A year later, the central government imposing sweeping national security legislation that has given authorities ample powers to criminalize speech and stifle dissent in a territory once known for independent courts, legislatures and newspapers. free will. Pro-democracy legislators have mass arrestsand prominent media forced to close. (On Monday, several defendants will appear in court in the largest case involving the security law.)
Then, for much of the coronavirus pandemic, the government sealed off its borders and imposed some of the world’s harshest restrictions on daily life.
The beaches were closed for weeks straight. Playground equipment has been sealed with police tape and chain fencing. Residential buildings have lock for a few positive cases. And, for a long time, most people arriving in the city, including residents, faced a mandatory three-week hotel quarantine.
Thursday’s announcements are the latest effort by the government to rebuild Hong Kong’s crumbling tourism industry. The city counted about 600,000 visitors last year, compared with more than 65 million in 2018, a year before the protests began.
In 2020, Hong Kong paid a public relations firm about $6 million to help it “reconnect with the world and restart as soon as possible,” according to a senior official. put it last year.
The government said this week that a six-month airfare giveaway, funded by a pandemic relief package, will initially target travelers from Southeast Asia and then those from mainland China and other localities. Most tickets Will be provided through Hong Kong-based airlines, including Cathay Pacific, while others will be donated through travel-related businesses.
Dino Chen, 26, who works in public relations in Hong Kong, said that although she thought the campaign could attract tourists in the short term, the atmosphere was “unclear” in the The city’s political and cultural spheres have made the overall outlook for tourism uncertain. (An example: Before the long-awaited Hong Kong M+ Museum of Contemporary Art opening in 2021, pro-Beijing figures have criticized the works in its collection as insulting China and call for them to be banned.)
