Opinion | Unlike Singapore, Hong Kong might be stuck with ‘zero Covid’ even if it wants to open up

Name: As more countries ditch ‘zero-Covid’ policy, why is China opting to ‘wait and see’?
Uploaded: 2021-10-17T06:39:06.000Z
Duration: 6 min 5 s
Description: As more countries ditch ‘zero-Covid’ policy, why is China opting to ‘wait and see’?

Hong Kong has a zero-tolerance policy, like the mainland, but it lacks the domestic economy to thrive in isolation and the autonomy to change course

Singapore is the first in the region to move to a policy of living with the virus, and it could profit if Hong Kong remains hermetically sealed off

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

A health official stands guard at the entrance of a market in Singapore on October 9 to manage the flow of people in an attempt to curb the spread of Covid-19. Photo: AFP

Mike Rowse

Published: 2:39pm, 17 Oct 2021

It seems it is Hong Kong’s fate to always be compared with Shanghai to the north, and Singapore to the south.

Looking north, Shanghai is larger and more deeply embedded in the nation’s political and social fabric. Hong Kong has the freedom of manoeuvre that distance and a separate constitutional arrangement can bring.

Looking south, Singapore as a sovereign country is autonomous so can be more decisive and bold, but it lacks a proper hinterland. Hong Kong has to keep in mind national priorities while enjoying the benefit of backing from, and proximity to, the world’s second-largest economy.

There can be swings and roundabouts in both directions according to the subject, and so it is with response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The mainland is applying a “zero-Covid” policy, with entry strictly controlled and a ferocious response to outbreaks backed by a thorough track and trace system.

As a result, the number of infections has been kept low. The economy has not been seriously damaged by being hermetically sealed off; international trade in goods can continue and the domestic economy is large and robust enough to prosper. It does not depend on large inflows of foreigners to thrive.

06:05

As more countries ditch ‘zero-Covid’ policy, why is China opting to ‘wait and see’?

Hong Kong’s situation is different. It also has a zero-tolerance policy and has kept the number of Covid-19 infections and deaths commendably low. The economy did suffer a recession in 2019-20, but is now enjoying a recovery.

Opinion | Unlike Singapore, Hong Kong might be stuck with ‘zero Covid’ even if it wants to open up

Hong Kong has a zero-tolerance policy, like the mainland, but it lacks the domestic economy to thrive in isolation and the autonomy to change course Singapore is the first in the region to move to a policy of living with the virus, and it could profit if Hong Kong remains hermetically sealed off

Hong Kong has a zero-tolerance policy, like the mainland, but it lacks the domestic economy to thrive in isolation and the autonomy to change course

Singapore is the first in the region to move to a policy of living with the virus, and it could profit if Hong Kong remains hermetically sealed off