From public health to political repression: COVID-19 lockdown measure in Hong Kong's opposition districts.

Repression comes with costs, such as reducing regime legitimacy and citizen conformity. The COVID-19 pandemic was an opportunity and a pretext for authoritarian regimes to repress their populations at a low cost. This paper examines the case of Hong Kong, where restriction-testing declarations (RTDs) were used as a lockdown measure to facilitate mandatory testing for the virus from January 2021 to September 2022.

White privilege, ethnic disadvantage, and stigmatized linguistic capital: COVID-19 infection rates and lockdown law enforcement in Hong Kong.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing disparities in various societies. This study investigates disparities among racial, ethnic, and linguistic groups in Hong Kong's society in COVID-19 infection rates and lockdown enforcement practices that was imposed 545 times from January 2021 to September 2022 and affected 9% of the population. It is found that neighborhoods with more white individuals had lower infection rates than the overall population, while those with more ethnically minoritized groups had higher infection rates.

The efficacy of health experts' communication in inducing support for COVID-19 measures and effect on trustworthiness: A survey in Hong Kong.

To control the spread of COVID-19, governments may implement freedoms-infringing health measures. Therefore, citizens' support for these measures is important. This study investigates: (1) whether health experts' communication induces support for COVID-19 measures, and (2) whether health experts' agreeing or disagreeing with government directives affects their trustworthiness.

Political attitudes and efficacy of health expert communication on the support for COVID-19 vaccination program: Findings from a survey in Hong Kong.

Despite evidence suggesting that vaccines offer protection against COVID-19, the uptake rates of COVID-19 vaccines have been low in some high-income regions. Support for vaccination program is important to fight the pandemic. This study aimed at exploring two research questions: first, to what extent political attitudes are associated with support for COVID-19 vaccination program; and second, whether health expert communication is effective in increasing the support.