Swimming *with* the tide …

…the tide of social media, angry young online twerps on the Mainland, to whom we’ve bowed in obeisance, by closing our beaches. As today’s editorial in the South China Morning Post makes clear. Remembering that the bottom left editorial has been, for some time, the voice of Beijing. Or, some say, the voice is China’s Global Times, or the propaganda arm of the Carrrie Lam government. Or the China Daily. Oh dear… 

Picture fronting the editorial. 

Some commenters say the pic scapegoats Gweilos. 
And it  classes as “packed”. According to the headline…

The editorial: “Packed beaches no place for latest wave” Go and check out the comments (free to access, I believe). It makes sadly, depressingly clear that the decision to close beaches was our governments response to “angry” online Zoomers in China. Jealous that we’re at the beach while they are in lockdown. No mention of science. No pretence even that science has anything to do with the shutdown. 

Commenter “PL”: 

It is really sad that weibo comments across the border now have more weight in decision making in Hong Kong than any science based evidence. Do it for the country even if it makes no sense at all reflects HK policy since the beginning. There was no swarming on beaches, plenty of space to be more distancianted than in any restaurant, mtr or shopping malls or hair salon.

There has never been an outbreak of Covid linked to beach-going, according to UK epidemiologist on SAGE committee.