More ambush lockdowns on Monday night, with no Covid carriers found. Just some people stuck in a hair salon overnight. And then last night’s, which disrupted some guys having their hair dyed/permed. (Low-rent neighbourhoods have more hair stylists – that’s my theory.)
What’s the purpose?
Does it have a scientific basis in combatting the pandemic, even when no cases are identified, and even though antibodies cannot be detected during a (approx two-week) incubation period? Is it churlish to criticize officials for taking the threat of Covid-19 so apparently seriously (deep throat saliva collection packs at every post office)?
If the ambush lockdowns are not scientifically valid, could it be that Carrie Lam and her colleagues – owing to stupidity or bad advice – nonetheless sincerely believe the operations are worthwhile?
Is it a performance to show Beijing how tough, determined and zealous the Hong Kong administration is? (Beijing has urged local authorities to address the pandemic. And these lockdowns are small-scale versions of those that have taken place in the Mainland.)
Is it an excuse to spend public money on Mainland-sourced testing services?
Or are the raids, with heavy police participation, trial runs/training exercises for NatSec Regime neighbourhood lockdowns in the event of another 2019-style uprising? (EG, reports of a 12-year-old girl singing Glory to Hong Kong, or suspicions that a resident has an unregistered SIM card.) Or a way to condition the community to accept heavy-handed enforcement action – intimidation – generally? Note threats to knock doors down.
For conspiracy-theory fans (assuming the last one is not hugely unbelievable): do the CCP really just want everyone’s DNA?
More than one of the above?
At best, it seems excessive, given the virus’s limited spread in Hong Kong. At worst, cynics can’t help considering the government’s apparent reluctance to get on with vaccinations and the broader context of a city in suspended rebellion. Covid-19 has already served as a pretext for forbidding public assemblies. In what other ways might the NatSec Regime find the crisis useful?
The SCMP has a helpful explainer on how to tell if the jack-booted Ambush Raid Testing Squad are coming to kick doors down in your tenement block.
One more question to ponder: are ambush lockdowns a ruse to introduce the waddle-like-a-penguin test?
How Hong Kong works:
3 cases yesterday at Uniqlo in Langham Place. Shop is closed.
5 cases yesterday at Airport third runway building site. Site remains open.
I think it’s the training one.
I also think that at some point these are going to stop.
Not even the CCP will believe the ruse that these are actually stopping spread of the disease.
It all clicks now!!!
Covid-19/WuFlu/KungFlu was CREATED to suppress Hong Kong, justify the NSL and reinforce CCP dominance/total takeover of daily HK governance! Genius.
That it got sliiiiightly out of control beyond the borders is just collateral.
RIP, Capt. Tom 🙁
And to add to the stupidity the so-called CE and 2 of her so-called ministers (plus security and PR entourage) go sightseeing in a potentialy infectious area adding to the mass of police (only wearing masks) and PPE-garbed busybodies all sculling around doing foxtrot alpha. And, of course, the whole lot, so-called CE included, ignoring the social distancing rules.
Hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers are set to emigrate in the very near future. Wouldn’t it be a great idea if each of them bought 3 SIM cards under their name and re-sold or handed them to those left behind, just before departure? That way it would totally screw up the NIL angle behind this naff idea.
I think I deserve a Bronze Bauhinia.
It’s all about making oppression normal.
Perhaps the good thing is that if there are zero cases in some of the most cramped illegal subdivided shitholes known to man, then HK really doesn’t actually have a problem and we can all just ignore this idiotic fake administration and it’s keystone cops?
SCMP explainer link?
I found myself this afternoon in a lovely campus of luxury apartment towers on the southern side of our fair island, in the Cyberport area. Posted on the lift wall was a notice surrounded by very decorative border that stated at 3pm until 5pm that very evening would be a mandatory COVID-19 testing “drill.” I am not sure what “drill” means in this case; whether it means that they are practicing or if it means that they are going to test everyone on site and have done with it. Apparently there are dozens of cases in this luxury campus, and in this tower alone there are four floors of cases.
Now, I ask you why is there no “ambush lockdown scenario” for this luxury building? Is the city not dense enough here? Are there not enough brown people here? Was this not officially the site of Molotov cocktail construction during our era of riots? Many questions.
Hemmers et al.
Have a butcher’s at the fourth picture down in the HKFP article to which your “knock doors down” link takes us.
You will see several members of “Asia’s Finest” purposefully proceeding along Public Square Street.
Nothing remarkable there, you might say. But wait! In amongst the uniforms, there strides a taller figure in civvies; a male of clearly caucasian persuasion.
Now l don’t know about you, but a quick zoom in reveals a figure who, to me at least, looks awfully like our old chum Mr. Rupert Dover, ACP.
Could it really be that a peeler so exalted would be tasked with an enterprise so mundane as an “ambush lockdown”?
Answers on a post-card, please.
Red Dragon, yes Ben Dover’s presence at the ambushes was covered by several reports.
donkey: that is about as tucked up as hypocrisy can get. I hope it is reported widely in the local press.
Whoever decided on the first ‘ambush’ in Jordan had the support of all the people in charge. Therefore, all events related to ‘ambush lockdowns’ are now officially sanctioned, and whether they work or not has nothing to do with anything except loss of face from here on in.
So, we will continue with them until they become embarrassing enough to be no longer promoted, but it will never officially ended like…the illegal structures campaign, the taxi driver recognition scheme, the food truck thing, the NET thing. all the hub things, the cyber work thing and many other wonders of the unchallenged bureaucratic mind …
Mjrelje,
Thanks. I’m glad to know that my eyes do not yet deceive me.
Would you be so kind as to provide links to the several reports of Ben’s involvement to which you refer?
Keeping an eye on this link:
https://chp-dashboard.geodata.gov.hk/covid-19/en.html
to see if an ambush lockdown is likely in my area.
donkey: no sign on the dashboard of any recent cases in the Cyberport area.
Lockdowns are to get people used to Plod doing SWAT-type tactics
Let’s see 2 February – 25 new cases. Touch wood but I think Hong Kong has got this pandemic on the back foot? But you have Police running amok and threatening to break down doors and coraling / detaining residents for mandatory testing, but only from appropriate areas. Who the fuck do they think they are fooling or has pretence been suspended with? I have a feeling ‘Covid 19’ restrictions are going to last longer in Hong Kong than many other places whether there is any sign of the disease or not. Titbit from Britain – there was no seasonal flu this year !