This is a radical change for the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong. The latter is moving away from Beijing's "zero covid" doctrine which Hong Kong was forced to follow. The government of the former Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, spoke at the time of the absolute priority of opening up first and foremost to China...
The end of midlife for international travellers will officially come to an end on 26 September. The restrictions had been in place for more than two and a half years. However, things will not go back to the way they were before 2020.
Hopes of reviving Hong Kong's economy behind the reopening
At a press conference on Friday 23 September, the new Chief Executive of Hong Kong, John Lee, said that Incoming travellers must provide a negative antigen test 24 hours before boarding.. And go under "self-monitoring" for three days. But unlike quarantine, these will be flexible regulations.
The location of the self-check will be left to the discretion of the travellers - including a flat. People will be able to go out but will be banned from certain areas such as restaurants and bars. People will be given an orange colour under the city's digital health code, which will inform businesses or places frequented of their health status.
There is nothing humanist about Hong Kong's decision. In fact, it is totally motivated by economic considerations. "We hope to give maximum space to reconnect Hong Kong and revitalise our economy", said John Lee. The local government was under intense pressure from the business community to relax its rules against a backdrop of a faltering economy, an exodus of foreigners and the loss of the city's status as Asia's financial hub. The city has lost more than 200,000 inhabitants in less than two years...
At the start of the week, the Director General of IATA, Willie WalshThis was one of the criticisms levelled at the city's aviation policy because of its isolation. " Cathay Pacific is a shadow of its former self. Hong Kong has lost its position as a global hub and will have a hard time getting it back because other hubs have taken advantage of it", declared Willie Walsh, according to the Reuters press agency during a conference in Qatar.
The end of restrictions in Japan also motivated by the "economy" factor
This change of policy in Hong Kong comes less than 24 hours after the Japan announced that it reopened its borders from 11 October. The country is also restoring its visa-free entry policy on its territory. Japan remains under a highly restrictive opening regime.
Present in New York for the United Nations conference, the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, declared that the pandemic had interrupted the free movement of people, goods and capital. All these parameters had contributed to the country's development, and it was time to restore them.
Japan has therefore decided to lift the daily limit on the number of entries from abroad (currently 50,000). The country also authorises free travel to Japan for all countries that benefited from it before the crisis (including the European Union) and the possibility of travelling individually.. Travellers will simply have to prove have received three doses of vaccine or have a negative Covid-19 test result before travelling.
Taiwan is (finally) following suit
At the same time, Taiwan has just made the same announcement. The island will open its borders to travellers on 13 October.. The Taiwanese health authority has finally ruled in favour of the reopening.based on the level of Covid contamination on the island.
From 29 September, the visa-on-arrival policy will once again apply to countries that benefited from it before the pandemic.. On 13 October, travellers arriving in Taiwan will have to observe seven days of "self-initiated epidemic prevention - based on the Hong Kong model. People will be able to go out, for example. But they will undergo a negative antigen test every day.. At present, Taiwan continues to require three days of total quarantine, followed by four days of "self-initiated epidemic prevention".
That leaves only China, with its "zero Covid" policy. And North Korea too!
(Updated on 01/10/2022)
