The government's rebranding campaign, "Hello, Hong Kong", bills itself as an effort to tell "good stories" about the southern Chinese city. Promising "no isolation, no quarantine and no restrictions" during a speech to business and tourism heavyweights, Chief Executive John Lee announced 500,000 free air tickets for visitors to experience the city's "hustle and bustle." The giveaway will open in March, with another 80,000 tickets up for grabs to residents in the summer. "This, ladies and gentlemen, is probably the world's biggest welcome ever," Lee said. Adherence to Beijing's zero-Covid doctrine of quarantine, closed borders and face masks kept Hong Kong largely virus-free until a deadly Omicron outbreak at the start of 2022. But it also contributed to an economic recession and the exodus of more than 2.5% of the population. Even as business leaders warned Hong Kong would need a full Covid exit plan before any meaningful reboot, officials insisted on gradually rolling back … [Read more...] about Hong Kong offers free flights after Covid isolation
Traffic congestion in hong kong
General Staff reviews task performance in January 2023
The conference was attended by Deputy Chiefs of the General Staff Senior Lieutenant General Huynh Chien Thang, Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan, Lieutenant General Nguyen Doan Anh, Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Nghia, and Major General Pham Truong Son. In the previous month, the General Staff directed its affiliated units to strictly maintain combat readiness, grasp local situations and address arising issues, contributing to firmly protecting national sovereignty. They also closely worked with relevant forces; observed all directives of of the Secretariat, the Prime Minister and the Directive of the Minister of National Defense on combat readiness and well organized activities in celebration of the lunar New Year 2023 (Tet) with absolute safety. During the Tet holiday, the General Staff extended greetings and inspected combat readiness in some military units, made good preparation for training work in 2023, mobilized troops in response to natural disasters and search and … [Read more...] about General Staff reviews task performance in January 2023
Defense leader works with Artillery Corps
According to Artillery Corps’ Commander Major General Nguyen Hong Phong, over the past time the Artillery Corps has well given recommendations to the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, and the General Staff to issue guidelines, policies, and measures on building the artillery and militia forces. The corps has ensured artillery for combat readiness mission, training, combat, and search and rescue activities while directing, guiding, and checking the observance of combat readiness and training of artillery units. Concluding the working session, Senior Lieutenant General Pham Hoai Nam acknowledged and praised the Artillery Corps for its outstanding achievements in task implementation over the past time. Regarding missions in the first quarter of this year and the time to come, the Deputy Defense Minister asked the Artillery Corps to strictly grasp and implement orders on military and defense in 2023 of the General Staff and resolutions, directives, and … [Read more...] about Defense leader works with Artillery Corps