Opinion | By targeting mainland medical help, Hong Kong’s media is only harming the case for press freedom
- Repeatedly asking about medical compensation is insulting and raises the question of whether press freedom can exist as a core value under ‘one country, two systems’ if it ignores basic ethics
Your house is on fire. Your kind neighbours come rushing out with buckets of water to help but you hold out your hands to stop them in their tracks and ask: “Who will be responsible if my furniture suffers from water damage?” Absurd, is it not? Well, not so absurd, it would appear, in Hong Kong.
This question was repeated on almost every occasion whenever the authorities talked about issues relating to the pandemic, regardless of what answer the press had been given before.
The implication that mainland medical personnel are somehow professionally substandard, or the assumption that our medical and judicial systems are unable to deal with any unusual or unprofessional behaviour on their part, is insulting to say the least. Ultimately, however, it is of course also a question of grace; basic human decency if you like.
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First batch of medical workers from mainland China arrives in Hong Kong
You would say that the media’s question was a legitimate one, no? People need to know what would happen if they received substandard treatment. I’d say, yes and no. It is legitimate for the press to find the answers to important social questions, but for this one, the answer is already out there and can easily be found.
