{"id":3000,"date":"2022-03-09T15:34:59","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T07:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/?p=3000"},"modified":"2022-03-09T15:35:01","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T07:35:01","slug":"leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading us a walk on the wild side"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Hong Kong, 9 March 2022: <\/strong>Hiking in Hong Kong brings you closer to nature. This city offers diverse flora and fauna, not to mention a vast range of exotic wildlife. Porcupines, civet cats, wild boar, snakes, monkeys and more, we see them all on our regular outings with the Stumblers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I didn\u2019t need my walking boots this morning \u2013 only my TV screen \u2013 to spy that rarest of creatures, the Lesser Spotted Chief Executive, giving her first press conference in more than two weeks. With our city gripped by a desperate public health crisis in which new Covid-19 infections are in the tens of thousands and hundreds of citizens are dying each day, Carrie Lam finally came out to face reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today\u2019s belated appearance arrived shortly after Vice-Premier Han Zheng, Beijing\u2019s highest-ranking official overseeing Hong Kong affairs, demanded stronger and more decisive pandemic leadership from the local authorities. In particular, he urged effective measures to reduce this city\u2019s sky-high death rate and prioritise care for the elderly. You can only imagine the private phone calls between the capital and Government House. \u201cGet a grip!\u201d may have been the gist of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>About time, too. We have endured months of government incompetence \u2013 comprising unfathomable strategy, ad hoc policies, constant flip-flopping and mixed messaging \u2013 during which weary citizens have been at the mercy of rumour and hearsay. We have been drip-fed information via ministers\u2019 blogs, radio interviews, newspaper reports quoting unnamed sources or citizens recording their own experiences via social media. It\u2019s mentally, physically and financially draining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so, our leader \u2013 noticeably less self-assured this morning and keeping her mask on, having famously removed it at previous media briefings to let residents \u201cfeel her emotions\u201d \u2013 is at long last promising to actually lead. Here are the takeaways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>She will assume a more active role in pandemic messaging and conduct a press conference every day \u2013 \u201cwe hope to clear up rumours or misunderstandings\u201d.<\/li><li>The compulsory universal testing drive slated for this month is being postponed while the government concentrates on reducing severe infections, although it is definitely on the cards and dates will be announced in due course.<\/li><li>More than 9,000 public hospital beds, half of the city\u2019s total, will be used for Covid-19 patients, and this will include Queen Elizabeth Hospital being converted into a designated centre for Covid-19 patients.<\/li><li>All elderly residents at nursing homes will be given their first vaccine dose within two weeks.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Chief Executive also said she was saddened by the deaths of many citizens infected during the current Omicron-fuelled outbreak. Saddened? The reaction of this writer is one of righteous anger. On 27 January, explaining why her government would not ease social distancing restrictions, she remarked: \u201cI could not stand seeing a lot of old people dying in my hospitals.\u201d At the time, our city had listed 213 fatalities as Covid-related since the beginning of the pandemic, a remarkably low figure. However, for almost a year, concerned family health practitioners and epidemiologists had been waving red flags about the dismally low vaccination rate among senior citizens. We were heading for catastrophe, they warned, time and time again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the six weeks since Carrie\u2019s comments, some 2,365 residents \u2013 mostly elderly and unvaccinated \u2013 have died from coronavirus complications. This city now has the world\u2019s highest Covid fatality rate, according to online database Our World in Data. We have a seven-day rolling average of 29.18 new deaths per one million people, well over double the 13.24 figure of second-placed Mauritius. Our city\u2019s mortuaries are so overwhelmed they\u2019re deploying refrigerated shipping containers to store bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only are these deaths tragic, many of them have been preventable. From the outset, there was the glaring failure to properly prioritise senior and vulnerable citizens when Hong Kong\u2019s mass vaccination programme commenced in late February 2021. Suggestions to be proactive and send jab teams into care homes were ignored. Ambiguous public health messaging which failed to address vaccine hesitancy \u2013 amplified by media scare stories about jab side-effects \u2013 exacerbated the issue. A golden chance to boost take-up by tying the HK$36 billion (US$4.6 billion) digital consumption e-voucher scheme to inoculation was passed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most damningly, our government failed to incentivise vaccination by making life easier for those good citizens who got their jabs. No vaccine pass system for entry to restaurants, gyms, cinemas or other public facilities. Quarantine and social distancing restrictions were applied equally to all, irrespective of vaccination status. Close contact of someone who\u2019s tested positive? Off you went to Penny\u2019s Bay, jabbed or not. And then, towards the end of last year, with the programme almost stalled and complacency rife due to low infections in the community, some vaccination centres were shut down. I rest my case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On to more pleasant matters. If all this doom and gloom leaves you in need of some levity, look no further than Mike Rowse, former Director-General of InvestHK and someone who always sees the lighter side of life. He was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/1750709\/10187255-episode-12-mike-rowse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">my latest guest<\/a> on our Law &amp; More podcast, bringing sound acumen and a host of amusing anecdotes to proceedings. His description of the current administration \u2013 \u201cHopeless!\u201d \u2013 is a good example of his forthright views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An ex-civil servant with insight, humour and candour? It can only be another one of Hong Kong\u2019s endangered species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay safe and well, everybody!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Colin Cohen<\/strong><br><strong>Senior Partner<\/strong><br><strong>Boase Cohen &amp; Collins<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hong Kong, 9 March 2022: Hiking in Hong Kong brings you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2997,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-54"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Leading us a walk on the wild side - \u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e08\u884c<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"zh_CN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leading us a walk on the wild side - \u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e08\u884c\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hong Kong, 9 March 2022: Hiking in Hong Kong brings you [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e08\u884c\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-09T07:34:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-09T07:35:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/EIGHTYNINEcov_PHOTO2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1245\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"598\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Niall Donnelly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u4f5c\u8005\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Niall Donnelly\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 \u5206\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/\",\"name\":\"Leading us a walk on the wild side - \u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e08\u884c\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/EIGHTYNINEcov_PHOTO2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-09T07:34:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-09T07:35:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/#\/schema\/person\/5b77a07b7692a02ba65ff29d05c8f3b5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/EIGHTYNINEcov_PHOTO2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/EIGHTYNINEcov_PHOTO2.jpg\",\"width\":1245,\"height\":598},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Leading us a walk on the wild side\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/\",\"name\":\"\u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e08\u884c\",\"description\":\"2018\u53ca2019\u5e74\u5ea6\u6700\u4f73\u8bc9\u8bbc\u53ca\u4e89\u8bae\u89e3\u51b3\u5f8b\u5e08\u884c\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/#\/schema\/person\/5b77a07b7692a02ba65ff29d05c8f3b5\",\"name\":\"Niall Donnelly\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/54b15b260b9ed40d8e860705893b81f8cd72e1f211fea70f35ec1dcafc686171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/54b15b260b9ed40d8e860705893b81f8cd72e1f211fea70f35ec1dcafc686171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Niall Donnelly\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Leading us a walk on the wild side - \u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e08\u884c","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/","og_locale":"zh_CN","og_type":"article","og_title":"Leading us a walk on the wild side - \u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e08\u884c","og_description":"Hong Kong, 9 March 2022: Hiking in Hong Kong brings you [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/","og_site_name":"\u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e08\u884c","article_published_time":"2022-03-09T07:34:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-03-09T07:35:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1245,"height":598,"url":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/EIGHTYNINEcov_PHOTO2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Niall Donnelly","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"\u4f5c\u8005":"Niall Donnelly","\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4":"4 \u5206"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/","url":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/","name":"Leading us a walk on the wild side - \u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e08\u884c","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/EIGHTYNINEcov_PHOTO2.jpg","datePublished":"2022-03-09T07:34:59+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-09T07:35:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/#\/schema\/person\/5b77a07b7692a02ba65ff29d05c8f3b5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"zh-Hans","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-Hans","@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/EIGHTYNINEcov_PHOTO2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/EIGHTYNINEcov_PHOTO2.jpg","width":1245,"height":598},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/%e7%bd%91%e8%aa%8c\/leading-us-a-walk-on-the-wild-side\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Leading us a walk on the wild side"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/","name":"\u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e08\u884c","description":"2018\u53ca2019\u5e74\u5ea6\u6700\u4f73\u8bc9\u8bbc\u53ca\u4e89\u8bae\u89e3\u51b3\u5f8b\u5e08\u884c","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"zh-Hans"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/#\/schema\/person\/5b77a07b7692a02ba65ff29d05c8f3b5","name":"Niall Donnelly","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-Hans","@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/54b15b260b9ed40d8e860705893b81f8cd72e1f211fea70f35ec1dcafc686171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/54b15b260b9ed40d8e860705893b81f8cd72e1f211fea70f35ec1dcafc686171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Niall Donnelly"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3000"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3002,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3000\/revisions\/3002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}