Mainland tourists wait at Sheung Shui MTR Station. Thousands were unable to return home after attending the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. Photo: Xiaohongshu/乐书叶
Opinion
Alice Wu
Alice Wu
Lack of foresight over new year travel chaos bodes ill for Hong Kong
The sight of thousands of mainland visitors left stranded after attending New Year’s Eve celebrations was disappointing and preventable
The government’s inability to prepare for and respond to issues inspires little confidence in planned mega projects and visions for the city
I bet Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief that his duty visit to Beijing was before the new year. What would President Xi Jinping say to Lee if he saw, like the rest of us, the distressing images of thousands of mainland visitors stranded at a railway station or delayed at the border for hours, unable to return home after attending the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations?
Hong Kong prides itself on its interconnectivity – within the city as well as with the mainland – and its world-class transport network, but it failed to connect or move people from point A to B. If the Kai Tak fiasco involving stranded tourists was an epic failure, what was the New Year’s Eve train wreck of poor planning, poor management and poor coordination?
No one foresaw that the New Year’s Eve fireworks, the biggest ever, would usher in such a debacle. Visitors certainly got first-hand experience of the city’s “optimism and diligence” – qualities mentioned in the run-up to the celebrations. The government had appeared optimistic, going all-out to attract people, but diligence in managing the crowds was missing.
The biggest problem could be that the government wasn’t really that optimistic. Officials said the fireworks would bring in many visitors, but maybe they didn’t actually believe that. How else could they have been caught by surprise by stranded travellers?
The government has made a habit of saying one thing and doing another, sending mixed messages through conflicting policies.
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World rings in 2024 with spectacular New Year’s fireworks and light shows
World rings in 2024 with spectacular New Year’s fireworks and light shows
One example is official confidence in attracting talent and their families yet continuing to shut schools and slash classes, only to reverse course after the increase in enrolments from, well, the influx of families who heeded the call. This bad habit is detrimental to the government’s credibility. When our leaders don’t mean what they say, they inspire little confidence.
Among the excuses officials came up with for the latest fiasco was that the number of travellers heading for the border after the fireworks had exceeded expectations. That’s no excuse. The tourism sector has been sounding the alarm over the trend of same-day mainland tourists for some time. Hong Kong’s struggle to convince mainland visitors to spend the night here isn’t news.
And neither is tourists having to wait hours for coaches to arrive and take them to their destination. The same happened after concerts in Central last November. The traffic conditions were definitely foreseeable.
It seems clear that foresight is not this government’s forte, and that should be a worry for everyone, especially those in Zhongnanhai. The government’s lack of preparedness and inability to foresee something as simple as what went on in the first hours of 2024 should raise red flags.
There is much at stake for Hong Kong. We need foresight to steer us out of our challenges. When the government says we should invest in mega projects, including the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands, we need assurances that officials can actually see what’s in store.
Some of the praise Xi heaped on the Hong Kong government during Lee’s visit included how it “dares to shoulder responsibilities” and “accomplishes tasks with excellence”. Meanwhile, the government seems to struggle with everyday tasks. New Year’s Eve is an outsize display of that.
Officials talk about the city’s role as a superconnector, Shenzhen-Hong Kong integration and being an integral part of the Greater Bay Area. Yet somehow, a one-hour trip turned into an overnight stay, on the floor of a railway station, for some.
New Year’s Eve fireworks light up Victoria Harbour. Photo: Elson Li
Officials have vowed to do better. Whenever we see the chief secretary stepping up and heading a coordination task force, we know the government identifies the problem at hand to be a cross-bureau issue. It could be that. It might explain why tasks aren’t executed.
But if we are to really enhance the city’s administration, there must be reform on the most basic level. Something as simple as opening borders is an administrative issue. Whether we need to cut red tape or fix whatever process is hindering the coordination between bureaus and departments, that’s what the government needs to focus on.
Hong Kong has the central government’s unwavering support. But our future depends on how our leaders execute these plans, without unnecessary administrative hiccups.
Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA
