Hong Kong’s health minister Lo Chung-mau slammed media reports claiming that the government was internally divided over reopening, casting doubts over the upcoming banking summit in November.
Hong Kong health chief Lo Chung-mau criticized a foreign media outlet over a report claiming that while chief executive John Lee had hoped to cancel hotel quarantine by November, there were others within his administration that opposed the suggestion.
According to the «Bloomberg» report last week citing unnamed sources, there was momentum in favor of a reopening but a final decision will ultimately depend on the number of daily cases, fatalities and public perception. Lo was amongst those who named who opposed a reopening.
«The article alleged that Hong Kong government officials aimed to lift hotel quarantines for arrivals in November this year,» Lo said in a blog post (translated from Chinese) over the weekend without naming the media company. «The inside text first quoted inside information from 'informed people' in large lengths It seems that it does not matter whether the inside information is true or not. As if it really happened.»
«Story of Yanxi Palace»
Lo goes on to compare the article and the sources within to fictional Chinese drama «Story of Yanxi Palace» which is about the struggles of a palace maid in a royal court and was a hit in mainland China a few years ago.
«It doesn't matter whether there is a real person in history or not,» Lo said.
Clint Eastwood
Lo also took a dig at US actor Clint Eastwood and his cowboy films which he said depicted him as a hero who maintains justice and defends his homeland, in contrast with native Indians who are depicted as savages. He likens such movies to the article which Lo describes as «screenwriting content» with «certain purposes».
«Adhering to accurate data and objective reporting, and not disseminating right and wrong is the foundation of the media profession, otherwise it will only lose its hard-won credibility,» he added.
