The intersecting political and health crises in Hong Kong and the socio-economic and political consequences

In analysing COVID-19 response and recovery in Hong Kong, this chapter positions the public health crisis of COVID-19 within the broader socio-politically situated intersecting crisis – the 2019 city-wide anti-government protest movement. The chapter suggests that based on the civil society networks nurtured in the social movement, prompt and adequate community response was made possible to respond to the public health crisis during the early pandemic stage of the city. Meanwhile, COVID-19 served as an opportunity for the Hong Kong government to implement prolonged public gathering restrictions to control the anti-government protests, despite the foreseeable negative economic impacts to the city. One of the key outcomes of the intersecting political and public health crises is the changing governance context in Hong Kong – weakening autonomy and increasing political re-engineering from the Chinese central government. The crackdown of civil society also implies the city’s deteriorating capacity to resilience building and hence its ability to prepare for future crises such as climate change.