'HK's Covid Policies Going The Wrong Direction'

The International Chamber of Commerce on Thursday said the government is going the wrong direction if it aligns Hong Kong's Covid restrictions with that on the mainland to reopen the border.

The chamber’s vice chairman George Cautherley was commenting after the government announced tighter restrictions, such as scrapping quarantine exemptions, so the mainland border could be reopened faster.

“If it has decided to – which it seems to have – that it has got to comply with the mainland, then we’re not going to open up to other countries, and I think that is, perhaps, going in the wrong direction,” he said.

Cautherley said the city is at a crossroads, where it has to decide between increasing restrictions on border control to have quarantine-free travel with the mainland, or to open up with the rest of the world.

He added: “We feel the international element of our economy is probably economically more beneficial for us to open up to the rest of the world.”

When asked if chamber members were thinking of leaving the city, Cautherley said his chamber is made up of local companies, but explained other chambers have member companies that are considering moving staff out of the SAR.

“We do hear from other chambers that people are considering, due to Covid, the possibility that they may need to move staff out of Hong Kong and place them elsewhere because they need them to travel.”

Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday said Hong Kong is going to scrap most quarantine exemptions, following discussions with mainland health experts aimed at securing a full reopening of the border.

Addressing concerns that keeping strict quarantine rules will damage Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre, Lam said this is a dilemma, but relaxed measures would make it less likely that the border could be reopened.

She reiterated that the priority is resuming quarantine-free travel with the mainland, saying Hong Kong's primary advantage is being a "gateway" to the rest of China.