Malicious smears disregard HK residents' safety: China Daily editorial

The willingness and readiness of political extremists in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to trade humanity for political gains must take people with a conscience aback.

The experiences of various places around the world have proved that nucleic acid testing and an isolation policy are the most effective ways to keep COVID-19 in check, since these help cut off the transmission chains for the novel coronavirus by identifying the asymptomatic virus carriers.

Yet despite this approach being the most viable way to save lives in the absence of an effective vaccine, the universal community testing program launched by the HKSAR government has been relentlessly pounded on and smeared by the political fanatics in the SAR who are leaving no stone unturned in their bid to drive a wedge between Hong Kong residents and the central authorities.

The new National Security Law promulgated in the HKSAR on June 30 has achieved the desired deterrence effect, and put the violent anti-government campaign under effective control. Protests have been scaled back, violence and vandalism have stopped, secessionist groups have disbanded, and colluders with external forces have either repented or are trying to leave the city.

But there are some agitators who are not resigned to defeat, and they continue to try and fan anti-government and anti-Beijing sentiment with various excuses, no matter how ridiculous.

The universal community testing launched by the HKSAR government has been made possible thanks to assistance from the Chinese mainland, but it is this support that has made the testing initiative a target for attack. Their maneuvers to make the life-saving helping hand a rallying point for political mobilization has once again exposed the willingness and readiness of some in the opposition camp to prioritize partisan interests over the common good.

Initially, they claimed the program was a means to collect the bio-information of Hong Kong residents for the mainland authorities. But that failed to convince Hong Kong residents, as the HKSAR government repeatedly assuring them that the universal community testing program will only screen for the COVID-19 virus, that all the testing will be conducted in Hong Kong, and that specimens will be destroyed after testing and will not be transported outside the city.

Now they have changed the point of attack to questioning the effectiveness of the program. Knowing very well that the testing program will fail to achieve the intended aim of helping control the pandemic if not enough people participate, they are now urging Hong Kong residents to boycott the testing.

They are oblivious to the rising death toll and increasing number of infections, as well as people's suffering amid the city's worst economic recession and unemployment situation in more than a decade.

Hong Kong resident's well-being is being jeopardized by their ugly, self-glorifying political ploys.