Opinion / Naomi Xu Elegant
Shipping out
In August I spent three weeks alone in an air-conditioned hotel room in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay. The windows were sealed shut and meals were delivered to my door three times a day. If I stepped outside the room, I faced a hefty fine and a potential stint in jail. Such are the conditions for anyone who arrives here under the city’s strict coronavirus quarantine rules, plus a lot of red tape and pre-flight PCR testing.
Hong Kong currently mandates 14 to 21 days in hotel quarantine for all international arrivals and an additional 24 days in isolation for anyone who tests positive – and these requirements are driving away foreign companies. US multinational Fedex announced this week that it is closing its pilot base here because the rules are too restrictive for it to operate effectively. And Tara Joseph, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, resigned from her post this week after failing to convince the city’s government to loosen the rules.
In 2020, Hong Kong’s restrictions were a welcome shield from the virus. Now, with Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore almost fully open, and Australia, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea in the process of easing restrictions, it feels as though Hong Kong is being left behind. The city has prioritised reopening the border with mainland China over all else – a goal it will finally achieve in early December as a small number of Hong Kong residents will be given exemptions to cross without quarantining. But the risk is that it’s a hollow victory.
Quarantine hotels once had their place – I tolerated my summer isolation – but from my conversations with others, I’m in the minority. Every other week I meet someone who is planning to leave because the rules have made living here as an expat impractical and unsustainable. And it’s not just anecdotal: Hong Kong is increasingly in danger of losing its standing as a global business hub.