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SCMP Series

Top 10 most-read Letters to the Editor 2020

2 of 10

China’s coronavirus numbers just don’t seem to add up

A worker walks among beds in a convention centre that has been converted into a temporary hospital in Wuhan, Hubei, on February 4. Photo: AP

What is China not telling us about the novel coronavirus?

A woman walks past statues wearing face masks, as the snow falls in Beijing on February 5. Photo: AP

Singapore deserves to be blamed for failing migrant workers

Migrant workers wear masks while queuing at a meal distribution point in the Little India district of Singapore on May 6. Photo: EPA-EFE

Could Singapore offer migrant workers a path to citizenship?

Migrant workers wait in line at a meal distribution point in the Little India district of Singapore, on May 6. A majority of Singapore’s Covid-19 cases are from the foreign worker community, who live in crowded dormitories. Photo: EPA-EFE

Does Chinese arrogance make some people turn against them?

Chinese tourists take souvenir photos with the national flag on Quanfu, one of the Paracel Islands, in Sansha prefecture of Hainan province in the South China Sea, in September 2014. Photo: AP

What I know about Lee Suet Fern

Lee Suet Fern (far left) and other family members of the late Lee Kuan Yew arrive with his portrait at the start of the state funeral at the University Cultural Centre in Singapore on March 29, 2015. Photo: AP

Singapore is now home, but Hong Kong is where the heart is

The people of Hong Kong left an indelible mark with their silent, stoic belief in doing the right thing the right way. Photo: Winson Wong

Three ways for China to win back the world’s trust

A security officer walks past a display at the PT Expo in Beijing last October. Photo: AP

Lee Kuan Yew was proof autocratic government can be good

Cathay fate shows how Hong Kong is now toxic for businesses

Hong Kong’s popular tourist and shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui on October 17. Photo: AFP

Opinion Letters

Letters | What is China not telling the world about the novel coronavirus?

Coronavirus pandemic

Letters

Published: 6:35am, 11 Feb 2020

Why you can trust SCMP

China’s ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, has pushed back against US statements about the novel coronavirus pneumonia, saying that “a lot is still unknown, and our scientists, Chinese scientist, American scientists, scientists of other countries are doing their best to learn more about the virus.”

Yet in August 2015, Nature – perhaps the most respected of all scientific journals – published a report titled: “A Sars-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence”.

The article detailed complex morphological and transmission studies by an expert group including Dr Ge Xingyi and Dr Shi Zhengli of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

This impressive work, standard world-class virology, suggests that the ambassador misspoke. Five years ago, scientists in Wuhan already knew a great deal about such a virus; enough to make them worry about an outbreak similar to Sars, or the severe acute respiratory syndrome.

The inescapable conclusion is that even at this time of emergency, some key information is being withheld.

Arthur Waldron, Lauder Professor, University of Pennsylvania

No excuse for xenophobia against Chinese

The unprecedented hysteria over the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak highlights mostly the prejudicial ignorance of those seeking to condemn Chinese individuals as carriers of some deadly plague.

The sickening sight of xenophobia barring innocent Chinese nationals from restaurants, toilet facilities and subway seats, and causing people to be spat on in the streets, reflects a society that has lost its moral compass.

Ignorance is no excuse for hatred and, when this virus has faded away, the nations of the world owe the people of China two words: “We’re sorry”.

Mark Peaker, The Peak

Hospital strike was pro-Hong Kong, not anti-government

I am writing in response to the comment “Hong Kong’s despicable hospital strike over coronavirus crisis is just a taste of more to come” (February 8).

I disagree with Yonden Lhatoo’s claim that this was a continuing campaign of the anti-government protest. The hospital strike was to fight for a shutdown of the border between mainland China and Hong Kong in hopes of reducing the spread of the virus.

Hong Kong’s medical staff are poorly treated, with little overtime pay and a lack of protective gear. Moreover, the government refuses to seal the border, allowing mainland Chinese to enter Hong Kong in hopes of more advanced medical treatment, causing a huge burden to medical staff in the city. Given all this, it is understandable that they campaigned to shut down the border.

Many of them are angry that many patients are not Hong Kong citizens, that the government does not prioritise our health and has even suggested that a border shutdown is discriminatory.

But shutting down the border means no one who has been in mainland China can cross over into Hong Kong, no matter their race or nationality. This can only protect local citizens and ease the unnecessary burden on Hong Kong medical staff.

This is not a continuation of the anti-government protests but an attempt to protect Hongkongers from suffering.

Edna Lau, Tseung Kwan O

Amid virus fears, tear gas battles continue

I am writing in response to the report “Police fire tear gas as protesters block roads in Tseung Kwan O” (February 8).

Eight months have passed, yet nothing has improved. Even as the potentially deadly virus spreads, people dissatisfied with the government have not stopped going out to protest and voice their opinion. Riot police cruelly used tear gas and arrested Hongkongers young and old for wanting to commemorate the death of a university student.

Despite medical advice to stay at home to reduce the risk of contracting the novel coronavirus pneumonia, many people have not forgotten their original aims and want to fight for justice. Protesters have received no response from the government on their five demands, so they will never stop.

In this vicious circle, as the relationship between police and citizens continue to worsen, these continued battles can only plunge the city into more chaos and restlessness.

Zoie Ng, Tsui Lam

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