention, containment, and treatment before a cure becomes available. The government also has to balance these objectives with the need for Hong Kong people to lead as normal a life as possible.

Secondly, our politicians — especially the opposition — must suspend their usual bouts of bickering and fingerpointing while government officials are trying their best to tackle this serious crisis. Unsurprisingly, many opposition politicians and their allies, including those in the media, are constantly attacking the government at the slightest opportunity.

Most recently, some opposition voices have accused the police of hoarding face masks and other protective gear. As usual, no evidence was offered. Such accusations are not at all constructive, to say the least, especially at a time like this.

Over the weekend, opposition legislator Dr Kwok Ka-ki was spreading misinformation about the police hoarding medical gear, taking the cue from an RTHK current affairs program, responsible for innuendoes.

On Kwok’s official Facebook page, he claimed that police had stockpiled 640,000 surgical masks and 13,000 N95 respirators. Kwok also made further claims that the police were planning to acquire even more face masks over the next two months.

It’s unacceptable for Kwok to excuse his actions by saying he had only made comments based on what was reported in that news program. Kwok is a veteran lawmaker and a medical doctor, and should know better that unfounded rumors at a time when our city is facing mass anxiety will do little to assuage mass panic.

Kwok’s unjust conduct of spreading unfounded rumors could seriously foster distrust in the authority of government organs such as the police. And authority is what is needed to tackle the challenges we face together, as Hong Kong has already suffered enough in the last eight months as a result of ongoing anti-government protests.

Kwok went so far as to say that the police did not deserve to be given so many masks as there has been a severe shortage in public hospitals. These particular comments could be seen as driving a wedge between medical personnel and police officers. This is something we all could do without at a time like this.

We must not forget that our police officers are also sent to guard quarantine centers and enforce the quarantine orders along with many other related duties, all of which can expose them to the risk of contracting and passing on the virus. Therefore, our police force is equally entitled to allocation of face masks and other protective items against COVID-19.

It’s extremely disappointing to see such an experienced lawmaker make such unfounded allegations so openly without verifying the information beforehand.

Meanwhile, his “partners in this act” — those in charge of the RTHK television program — are equally responsible for the spreading of false information.

ethical editorial conduct has nothing to do with editorial independence, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, etc. The program should stop hiding, and cannot hide, behind such lame excuses for the simple reason that the contents of the program were false.

Medical preventative supplies are running short all across the city, and these scaremongers, who are exacerbating the situation, should be stopped immediately.

As a public broadcaster, RTHK is duty-bound to remain impartial. Therefore, it cannot be allowed to go on venting its anti-government biases on the airwaves with impunity. There is no excuse for its disregard and contempt of the police’s anti-virus duties, and it cannot hide from its responsibility of neutrality by simply hiding behind the shield of editorial independence.

It is not about expressing “the social situation in a satirical manner based on current voices and points of views in the society”, as a station spokesman put it.

Meanwhile, the least our lawmakers can do is to be a loyal opposition if they really want to serve Hong Kong, the nation and the people. That means even when they oppose the actions of the government, they still need to remain loyal by acting in a constructive and responsible way. Furthermore, they must remain loyal to the fundamental interests and principles that benefit Hong Kong.

This will mean putting aside for the time being the political fault-finding, and putting the interests of the people first by working with others, including the government, to bring stability back to their city.

Additionally, commentators should also stop the meaningless antics of comparing the actions of the Hong Kong government with those of other authorities like Macao and Singapore.

Every city faces different challenges and copes with the outbreak differently. And, as a matter of fact, Hong Kong has fewer confirmed cases than Singapore.

Finally, we need to banish the toxic concept of “NIMBY-ism” — the selfish attitude of “not in my backyard” — and educate Hong Kongers to be more tolerant and altruistic.

If everyone objects to projects and actions they perceive to be unpleasant to be carried out in their neighborhood, nothing can be achieved as a community and hence there will be no progress in society.

Many residents have protested against the government’s plans to open quarantine clinics in their neighborhoods to handle patients with mild symptoms. Rallies and confrontations with police have flared up in various districts, including Tin Shui Wai, Tai Po, Tsuen Wan, Aberdeen, and Kennedy Town.

We are social creatures who rely on each other to survive and thrive. We benefit from living alongside each other in good times, so abandoning each other in hard times is not an option if we want to survive and advance the greater good for everyone.