Finally, Hong Kong sees hope toward the end of the crippling fifth wave of COVID-19 outbreak. The highly infectious COVID-19 variant of omicron caused heavy disruption to many people’s livelihoods. But over the past two weeks, the city’s daily infection number has declined to below 1,000 from the peak of over 50,000 cases.
It is admitted that omicron caught the world by surprise. The virus spreads much more quickly and stealthily, but thank goodness is not more deadly. Only four months into 2022, countries around the globe marked record-high cases. More and more people in other places fell sick because their governments started to adopt negligent COVID-19 policies.
But Hong Kong is determined not to have the same happen here. On Feb 16, President Xi Jinping issued clear guidance that fighting the virus is of the utmost importance. He gave a mandate to the central government to, by all means, support and consolidate Hong Kong’s anti-pandemic work.
Such unwavering leadership from the top inspired immediate action at all levels. Hundreds of medical professionals were sent from Guangdong province to Hong Kong. A makeshift hospital with 3,900 beds that leverages the experience and support of the Chinese mainland was built in seven days. Thousands of tons of fresh food and other daily necessities were delivered via the Shenzhen borders without delay to the hands of those in need.
At the same time, Hong Kong strives to stand on its own feet too. Local companies, businesses, communities, and citizens are motivated by the mission set out by President Xi. Everyone actively plays his or her own part in this battle against omicron to complement the government’s work.
The Hong Kong Community Anti-Coronavirus Link (the Link) is the backbone of our grassroots anti-pandemic effort. It brought together large corporates, nonprofit organizations, and community groups from all 18 districts of Hong Kong. Many household names such as Bank of China, China Everbright Ltd, China Taiping Insurance Holdings, CLP Group, MTR, New World Development, PCCW, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, TVB, etc., have generously donated substantial resources and staff volunteers to the Link.
At the Link, thousands of people worked hand in hand, day-in day-out to keep our community services going and help protect Hong Kong people’s livelihoods. Certainly, the sailing has not been smooth. There were countless instances when the Link faced formidable challenges and unexpected changes, such as supply-chain and manpower disruptions.
But we remained strong, nimble and resilient. We coped with the external circumstances, while still sticking to our top mission of safeguarding people’s health and safety. In only two weeks, the Link has built a COVID-19 emergency call center from scratch, responded to thousands of requests from underprivileged families, and amplified the public education of vaccination and rapid antigen testing.
I am very proud to serve as a volunteer coordinator at the Link and be part of this collective effort. An old proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” This is a very apt way to describe the shared experience of the Hong Kong community in the fifth wave of COVID-19.
My heartfelt thanks go to the Link’s corporate donors and volunteers for their grit and resourcefulness. I have great admiration for everyone at the Link who has made significant personal sacrifices, taken potential exposure risks, and poured in tremendous energy and time, all for the altruistic goal of bringing Hong Kong out from the fifth wave of COVID-19.
Perhaps a blessing in disguise, because of omicron, the Link discovered the hidden potential of Hong Kong residents. When people genuinely agree with the life-saving vision of our central government, it can stimulate a lot of bottom-up action and public-private cooperation.
During my days at the Link, I am constantly impressed by innovative, locally driven solutions that came from our citizen volunteers, who are often closer to the district and community needs. The Link, acting as a bridge between the government and citizens, is there to help incorporate these grassroots solutions into the citywide epidemic response and scale up for greater efficiency.
This evolved into a beautiful collaboration within Hong Kong’s civic community to fight the virus. It was not perfectly orchestrated, and often it was a rather messy process under stress. But companies and citizens unanimously demonstrate a brilliant sense of responsibility toward the city that we belong to. Many of us are willing to stand up and join the Link to serve Hong Kong.
The day that omicron is subsiding but our population is growing stronger has come. I am grateful for those who helped build the safety net of Hong Kong. Our people have chosen not to stay passive or self-interested; instead, we take charge and display a can-do attitude for the greater good. Every individual action has uplifted Hong Kong’s anti-epidemic mission. It is indeed a collective achievement.
I truly believe the team spirit, creative vibe and willingness to contribute among citizens will last way beyond the COVID-19 turbulence. That is why I totally agree with Mr John Lee Ka-chiu, the candidate for Hong Kong’s chief executive election, that there should be a systematic mechanism for the new term of government to collaborate with and utilize the strength of the community organizations. Every time we walk out from a crisis, Hong Kong gains strength, solidarity, and confidence. As a collective, we are ready to embrace the fresh opportunities in a new phase of development in Hong Kong and start a new chapter together.
Gary Wong Chi-him is a board member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views don’t necessarily represent those of China Daily.