MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): Thank you, President. Before all else, I would like to thank Mr LAI Tung-kwok for proposing this motion today, which gives us an opportunity to discuss the issue of epidemic prevention. Whether the present fifth wave of the epidemic will further explode hinges on how well the anti-epidemic work is done. Now the Government is seriously engaged in breaking the transmission chains, and the results are acceptable for the time being. However, if we are not careful enough, a major outbreak is still possible. I hope that the Government and all sectors can work together and stamp out this wave of the epidemic around the Lunar New Year.
Back to the current epidemic situation. In my view, there are at least four things which the Government needs to do: firstly, it should review the exemption arrangement. This time the source was two crew members of Cathay Pacific who, lacking self-discipline, irresponsibly went out for meal gatherings against the rules. Consequently, all the people of Hong Kong had to “foot the bill”. Once again, it accentuates the loopholes in quarantine exemption. The Government should no longer allow Cathay Pacific to exercise “self-regulation”. I think they should even pay the relevant medical fees themselves, rather than just having a brief reprimand by the senior management of Cathay Pacific.
Now the latest development is that the two offenders have been criminally charged and will face criminal liability, which will hopefully have a deterrent effect. The Government has also tightened the immigration requirement for air crew, subjecting them to quarantine, but it should still pay close attention to the development of the situation. If need be, it should tighten the arrangements more decisively. Now the most important thing for Hong Kong people is to guard against the importation of the virus. We must not relax our efforts.
Secondly, the Government should take the opportunity to promote vaccination. This wave of the epidemic involves a highly transmissible virus, and among the confirmed cases, many have not been vaccinated. The Government should make public the data to prove that vaccination can indeed protect the vaccinated and their family members. At the same time, it should also mete out rewards and punishments fairly. Currently, more than 70% of the public have received vaccination. In respect of the anti-epidemic measures, the Government should take into account these good citizens who are willing to act for the well-being of themselves and other people. For example, people who are vaccinated may be allowed to enjoy evening dine-in services or enter the scheduled premises.
Now the latest development is that more members of the public are willing to receive vaccination. In the past, the vaccination rate of the group aged over 70 was low, but after the Government’s vigorous publicity and the same-day ticket arrangement made exclusively for the elderly to receive vaccination, the vaccination rate has continued to rise recently, while the vaccination rate of the group aged over 80 is also on the rise. In addition, expert advisers have agreed to lower the limit for age groups recommended for vaccination to 5 to 11 years old. The authorities should take action expeditiously. I hope the Government will continue to step up efforts in promoting vaccination. We need to achieve a higher vaccination rate, which will not only protect public health but also facilitate resumption of cross-border travel.
Thirdly, a tracing function should be added to the “LeaveHomeSafe” app. After the outbreak of the Moon Palace cluster, it took us quite a long time to identify the diners who were present on the same occasion. This is absolutely not desirable. If a tracing function is included, the Government will be able to proactively trace and contact people with infection risk and require them to get tested as soon as possible. I believe that after this lesson, the public will understand that there is really the need to trace high-risk groups and break the transmission chains. Fortunately, this time most of the people could be traced, but next time, if the transmission is wider, involving more people, it may turn out that there is no way to trace the people, resulting in ineffective epidemic prevention. Hence, it is in fact in the public interest to make use of technology to combat the spread of the virus. The Government should boldly go ahead, proactively explain to the public and expeditiously implement such work.
Fourthly, it is necessary to ensure proper use of the Anti-epidemic Fund. The tightening of social distancing measures before the Lunar New Year has caused the affected industries, such as the catering and beauty industries, to hit the rock bottom, with the practitioners concerned facing wage cuts and even loss of jobs. This time the Government launches the Anti-epidemic Fund 5.0 with a commitment of $3.57 billion. The targets are affected companies and individuals, including restaurants and beauty salons, as well as industries which have been frozen for a long time, including tourism and cross-boundary passenger transport. As the money is carried over from the previous round, there is no need to seek funding approval from the Finance Committee, and it can be disbursed before the Lunar New Year. If necessary, I believe the Government should directly submit another substantial funding request to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council, in the hope that more companies and self-employed individuals can obtain financial assistance.
President, the original motion mentions the need to “strive for the resumption of quarantine-free travel as soon as possible, in order to ease people’s hardship and benefit people’s livelihood”. I very much agree with it. As a matter of fact, it can be said that the economy will be plagued by crises in the coming year. Apart from the mounting pressure for resumption of cross-border travel, the United States may also start to raise the interest rates. In the past two years, all trades and industries in Hong Kong have been struggling to make ends meet. If the date for resumption of cross-border travel remains uncertain while economic shocks concurrently arise, the consequences will be very serious. We must strive for expeditious resumption of cross-border travel. The first thing to do is to stamp out the fifth wave of the epidemic together. Thank you, President.