Will the Sevens bring on good times? Still too many hurdles to dismantle

The Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament was an expectation-defying triumph and a joy. For those in the stadium, the sheer fun of the event, as well as the action on the pitch, was a balm to our COVID-19-weary souls.

The crowd’s roar of support and excitement every time the Hong Kong team scored, the chants of “Hong Kong!” when the home team were on the pitch, the dancing, the drinking, the costumes — this was Hong Kong truly enjoying itself, shaking off the shackles of three years of pandemic and showing the rugby world what this city can still do.

Natalie Baker, who moved to Hong Kong in late 2019, said, “It was fantastic to be a part of such a fun event and to soak up the party atmosphere. It made me feel like I was getting a taste of the pre-COVID Hong Kong.”

The Hong Kong Rugby Union deserves a medal for pulling it off; the annual tournament is where the bulk of its funding comes from, and without one being held since 2019, its finances have taken a real hit. This tournament’s happening at all (let alone with food) was a real story of grit and determination on the part of the organizers who successfully brought 15 top teams from around the world to get Hong Kong back on the rugby map.

Dubbed “#OurHK7s”, it truly was. Never before have so many tickets been available to Hong Kong residents — in the past, a substantial portion went to overseas sales. But this year the hometown support was strong, the cheers for the other teams a little less loud — the tourists and visiting fans were distinctly absent.

The Sevens was just one of a number of high-profile events in November, and international attendees at Hong Kong FinTech Week, the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit and Legal Week have all been exempted from “amber code” restrictions — but not visiting rugby fans. Instead, the difficulties presented to tourists attempting to navigate the rules were clearly demonstrated by the experience of South African tourist Reiner du Plessis, as he discovered on the first day that he wasn’t allowed in the stadium. The next World Rugby Sevens tournament is due back here in March, and if we want that one to be a real success, more needs to be done and soon.

“Hong Kong is back” goes the rallying cry of those willing it to be true, but I’m not so sure. Now the dust has settled, it’s closer to “Hong Kong is back on the roller coaster ride toward restriction freedom”— full of twists, turns, highs, and also a few lows. On this particular Hong Kong ride, victories are measured in inches, not miles, and they don’t always seem logical. A few carrots, lots of sticks.

The week following the Sevens, we were told that campsites would reopen, and there are more things you can do with an amber code, but this little carrot came with a stern talk about still facing a public health emergency and the reminder that masks are here to stay. So back on our roller coaster we go.

Another post-Sevens high: Clockenflap, Hong Kong’s biggest annual music festival, last held in 2018, is confirmed for next year; and for the first time in three years, trail runners on Nov 13 could eat food during a race, but the roller coaster dips as we learned that runners had to eat alone and avoid talking, despite needing to be triple-vaccinated and have a negative PCR test. But luckily, eating and talking in groups of 12 at an indoor restaurant is now possible and with unrestricted opening hours.

It’s progress too that schools can now do away with partitions … but not masks. Sweaty gyms with vaccine pass — masks can be removed; but sitting outside on a park bench away from anyone — masks stay on. Lots of us have developed a certain tolerance for the illogicality, and we pocket the small wins; only, that doesn’t work for the rest of the world — for tourists, for business travelers dropping by — and it certainly makes it incredibly difficult for anyone attempting to put on any type of large-scale event.

The rules are extremely complex (the government have now introduced “passive” and “active” vaccine passes into the lexicon), and woe betide anyone who confuses a PCR test date — HK$10,000 ($1,280) for each one missed, plus you now need either make a booking beforehand or register on your LeaveHomeSafe app to benefit from a free test — more barriers go up as some are taken down.

The Sevens were a success, but as Allen Shi Lop-tak, president of the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, has said, “0+0 would be the best way to tell the world Hong Kong is back.” Because until Hong Kong can come to terms with doing away with these complex and unwelcoming rules, the tourists won’t come back.

A recent poll carried out in Sham Shui Po showed that 76 percent of residents surveyed either agreed or strongly agreed that Hong Kong is paying too high a social and economic cost to keep the current public health measures in place. And with an economic forecast of 3.2 percent contraction, the roller coaster ride is certainly nail-biting stuff. But Hong Kong now has one of the highest vaccine rates in the world and sees fairly low numbers of serious or critical COVID-19 cases. Executive Council Convener Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee has said, “If we can make it through the test of the Hong Kong Sevens, I believe we would have what it takes to further relax measures if we don’t see a drastic uptick in the number of cases.” The Sevens was a showcase, a glimpse of what Hong Kong can be again. So, let’s keep up the momentum and not, as the saying goes “lie flat”, in the effort to reengage with the rest of the world.

The author is a freelance journalist now based in Hong Kong, after living and working in London for 17 years. She was born and raised in Hong Kong and has postgraduate degrees in Chinese studies and journalism.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.