Hong Kong's status undermined by Covid curbs, leader says / Photo: May Tse - POOL/AFP
-
Hovland and Gerard share lead at Tour Championship
-
Kane confirms talks on Bayern extension
-
Maresca salutes 'unbelievable' Cherki after Man City star sinks Palace
-
Trump govt. mulls deal to give away part of Yosemite park
-
Marquinhos rescues last-gasp draw for PSG at Lille in Ligue 1
-
Indian release of Sonia Gandhi memoir uncertain after publisher clarification
-
ICE detains British far-right activist Milo Yiannopoulos in Louisiana
-
Cities show cleaner transport policies can reduce severe air pollution
-
Milo Yiannopoulos held by ICE after missing immigration hearing
-
Four patients harmed in Nashville hospital medication mix-up
-
Six Flags closes X2 rollercoaster after reports of severe brain injuries
-
Essex council hires private guards as Wethersfield asylum centre expands
-
Jury ends second day without verdict in Lindsay Clancy murder trial
-
Haakon VIII becomes Norway's king after Harald V dies at 89
-
Artist says criticised Ronnie O'Sullivan mural is unfinished
-
Six injured after sign falls at Christian festival in West Sussex
-
UAE grants Starlink 10-year satellite broadband licence
-
Dubai airport expands scanners that keep laptops and liquids in bags
-
US says Hormuz mines cleared as diplomacy and military deployments continue
-
Kuwait and Pakistan sign military cooperation agreement
-
Nepal-Tibet flood toll reaches 584 as more than 2,400 remain missing
-
Ramos strikes as AC Milan beat Venezia
-
Cherki makes his point to Maresca as Man City sparkle in Palace rout
-
Odisha faces very heavy rain as Sri Ganganagar reaches 41.4C
-
COP17 soil assessment links worsening land degradation to food and nutrition risks
-
Scammers in China exploit Microsoft Teams and other workplace apps to target victims
-
Medical AI paper predicts autonomous systems could outperform doctors in core clinical tasks by 2030
-
GSA employees report mice, ceiling damage and cloudy water after Washington office move
-
REI Labor Day sale runs through September 7 with outdoor gear discounts
-
Cara and former scraper develop open-source tool to alert artists when work appears in AI datasets
-
Meta tests robots for cabling, server resets and maintenance inside data centers
-
Google expands easier file sharing between Android phones and Apple devices
-
Nepal-Tibet flood rescue resumes after overflowing debris lake forces temporary withdrawal
-
UK chefs turn to induction cooking to reduce kitchen heat, energy use and pollution
-
Extreme heat exposes vulnerabilities across Britain's rail network
-
Restored Cheshire wetland becomes key UK breeding site for black-necked grebes
-
Dollar rallies after Fed chief lifts rate expectations
-
Bayern steamroll Stuttgart in Bundesliga opener
-
Slumping Sabalenka 'confident' ahead of US Open three-peat bid
-
England pace quartet might keep Archer going until he is 40
-
Aston Villa seal swoop for Chelsea striker Jackson
-
Driven by distraction? Trump steps up stunts as US midterms loom
-
Number of missing in deadly Nepal, China floods jumps past 2,400
-
Springboks a wounded beast, warns All Blacks captain Savea
-
Birmingham City Seek First Championship Win Against Wrexham
-
Trump announces new US 'Space Academy'
-
Four-wicket Robinson stars as Pakistan collapse in second Test
-
Best Laser Printers in India: Top Options from HP, Brother and Canon
-
Alcaraz anxious after layoff but feels 'great' about wrist
-
US Monroe Doctrine Revival Risks Pushing Latin America Toward China
Hong Kong's status undermined by Covid curbs, leader says
Hong Kong's status as an international hub has been "undermined" by strict coronavirus border controls, outgoing leader Carrie Lam admitted Friday, just a day after saying she would not further lift restrictions before departing.
The once vibrant Asian business hub is mired in its third year of pandemic isolation as it hews to China's zero-Covid strategy, which seeks to control outbreaks with lockdowns, social distancing and border controls.
Hong Kong last month reopened to vaccinated non-residents but international arrivals must still undergo seven days of quarantine.
"The border control measures have really made people very impatient, and of course, have undermined Hong Kong's status as a hub," Lam said in an interview with CNBC.
"If you cannot travel freely to other places and into the mainland, how could you be a hub?"
Lam is due to step down on June 30 after a five-year term that saw huge democracy protests and Covid-19 outbreaks that left more than 9,000 people dead.
On Thursday Lam announced that pandemic restrictions will not be further loosened during her remaining time in office.
But in the Friday interview, Lam agreed that a more flexible quarantine policy would bring people back to Hong Kong.
"Once we could bring down the hotel quarantine period or, as some have suggested, replace it with home quarantine measures, I'm sure we will be seeing a lot of people coming to Hong Kong," she told CNBC.
Addressing lawmakers on Thursday, Lam said Hong Kong was stuck between China's zero-Covid approach and foreign countries' decision to live with the virus.
Beijing remains committed to completely quashing all outbreaks and President Xi Jinping reaffirmed the policy on Thursday, saying it must be "unswervingly upheld", according to state news agency Xinhua.
Lam on Thursday said there was no chance of reopening the border with mainland China in the near future.
Hong Kong's next leader John Lee has said one of his top priorities is to reconnect the city with the mainland, though he gave no specific timetable.
Lee previously acknowledged that travel curbs have caused "inconvenience" for international travellers but made no commitment to reduce the quarantine period.
P.Sousa--PC
