(Bloomberg) — Seven Hong Kong officials are in quarantine due to possible Covid exposure, as a scandal over a large birthday party they attended despite the government’s own pandemic warnings deepened.
Legislative Council President Andrew Leung said at a news briefing Friday that four lawmakers had been sent to a government quarantine camp in Penny’s Bay, days before the council was scheduled to hold its first meeting. Immigration Director Au Ka-wang separately announced he was also being sent to the facility.
More than 30 government officials attended the party for the representative of a mainland Chinese economic development agency Monday, despite Health Secretary Sophia Chan’s public call to avoid mass gatherings. The scandal comes as Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam imposes strict pandemic restrictions to stop the local spread of the infectious omicron variant to uphold the city’s Covid Zero strategy of eliminating the virus from its borders.
Leung said Friday that 19 members of the 90-seat Legislative Council were at the party, adding that the legislature would evaluate the Covid situation before deciding whether to hold the Wednesday meeting in person. “There’s so many things we need to monitor before a final decision can be made,” he said.
The party’s guest of honor, Witman Hung, apologized on Facebook late Thursday for undermining the government’s pandemic efforts. “I will certainly learn a lesson and reflect on it deeply,” said Hung, the principal liaison officer for Hong Kong at the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority.
Home Affairs Secretary Caspar Tsui also apologized on Facebook after being sent to quarantine Thursday. Emails to the offices of quarantined lawmakers Rock Chen, Benson Luk, Wendy Hong and Duncan Chiu weren’t immediately returned.
Deep Disappointment
Lam said at a Thursday briefing she was “disappointed” in the officials. “We have been mounting an all-out effort in fighting the epidemic. As top government officials, there is all the more reason for us to set a good example and avoid attending private gatherings that may pose a major hazard,” she said.
The scandal risks feeding further public resentment against Lam’s Beijing-backed government, which has maintained some of the world’s toughest travel curbs, jailed scores of pro-democracy activists, forced newspaper closures and installed a new opposition-free legislature. The incident also comes at an inopportune time for Lam personally, since she must soon decide whether she’ll seek China’s blessing for a second five-year term as leader.
This isn’t the first time top Hong Kong government officials have flouted the guidance they’ve asked members of the public to follow. In July, three Hong Kong officials — including Au, the immigration chief — were fined for attending a hotpot dinner that breached virus measures, inflaming resentment toward the government.
In a statement Friday, Au said he’d only briefly attended the party and did not sit down to eat. “Regarding the additional burden to the epidemic prevention work and the disturbance to the public as a result of my personal behavior, I offer my sincere apology to all people of Hong Kong,” he added. “I have reflected on this incident and shall be more vigilant in future.”
Lam said Thursday a distinction should be made between those who spent the whole night at the party and those who “just dropped by to say, ‘Hello.’”
“For the undesirable behavior of top officials, I will take appropriate action,” she said. “But at this point, I will not announce what that action will be.”
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