The Hong Kong Government intends to take the opportunity to fight for customs clearance with Guangdong Province and Macau, and does not rule out the need to be vaccinated against the new coronavirus in the future to the Mainland. The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) expressed concern that tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong need to travel to and from the Mainland to work, and urged the Hong Kong government to negotiate with the Mainland on customs clearance conditions, should not rashly agree to “must be vaccinated” as a condition for crossing the border, and to respect the right of Hong Kong people to choose vaccination. Another labor organization, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), believes that whether employers can require employees to be vaccinated depends on whether the requirement is reasonable and whether it poses a risk to their health.
Hong Kong’s Epidemic recently hovered in the low double-digit, Political Secretary Matthew Cheung attended a radio program on Saturday (13) said that there is no “hard target” for the resumption of customs clearance, but if the epidemic in Hong Kong all the way down and under control, if only a few confirmed cases per day, other places will be more at ease with Hong Kong, there is a chance to fight for customs clearance with Guangdong Province and Macau. The opportunity to fight for customs clearance with Guangdong Province and Macau. Zhang Jianzong said he would not rule out the possibility of having to receive the new crown vaccine before going to the mainland, and would discuss with the mainland side again. Asked whether arrangements will be made for people to go to the mainland to receive Chinese vaccines, he said it depends on the views of the mainland and whether vaccination services will be provided for Hong Kong people, not the Hong Kong executive can decide.
According to a survey released by the Planning Department in 2019, the average daily trips to the mainland for business and work were 45,900 and 16,600, respectively.
According to the Director-General of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU), there are tens of thousands of Hong Kong people who need to travel to and from the Mainland to work, including truck drivers, educators and social workers who need to go north for exchanges and training, and financial, insurance and accounting professionals who need to go to the Mainland to provide services. He pointed out that the new crown vaccine has been developed for a short period of Time, the side effects and effectiveness are not completely clear, whether to vaccinate should also be the right of the public’s own choice. The government should respect the rights of Hong Kong people and should not be generous at the expense of others. Even if vaccination becomes a condition for customs clearance, employers do not have the right to require employees to be vaccinated and should respect the choice of employees and make appropriate work adjustments for those who are not vaccinated.
The deputy director of the FTU’s Rights and Benefits Committee, Mr. Tang Ka-piu, hopes that the Hong Kong government can be “more aggressive” and fight for a complete quarantine-free round trip for those who are vaccinated, but vaccination should not be the only condition for crossing the border, and those who are not vaccinated should be maintained to cross the border under quarantine. As to whether employers can require employees to be vaccinated, he believes that it depends on whether the requirement is reasonable and whether it will pose a risk to their bodies. For example, it may be reasonable to require vaccination in industries with a high risk of transmission, but if there is a doctor’s certificate that the employee is not suitable for vaccination, it should be illegal for employers to dismiss those who are not vaccinated.
Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association President Mai Mei Yi hopes that the government will strive to clear customs as soon as possible, but also in favor of vaccination as a condition for quarantine-free customs clearance. As for whether more employers and employees are willing to vaccinate, Mai believes that if the future to travel before vaccination, all sectors will be very enthusiastic vaccination.
For future travel or to be vaccinated first, Tourism Development Board Chairman Peng Yaojia said that the vaccine can make every place the public are protected, around the confidence to meet the tourists, tourists can also enjoy playing and spending, support the implementation of the “vaccine passport”, but the need for mutual recognition between the government work. Peng continued to say that the reopening of the local group can make the tourism industry to maintain their livelihood, I hope that with the relaxation of Food establishments and other measures after the epidemic still continues to stabilize, the government to consider relaxing the local tour, and if a group of the upper limit of 30 people is quite wrong; when the epidemic restarted after tourism, he expected to short-haul customers mainly.
In addition, responsible for coordinating the new coronavirus vaccination work of the Civil Service Bureau Director Nie Dequan said, all goes well, is expected to start the new crown vaccination work in early March.
The first one million doses of the Fosun/BioNTech vaccine are expected to arrive in Hong Kong by the end of February, and Hong Kong is working on the legal framework for the Coxin vaccine, Nie said. He said that in the future, each of the 18 districts in Hong Kong will have at least one community vaccination center, because some areas are larger and more populous, to find a suitable location, the authorities will set up more vaccination centers, is expected to have more than 20 put into use.
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