#FirstHand #Feb1
#DistrictCouncillor Demands the Government to Take Real Actions to Aid Civilians Disturbed by Lockdowns

Ho Cheuk-Hin Isaac, a directly elected district councillor in Yau Tsim Mong District, spoke to the media near the lockdown area in Tsim Sha Tsui on Feb 1, 2021.

He expressed that although the government expected the lockdown operation to be finished at 7am, in reality not all residents attended a nine-to-five work schedule, especially those who do not work at the office.

Hoi criticized that the government's verbal "encouragement" to employers to "better understand the employees" affected by the lockdowns was way too superficial and lacks actual effects.

#FailedState #Lockdown #Obstruction #IssacHo

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The Desperation of Small Business Owner in Lockdown Area: The Government Never Helps
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28152

#FirstHand #Feb6 #ToKwaWanLockdown
This is Hong Kong, 2021: #PoliceState in #Lockdown Zone

The Hong Kong Police announced the government's lockdown plan in To Kwa Wan and Tuen Mun on the evening of Feb 6, 2021.

Read more:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28497

Via a loud speaker, the police told the residents in To Kwa Wan, "The area near Wah Fat Building at Ma Hang Chung Road has been sealed off. Residents are required to undergo mandatory tests. Government staff will proceed to knock on the door of every household..."

This is Hong Kong in Feb 2021, more than one year after the coronavirus was spreaded from China to Hong Kong and to the rest of the world.

#CoronavirusPandemic #WuhanPneumonia

The Hong Kong Government deployed over 3,000 civil servants from 16 departments distributing food for the 48-hour lockdown in the Jordon district on Jan 26, 2021.

#COVID19 #Lockdown #TaxPayersMoney #CivilServants #GoHKgraphics

The Hong Kong government put districts into lockdown surprisingly without notifying beforehand. In the period Jan 31 - Feb 3, 2021, a total of 6,881 people were tested but only 1 preliminary case was found.

#COVID19 #Lockdown #PreliminaryCase #GoHKgraphics

The government claimed the measures in the past 26 lockdowns against COVID-19 had been effective and suspended "ambush-style" lockdown operation over the Lunar New Year holiday.

#COVID19 #Lockdown #GoHKgraphics

#FirstHand #Mar19
#LohasPark #Lockdown
Hong Kong Authorities Continue to Impose Ambush-Style Lockdown

On the evening of March 19, 2021, the Hong Kong government announced a sudden lockdown of a residential building in Lohas Park, Tseung Kwan O. The affected building was Block No. 9 of the private housing estate.

The video captures the large number of police deployed to surround the building. All residents were ordered to undergo the #covid19 test.

#CoronavirusPandemic #PoliceState

One year on, Wuhan market at epicentre of virus outbreak remains barricaded and empty
 
For over six years, 38-year-old Wuhan restaurant owner Lai Yun started most days the same way - with a trip to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, just ten minutes walk from his house.

“I’d send the kids to school, have breakfast and then walk over to the market. It was very convenient,” he said.

That changed on Dec. 31, 2019, after four cases of a mystery pneumonia were linked to the market and it was shuttered overnight. By the end of the month, the city had begun a gruelling 76-day lockdown that came with just hours notice and barred people from leaving their homes.

Source: Reuters #Dec11

https://reut.rs/2W2miVt

#Wuhan #Virus #Outbreak #Lockdown

#Lockdown #FailedState #Omicron
Double standards? Government House, Police Headquarter and Consulates spared from Lockdown despite COVID-19-positive wastewater samples

Source: Channel C TG; #Feb5

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

#Lockdown #FailedState #Omicron
Double standards? Government House, Police Headquarter and Consulates spared from Lockdown despite COVID-19-positive wastewater samples

Hong Kong authorities continued its lockdown strategy in many grassroot housing estates over the past several weeks, in order to achieve China's dynamic zero COVID objective, which has grievously affected lives of thousands of local residents.

Whenever wastewater samples tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, the whole housing estate could be locked down for 3-5 days, and its residents subject to mandatory testing.

On February 5, the authorities announced that wastewater samples from six sewage monitoring areas were found positive for the virus. It indicated that there may be hidden cases in the premises within these areas.

Among these areas were Peak Road, Magazine Gap Road and Cotton Tree Drive, including the Government House where the Chief Executive Carrie Lam resides.

Also in the area are Grenville House, home of former Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa; the Police Headquarters; the Consulate General of the U.S; and the British Consulate General.

Instead of locking down these areas and conducting mandatory COVID-19 testing as it had done elsewhere, the authorities only dispatched 3 sets of rapid test kit for the affected residents to self-test.

Responding to local media inquiry, a spokesperson for the government claims that these rapid test kits are the "newest approach" for COVID-19 testing, and deployment arrangements may differ according to the situation in each affected area. The Office of the Chief Executive said the Chief Executive and her family members will conduct the self-test as required.

Source: Channel C TG; #Feb5
https://t.me/channelchk/2266

=====
Related articles:

Radical Lockdown Strategy Affecting 2,700 Residents in Grassroot Public Housing Estate in Hong Kong
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31982

Chaotic Mass Testing Stokes Fear of Rampant Virus Spread at Kwai Chung Estate
https://t.me/BeWaterHK/7
.

#Oppression #InformationFatique #QuitNews
Information fatigue and news avoidance are impacting Hong Kong people's mental well-being: Psychiatrists

#Lockdown #WFH #WuhanPneumonia #MentalHealth

Source: I-Cable News

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️

#Oppression #InformationFatique #QuitNews
Information fatigue and news avoidance are impacting Hong Kong people's mental well-being: Psychiatrists

Every day, people in Hong Kong are bombarded by an outpour of news broadcasts. As many contents of these news are frenetically negative, citizens started evading news. Graduates of journalism, on the other hand, have become disillusioned with their future career.

Psychiatrists advised that getting away from these negative emotions is necessary to avoid causing mental disorders.

Among the 30 people interviewed by i-Cable News, the majority said they get by their spare time by watching TV dramas or barely "do nothing". While no one chose to cook, only two said they read news.

Ms Chan, one of the interviewees, commented, "There is no good news, especially during this period of time, there is a lot of pressure, and it seems that Hong Kong is trapped."

Another interviewee, Mr Hui mentioned, "Hong Kong is under a lot of pressure due to COVID-19. People don't want to pay attention to these news in their own time or on holiday."

Ms Kwok said, "there are too many negative news, I don't want to be dispirited by negative information."

Not only the general public wants to get away from news, a former journalist have also quited her job.

A journalism graduate, Algy explained, "I read only news titles as I don't feel like reading into details. Even when I am avoiding news, I still feel the growing negative ambience around me."

In late 2021, the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong surveyed among 1,066 respondents. Across all age segments disregarding their political stance, the growth in people quitting news is apparent.

Those who quitted newspapers have grown from 11.2% in 2020 to 23.6% in 2021. Those quitted TV news also increased from 13.2% (2020) to 18.8% (2021).

Most of the respondents claimed that the ongoing political conflict, the growing sense of helplessness after pro-democracy Anti-ELAB movement and information fatigue as reasons to quit reading / watching news. Experts call such phenomenon as #NewsAvoidance.

In the meantime, psychiatrists in Hong Kong also found growing cases in mental illness due to negative news contents in recent couple of years.

A psychiatrist said, "when people relates a news piece to themselves, e.g. the death toll of COVID-19, they are saddened and distressed. Such feel could linger for hours or couple of weeks."

An organisation specialised in psychological counseling said that about 70-80% of recent requests for help is related to epidemic news.

The organisation reminds the public to look after their mental well-being, and look out for symptoms like insomnia, poor appetite and sweaty palms. They are advised to seek professional assistance when needed.

#Lockdown #WFH #WuhanPneumonia #MentalHealth

Source: I-Cable News
http://cablenews.i-cable.com/ci/news/article/37/796250?utm_source=hk.iott.app&utm_campaign=share&ts=1646544444012

The reason why HK people go on panic buying is that the government has changed their stands several times.

#Covid19 #lockdown #PanicBuying #CarrieLam #GoHKgraphics

#Pandemic
#China locks down millions more as #Covid19 spreads, reports first deaths in over a year

//More than 4,000 new infections were reported across China on Sunday, March 20, 2022 — with two-thirds in #Jilin province, which borders Russia and North Korea.

Since March 11, Changchun’s nine million people have only been allowed out once every two days to buy food.

Tens of millions of people are currently in lockdown in other Chinese regions and authorities are scrambling to create hospital beds, fearing the outbreak could put the healthcare system under strain.//

Read the full article:
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/03/20/china-locks-down-millions-more-as-covid-spreads-reports-first-deaths-in-over-a-year/

Source: AFP; Hong Kong Free Press #Mar20

#WuhanPneumonia #Lockdown

#Shanghai starts China's biggest #COVID19 lockdown in 2 years; residents call it "insane"

Although Chinese officials said lockdown would not be imposed on #Shanghai, two days later the authorities announced that the city will be locked down in two stages from Monday, March 28, 2022 onwards for nine days.

According to BBC, this is the biggest city-wide #lockdown since the Covid outbreak began more than two years ago.

Soon after the government's announcement was out, panic buying occured in various parts of Shanghai.

Videos on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, showed people fighting in supermarket over produce. Some Chinese netizens commented that it was "unbelievable that they are looking at 21st-Century Shanghai" and that the policy was "insane".

Source: InMedia; BBC #Mar28
https://bit.ly/380pPwx

#WuhanPneumonia #ChineseStyle #Lockdown #Pandemic #Regime

#Pandemic #Covid19
Key Indicator Shows #China’s #Economy Set For Further Slump

//Just when you thought China might be back on track, a key economic indicators suggests the opposite is coming down the pike.

Recently the price of iron-ore slumped, indicating that demand for this key ingredient in steel making is slipping as well. Recently one metric ton of the or would fetch $116, down more than 25% from almost $160 in early March, according to data from TradingEconomics. That’s quite a tumble.

That matters because steel has long been the lifeblood of that country’s economy....

What’s shocking here is that while China is in midst of undoing some of its recent COVID-19-related lockdowns that brought vast swathes of the communist country to an economic standstill. If those locked-down cities were now getting back to work, then why aren’t we seeing signs of an industrial resurgence?

So far, that’s not clear. If things were getting back to any form of normal then we should see demand for iron-ore creep up and along with it the prices of the mineral should rally.

Investors in Chinese stocks or even those listed in Hong Kong should remain cautious until we see evidence of a real recovery.//

Source: Forbes #Jun27

https://t.co/XrJ4mhyoD1

#Iron #IronOre #Lockdown #FinancialDownturn

Chinese Students Hold Posters and Flowers on HKU Campus;
Police arrived to record their personal information

According to the #UnderGrad, an official publication of #HKUSU, there were at least 2 #Chinese students holding leaflets and flowers at the university on 27 Nov to mourn the victims of the #Xinjiang #Urumqi fire. Police arrived after the university reported the incident; officers recorded personal information of the students involved before leaving.

A fire broke out in a residential building in Xinjiang Urumqi on the evening of 24 Nov. It is said that at least 20 people were killed, including many children. The youngest deceased was only aged 3.

On Chinese social media, many questioned whether the #lockdown measures obstructed the rescue. Some fire trucks were suspected to be unable to approach the fire. A few video clips also showed workers in white PPE appeared to be breaking down fences and barricades.

Since the accident, mourning activities sprang up in many cities across China. Institutions like #CommunicationUniversityofChina and #BeijingUniversity appeared to have opposition movements. #TsinghuaUniversity students gathered and raised a piece of white paper to protest. In #Shanghai, groups of people were even chanting slogan, "Let the people go".

Source: 寄寓記語 Facebook #Nov27

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02S1ureDZgx3FvBVzrRGb12BQLBFdurVyt92QvVbupKGgHRYvyn4eBhzT4DeL2oUxml&id=100075850610487&mibextid=OgCMUw

Italian Health Secretary: China Teaches the World What Not to Do in a Pandemic

Italian Health Minister Orazio Schillaci sharply criticised China's anti-pandemic measures in a presentation at the Italian Parliament on Thursday.

He said that China has taught a lesson to the world on what not to do when fighting against the virus. He calls on all countries to never use China-style measures to fight a virus.

Schillaci also indicates that no new variant was found from the import cases from China as of 30/12. However, Italy has to be aware of the risks posed by China's pandemic, but there is no need to panic.

The health minister also commented on the anti-pandemic policy of China, calling it an exercise in self-contradiction. He added that the recent situation in some Chinese mega-cities would be unacceptable in democratic countries.

#Italy #China #OrazioSchillaci #COVID19 #Pandemic #Lockdown #Democracy

Source: Europe Chinese #Dec30

http://europechinese.blogspot.com/2022/12/blog-post_99.html