Various sectors in Hong Kong slam smearing on mainland aid against COVID-19

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

Various sectors in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) have voiced their strong opposition to the sinister and despicable vilification by Western forces and anti-China disruptors against Chinese mainland support on the local fight against COVID-19.

Chan Yung, an HKSAR lawmaker, said the mainland medical teams and support in building COVID-19 isolation facilities are timely rescues to Hong Kong when it is grappling with a raging COVID-19 outbreak, and reflect the unbreakable bond between the mainland and Hong Kong.

"Some anti-China elements are not only ungrateful but also engaged in fanning smears and disinformation," Chan said. "Shame on them."

Lau Siu-kai, vice president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said some anti-China elements have fabricated rumors and denigrated mainland doctors and nurses who are boosting local anti-epidemic efforts in Hong Kong.

Their claims are totally against the facts and do not represent the mainstream public opinion in Hong Kong, he said.

Lau said the majority of Hong Kong residents have responded with heartfelt thanks to the mainland medical experts who have put forward valuable advices, mainland medical workers who are busy helping the seriously ill patients, and steady mainland supplies to Hong Kong.

Andrew Fung, chief executive officer at Hong Kong Policy Research Institute, said the HKSAR government cannot effectively deal with the raging wave of COVID-19 on its own, and the mainland help at the request of the HKSAR government is in line with the Basic Law of the HKSAR and meets the aspiration of the majority in Hong Kong.

Those carping about central government's support during such a crisis are trying to drive a wedge between the people in the mainland and Hong Kong, Fung said.

Chan said the central government's staunch support fully reflects the advantages of "one country, two systems," and the unreserved love of the central government and the mainland people for Hong Kong is in a stark contrast to the situation in some Western countries.

"In China, when a disaster strikes in one location, help comes from all quarters. In some Western countries, people are left at the mercy of the virus as the central government passes the buck to local governments," he said.

Chan added that the accusations against Hong Kong from some Western countries that have failed in their own epidemic control exposed their hypocrisy.

He said Hong Kong has managed to navigate multiple crises, such as the Asian financial crisis in 1998 and the SARS outbreak in 2003, with the firm support of the central government.

"The firm support of the motherland has always given Hong Kong the confidence and strength to overcome difficulties. History proves that the motherland will always be the strongest backing for Hong Kong," the lawmaker said.