{"id":3140,"date":"2022-05-04T15:32:04","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T07:32:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/?p=3140"},"modified":"2022-05-04T15:32:07","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T07:32:07","slug":"will-a-saviour-ride-to-our-rescue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/will-a-saviour-ride-to-our-rescue\/","title":{"rendered":"Will a saviour ride to our rescue?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hong Kong, 4 May 2022: <\/strong>Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping famously offered a reassurance Hong Kong would retain its way of life after 1997. \u201cHorse racing will continue and dancing parties will go on,\u201d he promised. Covid-19 put a damper on the latter, but the thudding of hooves has persisted. With our city enduring some of the strictest social distancing rules in the world, the Hong Kong Jockey Club has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect the sport via its \u201cracing bubble\u201d, conducting many race meetings behind closed doors and isolating riders from the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good thing, too, because this has allowed the Jockey Club \u2013 the city\u2019s largest taxpayer and charitable donor \u2013 to commit more than HK$1.8 billion (about US$230 million) to pandemic relief initiatives, including fast-tracking grants to NGOs offering essential services, providing food assistance to families in need and upgrading infection control facilities at residential care homes. Keeping the horses galloping is not only about demand \u2013 it is estimated more than 10% of citizens hold a Jockey Club betting account \u2013 it is a financial necessity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enthusiasts of other sports have had to be far more patient, with many facilities closed for months on end. Leagues have been abandoned, tournaments cancelled, exercise routines disrupted. Our physical and mental health have taken a pounding. Even now, the city\u2019s gradual reopening is proceeding no faster than a gentle trot. \u201cOnce you surrender certain freedoms, it can be difficult to win them back,\u201d I wrote in this column 18 months ago<\/a>. Subsequent events are bearing me out, the latest example being outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam\u2019s weekly press conference yesterday in which she announced \u2013 almost grudgingly, it seemed \u2013 a relaxation of three strict social distancing rules from tomorrow:<\/p>\n\n\n\n