Hong Kong’s return from isolation is gathering pace but a long road lies ahead

livemint.com:

Hong Kong, a city whose blazing night skyline encircles a mystical harbour, was once the defining metaphor of a bustling Asian metropolis. Those images became visual shorthand for the rise of Asia and even the ‘Chinese Century.’ Now, all is change. For the past few months, the Hong Kong government has felt compelled to launch a ‘Night Vibes’ campaign to get more of the local population out at night.

The initiative variously offers discounts or free entry to entice people to visit its famous racecourse, street markets and malls. The scheme aims “to create a dynamic vibe in Hong Kong." As the government observes in its bizarre directive to citizens to party, “many people’s lifestyle habits changed during three years of a global pandemic." Hong Kong itself has changed dramatically in the last few years, and yet paradoxically remains a place where a simple flat tax of 15% makes it a pleasure to pay taxes, and its legendary efficiency remains intact. But, the city, along with its sovereign China, which has a mostly separate government and bureaucracy, had some of the most extreme controls during the pandemic, including three-week hotel quarantines for returning residents.

In 2019, Hong Kong witnessed huge protests, sometimes one million strong, against a national security law, which was pushed through anyway the following year. Activists and a prominent newspaper publisher were jailed. Several leaders of the movement demanding universal suffrage were accused of sedition and collusion with foreign forces.