Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s tycoons are rushing to join the fight against Covid-19. Where were they earlier?
- The city’s tycoons had earlier been involved in the coronavirus fight but in a sporadic, even lukewarm manner, according to sources
- Xi Jinping’s call for action cleared one key bottleneck – the Hong Kong government itself and its red tape, claimed an insider in the pro-Beijing camp
The excuse for their previous reluctance: the local government.
These were among the arguments mounted by analysts, several players in the private sector and pro-Beijing pundits in explaining why it took a call from the top to force them into action.
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On Wednesday, pro-Beijing media in the city reported that the Chinese leader had called on the local government to mobilise “all forces and resources” and take all necessary measures to protect people’s lives and health, and ensure social stability.
The city’s tycoons had earlier been involved in the fight but in a sporadic, even lukewarm manner, said sources including pro-Beijing pundits and some private developers.
They attributed their sluggish involvement earlier to the local government’s failure to coordinate when the Omicron-fuelled fifth wave started to get worse, and they were not actively canvassed on what they could offer, the sources said.
They said the picture only became clearer when Xi delivered that uncharacteristically blunt message, including telling the local government it bore the main responsibility for containing the virus and that this had to be the overriding priority.
