Grassroots heroes aid HK’s fight
Mainland’s human support and pandemic supplies highlight true friendship in time of adversity
When train driver Li Zanming heard of a plan to reopen a rail freight route to support Hong Kong in its fight against COVID-19, he decided to volunteer his services, even though it meant facing the risk of infection and being away from his family.
He now leads a team of drivers ferrying containers of rapid antigen test kits, protective suits, medical supplies and other necessities to the city every day.
Rail, road and water routes are being used to bring much-needed supplies to Hong Kong, with numerous grassroots heroes emerging as the city battles its fifth wave of the pandemic.
And even though the Chinese mainland has been facing a surge in infections, these routes and supplies to Hong Kong are assured.
Along with the physical support being provided to the city, an “invisible bridge” linking residents across the border highlights true friendship at a time of adversity.
Prosperous development on the mainland is inseparable from Hong Kong’s investment in business across the border and the city’s efforts to help mainland companies go global.
For example, the neighboring city of Shenzhen, Guangdong province — a landmark in the nation’s reform and opening-up drive — has learned from Hong Kong’s business model and drawn on the city’s deep pockets for the past 40 years. Hong Kong investors account for some 85 percent of Shenzhen’s total foreign investment.
In addition to economic exchanges, hundreds of thousands of travelers pass through checkpoints between the two cities every day at peak times.
Li, the train driver, witnessed these close cross-border bonds by operating passenger trains to Hong Kong before the pandemic.
The cross-border rail freight route first opened in 1962 to ensure prompt delivery of livestock supplies to Hong Kong, including pigs, cattle and sheep, but it closed around 2010, when such shipments were switched to road transportation.
The rail freight route reopened on March 2 to ease pressure, as some 30 percent of cross-border truck drivers were infected with COVID-19 or in quarantine.
The 20-kilometer journey from the Pinghu South National Logistics Hub in Shenzhen to the MTR Lo Wu Marshalling Yard in Hong Kong takes only 35 minutes, but Li and his crew spent at least six hours on each trip, including commuting between their dormitory and the rail station, customs clearance, examining the train, and disinfection work.
On March 9, the number of freight trains on the route was raised from one to two each day, so the crews now work from 6 am to about 7 pm.
Li was highly impressed when Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and other officials welcomed his train and thanked the crew on the first day of the freight route reopening. “At that moment, I felt the responsibility resting on our shoulders,” he said.
“My colleagues are very energetic and motivated to do their work with a sense of honor,” he added.
Besides the drivers, each freight
train run is assisted by the joint efforts of numerous organizations, including customs, immigration, shipping companies and pandemic prevention departments, Li said.
Several cities in Guangdong, including the provincial capital Guangzhou, Qingyuan and Shenzhen, have opened dedicated water express routes to stabilize supplies to Hong Kong.
The constant flow of supplies to the city by rail, road and water is due to the hard work of people in different industries and cities. Many mainland companies have adjusted their manufacturing schedules to meet the urgent demand in Hong Kong.
In just two weeks or so, the mainland delivered more than 20 million self-testing kits, about 400,000 boxes of traditional Chinese medicines, more than 38,000 metric tons of vegetables, 30,000 pigs and 40 million face masks to Hong Kong. Countless extra working hours are being put in.
In addition to the central government’s support in building treatment facilities and sending medical workers to Hong Kong, individuals and small private companies are offering assistance.
Industry groups and enterprises are either pulling strings to gather a range of materials, or simply doing
their best to make a contribution to support Hong Kong.
Shenzhen Microprofit Biotech Co is one of dozens of mainland companies producing testing kits to bolster the fight against COVID-19. The company has donated millions of these kits to Hong Kong.
General manager Tang Sheng said that as the pandemic in the city intensified, the company decided to suspend orders with overseas clients and switch its production lines to meet the urgent and soaring demand.
In February the company started to prepare product instructions and guidance videos in Cantonese. As of March 9, it had delivered 11 million testing kits to Hong Kong. It is operating day and night seven days a week to supply about half a million kits per day to the city’s online and offline retailers.
“To guarantee maximum output, last year we hired some 300 additional workers, doubling the staff numbers, with wages 20 percent to 30 percent higher,” Tang said.
However, the company keeps its prices for Hong Kong retailers to a minimum — with priority given to providing sufficient medical products for local residents. The kits, which cost about HK$10 to HK$15 ($1.28 to $1.92) have been well
received by the local market.
Mainland producers are providing millions of affordable testing kits to Hong Kong every day, but previously they cost about HK$245 each — a heavy burden for residents and the local government.
“After dozens of mainland manufacturers entered the market, the price fell to less than HK$50,” Tang said, adding that the kits were treated as “anti-pandemic necessities” instead of “commodities”.
“Although we are just a small medical company and our total output is limited, we are trying our best to contribute as much as possible to help Hong Kong,” he said.
Faced with rising demand, manufacturers of anti-pandemic materials quickly increased output and spent more on production lines and labor.
Shenzhen banks, encouraged by the People’s Bank of China, customized loans and accelerated cross-border settlements for these enterprises to support Hong Kong’s battle against the pandemic.
Prompt delivery of medical supplies was assured as customs authorities set up consultation hotlines to quickly handle inquiries from import and export companies. “Green channels” and special counters were also introduced to improve customs clearance for medical supplies to Hong Kong.
In addition to goods crossing the border, human flow through the checkpoints is another key area of the battle against the pandemic.
Customs officials, medical workers and numerous helpers are working in shifts day and night to help hundreds of travelers from Hong Kong every day and also to prevent self-infection.
Wang Yeqing has worked at the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint since March 2020. He helps escort inbound travelers to their quarantine hotels. Last year, the checkpoint introduced a closed-loop system for all staff members, and Wang has been living inside the loop ever since.
Dressed in a protective suit every day, he arrives at the checkpoint at 11 am and works until 2 am or 3 am next day. “We can’t leave until there are no travelers left at the checkpoint,” he said.
Most of Wang’s daily work involves helping arrange shuttle buses, carrying luggage and taking care of pregnant travelers and the elderly.
“There are people in wheelchairs every day. It is difficult for them to get on or off transfer vehicles, so we initially carried them to the shuttle buses,” he said, adding that wheelchair-accessible buses and cars were later assigned to make such transfers safer.
Wang said there have been some misunderstandings about long waiting times, but apart from this these travelers are extremely cooperative, and he feels “greatly moved” and rewarded by his work.
“The children are very friendly — constantly thanking us and giving us the thumbs-up,” he said.
“Once, very early in the morning — about 1 am — a girl from Hong Kong slipped a bag of cookies to me, saying she was worried about me not eating at such an hour. At that moment, I felt the warmth and was very happy that I was accepted by Hong Kong residents.
“One difficulty for me is that I don’t understand or speak Cantonese, as I grew up in Hunan province, and most elderly people from Hong Kong only speak Cantonese,” he said. “So I am very grateful that there are always warmhearted travelers to help me translate.”
Wang, who has become well-known to some frequent travelers, told the story of a Hong Kong couple.
“The husband was ill and in a wheelchair, and he and his wife had to travel between Hong Kong and Shenzhen for medical treatment,” he said.
In May 2020, the first time the couple arrived at the checkpoint, Wang helped them arrange a vehicle to their quarantine hotel as quickly as possible.
Since then, the couple always greet him when they see him at the checkpoint. Wang said that just a few days ago, he met them again and they both said, “You are the young guy who helped us before.”
Wang also said that rules have to be made to prevent infections spreading, but customs officers do their best to explain them and also make journeys more comfortable by providing bread, canned porridge and water for free.
According to current regulations, travelers from Hong Kong must show their quarantine hotel reservations in order to cross the border, but after an agreement reached with the city’s immigration authorities, exceptions are made for urgent cases.