Commentary: Put epidemic control before politics

HONG KONG, Aug. 1 -- The postponement of the Legislative Council (LegCo) election of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) due to the severe COVID-19 epidemic situation reflects a great sense of responsibility for protecting Hong Kong residents' health.

Amid the worsening of the epidemic, nothing is more important than people's lives.

Hong Kong society, with the support of the central government, should work together to fight the epidemic with science and reason.

People should avoid putting political point-scoring before the urgent task at hand, otherwise Hong Kong's fight against the epidemic will go into a dead end.

From a medical point of view, large-scale gatherings are likely to bring great risks of transmission. As far as politics is concerned, ensuring the health of the electorate and eliminating the risk of epidemic outbreaks are essential to a fair and just election.

Therefore, postponing the LegCo election is reasonable and legitimate. It is a response to and comes out of respect for the mainstream public opinion in Hong Kong. The move has also been fully understood and supported by all sectors of society.

The central government has never lost sight of the critical importance of Hong Kong's epidemic control efforts.

In the face of the latest COVID-19 outbreak, the central government stands behind Hong Kong and will provide all necessary support and assistance as requested by the HKSAR government, such as sending testing personnel to Hong Kong to help with large-scale nucleic acid testing, to ensure the safety of Hong Kong people.

There is hope for overcoming the epidemic as progress has been made in strengthening the epidemic control efforts under the support of the central government.

Regrettably, the opposition camp has once again stood on the opposite side to the Hong Kong society. In the midst of the epidemic, opposition politicians are still obsessed with securing political gain through manipulation.

Regardless of their political views and positions, faced with the growing epidemic risk, the people of Hong Kong must unite as one and earnestly cooperate with and abide by the epidemic prevention measures of the HKSAR government. With the overall situation of the epidemic and Hong Kong's future in mind, people should take a scientific and professional approach to this sudden and difficult battle.

We believe that with the concerted efforts of people who love and cherish Hong Kong, the epidemic will be defeated and the economy and people's livelihoods will be improved.