Interview with district councillor Joshua Lee
#FirstHand #Interview #MeiFoo #Feb2
Residents of Mei Foo took to the streets two days in a row over the weekend of Feb 1. They demanded the government to stop using a heritage site as a quarantine centre for suspicious cases of the novel coronavirus.
Our reporter spoke with district councillor Joshua Lee during one of the protests. He spoke about the residents’ reaction to the government’s unconsulted plan to convert the Heritage Lodge in Jiao Tsung-I Academy to a quarantine center. It should be noted that the site is less than a 10-minute walk from residential areas.
GoHK: Mei Foo residents have initiated a march around the area today, what are they protesting against?
Lee: It is because the government will be using the Heritage Lodge, which is about 10 mins walk away from the residential area, as a quarantine site. We only found this out yesterday [Feb 1]. Some residents initiated this protest to raise awareness among the residents, as many did not know about these plans. The purpose of today's event is to inform residents about these plans and allow them to decide whether they should accept or reject these plans.
GoHK: Did the government mention this plan before?
Lee: No, the government made no mention of it until yesterday [Feb 1] around 5pm after Carrie Lam’s press conference .
Guests at the Heritage Lodge received notice that they will have to move out the next day because the government will be using the place for medical treatment purposes.
Some residents were curious whether it meant as a residence for medical personnel or as a quarantine centre. It was only when the Chairperson of Sham Shui Po District Council Yeung Yuk received a call from the Under Secretary for Food and Health Chui Tak-yi, then people realized the government has plans to convert the site into a quarantine centre. When the other 3 quarantine centres will be fully occupied, this will open as the fourth one.
GoHK: Did they say why tenants and guests at the Heritage Lodge received such short notice and were residents consulted before the government made the decision?
Lee: My perception is that the government had already made the decision beforehand and wasn’t going to announce it; however, the plan was exposed, so the government was forced to address the issue in public.
It seems the government didn’t learn from the past. They are habitually doing the same thing - implement first and disclose later.
GoHK: Was this march only initiated today by residents?
Lee: The protest was just organized this morning. Riot police entered private property in the area in the early hours of the morning and arrested people including district councillor Janet Ng. So, some residents were hoping to raise awareness among area residents through this event and let people know what’s going on. It was simply organized on Telegram - to meet at 2pm near MTR exit C. It didn’t start off with many people but then more people joined and it grew.
GoHK: Did any residents expressed their views about this to you? Did any of them say the government has gone too far?
Lee: Yes, it is absurd indeed. People have been dealing with long lines trying to buy masks but the government has done nothing about it. While you see other countries imposing export ban, price ceilings or quota on masks, people in Hong Kong are having trouble getting masks. Then the government makes these plans to set up quarantine centres while leaving citizens in the dark. We’ve been talking about closing the borders since before the New Year for weeks now, but they’re only closing the border partially, it’s all just done to divert the focus. Now the borders are only partially closed but then people who may be infected can still enter undetected during the incubation period. These people can continue to spread the virus and we will end up with many more people who need to be quarantined.
GoHK: Do you think closing the border fully is a very important strategy when it comes to fighting the epidemic?
Lee: Yes, it’s very important because many people who are carriers of this virus have left Wuhan and headed to other regions in China
#JoshuaLee