Days after the Hong Kong government lifted its mask mandate, most Hong Kongers continue to wear the protective anti-COVID-19 coverings, a decision that for some people shows a continued concern about health and for others indicates distrust of the government.
Tam Mei Tak, a radio talk-show host and political commentator, told VOA Cantonese that many Hong Kongers have realized that "trusting the government is worse than relying on themselves" in the fight against the pandemic.
A poll of Hong Kong residents commissioned by the local South China Morning Post and released in April 2020 found seven in 10 were convinced they would have only themselves to thank rather than the government if the city won its battle against COVID-19.
The Hong Kong government officially lifted the mask mandate on Wednesday. It had been in effect for three years, making the former British territory the last “unmasked” city in the world. Since early December, just after China relaxed its stringent zero-COVID policy, Hong Kong has lifted most of its controls, including limiting public gatherings and requiring proof of vaccination for entering restaurants, bars and other venues.
Chief Executive John Lee told reporters on Tuesday that the mask order would be completely revoked the next day and citizens would no longer need to wear masks indoors, outdoors or on public transportation.
But during 2019 protests against a legislative bill that would have allowed people to be extradited to mainland China to face charges if it had not been withdrawn, the Hong Kong government enacted the Prohibition of Face Covering Regulation. It was seen as a law to prevent demonstrators from covering their faces, which made it harder for authorities to identify them.
When asked Tuesday whether the city government would abandon the regulation while lifting the mask mandate, Lee said the mask mandate was a public health concern and was different from the Prohibition of Face Covering Regulation.
Tam said that most citizens still wear masks because the Prohibition of Face Covering Regulation has not been revoked: “Since you ask me to do it, I would do the opposite. ... This is a vote of no confidence in the government.”
Other Hong Kongers told VOA Cantonese they continued to wear masks to remain healthy.
One of them, Ah San, told VOA Cantonese she was wearing a no-longer-mandated mask "because I haven’t been sick while wearing a mask or had to go to the doctor. I haven’t had a cold in the past three years, so I think wearing a mask is better for protecting my own health.”
She added that “as the government doesn’t publish the data, we don’t know if there are infected people walking around on the street. So I think it's more important to protect myself."
Alice, a Hong Konger who runs a Japanese-style yakiniku restaurant and asked that her full name not be used to avoid attracting officials’ attention, told VOA Cantonese that the moment the "mask order” was lifted, she immediately posted photos of herself without a mask on social media. She said she felt very happy about going shopping without a mask that afternoon, thinking life had returned to what it was before COVID-19. But when she saw so many people wearing masks on the street, she said she felt a little guilty.
Simon Lee, a Hong Kong political commentator who now lives in Virginia, said that the reaction of Hong Kongers to the revocation of the mask mandate also reflected the public's distrust of the Hong Kong government. He said many Hong Kongers believe that the city government's pandemic prevention measures lacked scientific basis.
He said it was obvious over the past three years that “the public knew that the government had no real scientific basis for epidemic prevention, and instead everyone acted according to their own judgment.”
Simon Lee said, “Whether the government told you to wear a mask or not, it's actually meaningless to Hong Kongers. You see that Hong Kongers themselves would wear masks when they were in 'high-risk' places, but sometimes they were feeling relaxed and having drinks at a bar, they didn’t wear a mask. It could actually be the same person. The point is that among [a person’s] many considerations, the government’s suggestion and position are the least relevant factors.”
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
