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 Hong Kong has 15 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which emerged
in central China in December and has killed more than 360 people
there and sent jitters through global markets.
Carrie Lam, chief executive of Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, was speaking
hours after more than 2,500 workers from the Hospital Authority
Employees Alliance (HAEA) went on strike to call for the border to
be shut and better protection for hospital staff, among other
demands.
"We should be united if we have the same goal. At this critical
moment, (some people are) taking extreme means and it is inevitable
it will affect the rights of patients," Lam said.
"Those using extreme means to try to force the government's hand
will not succeed."
The Hospital Authority said those using extreme means "to try to
force the government and Hospital Authority’s hands will not
succeed".
Striking workers at the Hospital Authority building booed as they
watched Lam speak, calling her a liar and chanting: "Close all
borders."
The medical workers, members of the newly formed union, held a press
conference shortly after Lam spoke and said they planned to keep up
their strike action.
HAEA chairwoman Winnie Yu said she expected around 9,000 of the
alliance's roughly 18,000 members to strike on Tuesday.
Pro-democracy protesters have in recent months formed about 40
unions as a way to press their demands on the government and at
least a dozen have come out in support of the HAEA's strike.
Reflecting concerns in the broader business community,
three-quarters of American business leaders polled said they wanted
Hong Kong to shut the border with the mainland, according to a
survey of 156 executives by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong
Kong.
Lam has rejected calls to shut the entire border, saying such a move
would be "inappropriate and impractical" as well as
"discriminatory".
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By making it inconvenient for people to cross the border, Lam said
she hoped it would help contain the spread of the virus although she
does not "rule out future measures as the situation evolves".
The health scare comes after months of at times violent
anti-government protests in Hong Kong triggered by fears the city's
autonomy, guaranteed under a "one country, two systems" formula, is
being eroded by Beijing.
China denies meddling and accuses foreign governments of fomenting
the unrest.
The virus is expected to heap more pressure on the former British
colony, which on Monday reported its economy contracted for the
first time in a decade in 2019.
The HAEA's five demands are for the government to close the border,
distribute masks to the public, ensure that front-line medical
workers have adequate supplies and protection, provide enough
isolation wards for patients and guarantee no reprisals for
strikers.
Panic-stricken residents have emptied shelves in major supermarkets
in Hong Kong, stockpiling meat, rice and cleaning products as fears
escalate over the coronavirus.
About 90 percent of the city's food is imported, with the bulk
coming from the mainland, according to official data.
Toy shop owner Lam Wa-yin, 45, said closing the border would
intensify worries about supplies of staples.
"They've started rushing to buy supplies even before they fully
close the borders," Lam said.
"It'll get worse if it is fully closed. Especially food. People have
been rushing to buy oil, salt and rice, not to mention the face
masks."
(Reporting By Felix Tam, Joseph Campbell, Twinnie Siu, Jessie Pang,
Yoyo Chow; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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