French-based Hongkonger, went through 51 hours of bitterness to fly back for voting
Hong Kong Echo(16 Aug) As she wants to remain anonymous, we will call her Anonyme, a female artist who was born in Hong Kong. The art industry is not appreciated in Hong Kong, but it is well perceived in France. At the end of February this year, she arrived in France and lived there for five months. The art village provided food and accommodation, and the government provided monthly living expenses. What’s more exciting is that she met a local boy and they were flirting. However, she didn’t want to go into detail, “Maybe people are talking about me colluding with foreign forces. I don't want to be accused of colluding with a foreign penis." She vowed that she would not leave unless there was an election. if there is, she will go through all the troubles to fulfill her civil duty - vote for the legislative councils.
She flew from Paris to Hong Kong via Doha. She was supposed to arrive in Hong Kong in early August. After the 14 day quarantine period, she will be able to vote on 6 September. The plan was flawless, however, the airline canceled the flight twice. She was angry and annoyed, "Because the French has the worst service in the world, I was so annoyed. Luckily, she was able to find an available seat on the 31 July flight." Unexpectedly, that marked the beginning of a nightmare. She used different surname under her French and Hong Kong SAR passport. She was stuck at Charles de Gaulle airport counter for more than an hour to resolve the issue.
Purchased full-body personal protective equipment
"It was the boarding time when I arrived at the customs. There were a lot of people at the line-up, and I begged every single one of them to let me go first.When I arrived at the luggage check, they found some issues with my luggage and asked for a search. After the search was done, I rushed to the gate like a madwoman, and was the last one to board the plane." After completing the time, she then had to compete with the virus. Before she set off, she did the COVID-19 test in a government clinic and the result was negative. She also bought head guard and protective clothing.
"Don't take any chance. The time I flew back was the time where there were hundreds of cases in Hong Kong every day - all from other countries. I was risking that I might get the Covid-19 on the plane during the whole journey. So I protected myself from head to toe. The airline provided masks, face shields, and gloves. They were more afraid than you. If it was not for the voting, I wouldn’t have to go through all this." She deliberately put on old clothes, including underwear, and threw out all of them after each flight.
After all the troubles, she finally reached Doha Airport where she only needed to wait for 1 hour and 20 minutes to layoff. However, under the epidemic, the airline’s daily flights from Doha to Hong Kong halved. She was stuck again for 12 hours. Since the restrictions were imposed by the Hong Kong government, airlines did not provide accommodation or catering compensation. She noticed that the transit lounge stated that they provided hot meals, which was very attractive. She paid 90 euros to get in to find out the hot meal was merely soup and stale bread. There was a place to take a shower but has no hairdryer. There was a stool to sit but nothing to lie down. She couldn't put her feet up. To spend the night, she was randomly talking to the staff. The 90 euros was not able to provide her with good night sleep.
Wi-Fi was free, and she was able to connect to the internet. When she saw the news about Carrie Lam announced the Legislative Council election was postponed for a year. She got a mental breakdown, "I am already halfway there and you said to cancel it. Is it too late to fly back to Paris?" She was again stuck in the middle - to fly back? Or to continue the journey? Carrie Lam asked the citizens to cooperate. She was so frustrated, "You (Carrie Lam) said the Hongkongers are not cooperating? It seems that you are the one who doesn't want to cooperate. Look at me, how well I am cooperating and desperately risking my life to return to vote to fulfill my civic duty!"
Arrival in Hong Kong, isolated in the hotel and waiting to be tested
She originally planned to be an election volunteer after the quarantine, maybe she would help the pro-Beijing party. Anonyme said slyly: "The election is fair. Let's say I am pro-Beijing. Let's say I want to vote for the DAB (largest pro-Beijing party in Hong Kong). You have to give me the opportunity to vote.” Maybe she was a top fan for Holden Chow, vice-chairman of DAB. She smiled and said, “I love Holden Chow to death. You stop me from voting. Holden Chow, please fight for justice with me soon!” She said she supported, promoted, and believed in the Basic Law, including Article 26, "I want to vote with my legal rights to express my patriotism, love for Hong Kong, and the Basic Law. Carrie Lam takes away my legal rights!"
She used the Paris Municipales election at the end of June as an example. Voting happened as usual during the epidemic, while the local government warned of health risks. "I'm not suggesting if the September election in Hong Kong should be canceled or not. Whether or not to cancel should be decided by all Hong Kong voters and those who participated in the election." Finally, she arrived in Hong Kong in the early morning of 2 August. Provided the saliva sample and stayed at the Regal Oriental Hotel for one night and waiting for the test results. It took her 51 hours to go from her Paris residence to her home in Hong Kong. When we interviewed her with Signal, she was still in isolation and planned to return to France later.
She has been away from Hong Kong for five months, and then returned to feel how strange this place is. "Just like Wesley’s novel ‘The Blue Blood Man’, the blue blood man returned to his planet with all his hardships, only to find that the people on that planet had all gone crazy. This is how I feel. Seems like I went to outer space for five months and now my hometown was lost."
Source: Apple Daily
Translated by: Hong Kong Echo
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