Nation united in the war on COVID-19 pandemic
Photography exhibition highlights the country’s efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Luo Weiteng and Edith Lu report from Hong Kong.
With the world facing one of the worst public-health crises for more than a generation, it calls for concerted and combined efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic. At the forefront of the battle, China has so much to offer, guests told a photographic exhibition in Hong Kong on how the nation has overcome all odds in keeping the outbreak under check.
Co-hosted by China Daily Hong Kong Edition and Hong Kong Art, the event, themed Together, We Fight the Virus — Photographic Exhibition on China’s Fight Against the Coronavirus Pandemic, opened last Tuesday. Co-organized by the Chinese Photographic Association of Hong Kong, the Cross-Strait Peaceful Development Federation and Hong Kong Wen Wei Management College, the exhibition highlighted China’s success as a responsible nation, and of its people, in containing the pandemic.
On behalf of China Daily Group Publisher and Editor-in-chief Zhou Shuchun, Zhou Li, editorial board member of China Daily Group and publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific, said in his keynote speech China has decisively fought and won a people’s war against the disease, which broke out in January this year and rampaged across the globe.
“These valuable photographic works reflect the unity and spirit of the entire Chinese population, who work shoulder to shoulder in tiding over this unprecedented crisis. They also demonstrate the compatriot bonds between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong in pulling together in times of trouble and being always ready to offer unswerving support,” Zhou said.
Touching moments in tough time
“Looking back on the epic struggle, medical workers from around the nation established many lines of defense. People’s Liberation Army personnel built the ‘great wall of steel’. The community workers, police, officials, volunteers and couriers put in strenuous efforts,” Yim Waining, deputy director of the Cross-Strait Peaceful Development Federation, told the opening ceremony.
“Having the best of both worlds, Hong Kong is well positioned as an important platform to tell the story of the country’s battle against the pandemic to the rest of the world,” Yim added.
Despite the bumpy road ahead, Yim believes the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan will continue to make concerted efforts in the region’s fight against the virus, and the entire world population will certainly ride out the crisis, with countries and regions worldwide joining together and working shoulder to shoulder.
The exhibition features a selection of 100-strong pandemic-related images to share with Hong Kong people the many touching moments in these trying times.
It included 80 photographs gathered from all across the nation to showcase the countless heroic deeds of personal bravery and sacrifice that exemplified the strength of the city of Wuhan and other parts of the mainland. The other 20 photos were captured by Hong Kong photographers, recording the city’s unyielding battle against the virus.
Ko Wing-man, former Hong Kong secretary for food and health, said Hong Kong learned a good lesson from dealing with SARS 17 years ago.
“Compared with 2003, I think we’re now in a much stronger position to contain the pandemic,” said Ko, who was the acting chief executive of the
Hospital Authority during the SARS outbreak.
“Hong Kong has since attached high importance to its public-health system. We had set up over 1,000 isolation wards for infectious disease patients under the Hospital Authority’s system. We had also established one specialized medical center,” he said.
The city had built its one and only specialized medical center to cope with pandemics like that of COVID-19 after the SARS outbreak — the Hospital Authority Infectious Disease Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital, which went into operation in 2007.
Ko noted they have also trained many experts in infectious disease control and no medical personnel were infected by the coronavirus while taking care of patients this time.
In addition, Hong Kong now has an adequate stock of protective gear for medical staff, as well as a stronger mechanism and contingency plan, to deal with the pandemic.
He’s confident that Hong Kong will win the battle against the pandemic, given it’s now better equipped with upgraded facilities, technology and experienced medical workers.
“We haven’t achieved final success yet, and we’re not doing everything perfectly in the process. But, overall, we’ve relatively satisfying results,” said Ko.
To date, the pandemic has infected 1,193 and killed seven people in Hong Kong, while 1,083 people have recovered.
Ko said he was moved by the photos displayed as he found everyone in the country has made contributions. He noted that some Hong Kong medical workers had volunteered to go to Wuhan and Hubei province, but were unable to make the trip for some practical reasons.
Adversity brings us closer
To tell the story of China’s battle against the pandemic, China Daily has published a collection of 356 images from photographers in an album titled 100 Photographers Focus on
COVID-19, highlighting the efforts of people from all walks of life amid the pandemic.
The exhibition’s organizing committee presented the photo album to the Malaysian and Philippine consuls general in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at the opening ceremony.
Malaysian Consul General Yap Wei Sin said the photos reminded him of the efforts and sacrifices of those who have fought against the pandemic in the past few months.
It has shown that in adversity, the relations between Malaysia and China are getting closer and closer, he added.
Several Chinese medical consultant expert teams had visited major designated public hospitals and related research institutes in Malaysia in April, bringing medical supplies and sharing experiences in fighting against the pandemic with their Malaysian counterparts.
Philippine Consul General Raly Tejada expressed his appreciation for China’s assistance to the Philippines in dealing with the outbreak.
Describing the health crisis as unprecedented, he said: “Yet, we’ve found a way of getting together and helping each other.”
Tejada noted there’ve been many cargo planes carrying essential medical supplies, including test kits, surgical masks, medical N95 masks and protective outfits, from China to the Philippines since the pandemic erupted.
“As you know, many of the Chinese people in the Philippines hail from Fujian province. These brothers and sisters have helped us obtain such very important equipment,” he said.
Tejada believes the exhibition is not only a display of heroism amid the pandemic, but also testifies to the unity of the whole world.
The exhibition will run through Thursday. During this period, it is also staged at Chiu Sheung School Hong Kong on Hong Kong Island, HKSKH Bishop Hall Secondary School in Kowloon, and Hong Kong Baptist University Affiliated School Wong Kam Fai Secondary and Primary School in the New Territories.