Virus testing professionals from the Chinese mainland pose for a group photo after their arrival in Hong Kong, south China, Aug. 2, 2020. Seven virus testing professionals from the Chinese mainland arrived in Hong Kong on Sunday afternoon as the first batch of mainland supportive teams to help contain a worsening spread of COVID-19 in Hong Kong. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

The Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region (HKSAR) government has condemned the acts of some council members from the non-establishment camp and some individuals who protested against nucleic acid testing support team from the Chinese mainland and harassed team members.

These individuals have held demonstrations at hotels the team were staying in and at sites where the team made inspection visits, according to a government statement on Wednesday.

At a time when people should unite to fight against the epidemic, some people smeared the support team from the mainland to disturb the epidemic-control work at the cost of public health and interest, read the statement.  

The HKSAR government called on the public to see through their political intentions and realize that they are using the epidemic to provoke conflicts and care nothing about the severe situation in Hong Kong or local residents' health.   

Victor Chan Chi-ho, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Young Commentators, told the Global Times that these anti-government individuals are intent on using the issue to damage the relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland.   

"They have distorted the good will of the support team and doubt the experts' ability, which is irrational and does no favors for Hong Kong's anti-epidemic work," Chan said. 

Chan expressed confidence in the experts from the mainland. "China is the country that put the epidemic under control in the shortest time in the world and our experts have gone to many foreign countries to help local anti-epidemic work. These experts' experience is exactly what Hong Kong needs at present," Chan said.

These members' arrangements in the city are in accordance with the law and have been made without any political considerations, the government statement said. 

A nucleic acid test assistance team dispatched by the central government arrived in Hong Kong on Sunday, vowing to help expand the city's daily testing capacity from less than 10,000 to 200,000. 

Their arrival has met with some noise, including rumors that Hong Kong residents' bio-information will be collected and misused. Some Hong Kong medical groups cited the different medical systems and language barriers as excuses to oppose the mainland's support.

The experts must feel wronged facing disturbances and doubts, but please believe that most Hong Kong residents are patriotic and grateful, a Hong Kong police officer said on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo platform on Tuesday. 

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"In 2019, many people on the mainland supported us during the anti-extradition bill protests. This time, I will try my best to protect these experts from the mainland," the officer said.   

A local doctor in Hong Kong who preferred not to be named told the Global Times on Thursday that there are several reasons that some Hong Kong people are reluctant to accept help from the mainland. 

Some people simply don't understand who has come to help, not mainland doctors but a nucleic acid test assistance team. Some wrongly believed that doctors from the mainland will replace local doctors, the doctor said. 

More importantly, if the mainland team helps expand the testing capacity in Hong Kong and is able to organize mass testing for free, local clinics will see them as competitors, especially those that have been making a lot of money from conducting nucleic acid tests, he said.