A Hong Kong pro-democracy union of healthcare workers and several activists, including Joshua Wong, called on Sunday for a boycott of the government’s universal coronavirus testing plan, in which medical staff from mainland China are set to assist.
THE TALLY ROSE TO 4,801
The Hospital Authority Employees Alliance, formed during last year’s pro-democracy protests with 20,000 members, said universal testing was not an efficient use of resources and urged focused tests instead.
“It is clear to see that the government has one and only one goal … to use the pandemic to achieve their own political aims,” its leader Winnie Yu told a joint news conference with activists.
“They shall do whatever they can to please the central government of China, even if it means placing politics above all things else.”
Wong said a full closure of the border would be a better measure than the government plan, adding, “It’s like having a pregnancy test without having birth control.”
The city’s Beijing-backed chief executive, Carrie Lam, has hit back at critics of the initiative, dismissing their attempt to “smear the central government”.