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SARS: While most see darkness, some see
light
HONG KONG - While most in
Hong Kong see only darkness in the SARS crisis,
Christina Tong is one of the few who sees light, or even
a pay raise.
Tong is an insurance agent working
with one of the multinational insurance companies in
Hong Kong. Ever since the outbreak of severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS) began, she has received a
slew of phone calls and inquiries - a rare phenomenon in
her career. It used to be she who made the calls. But,
of course, this is a very rare situation.
"There
is an iron law in our industry: whenever panic occurs in
a society, we have a selling point. Ever since the
outbreak, my conversation with clients or friends always
starts with the SARS," Tong said.
She noted that
the mood of Hong Kong has changed. "People tended to be
rather complacent before this. Subconsciously, they
believe the government will be able to handle our health
problems. Our medical services were advanced, our
doctors were good, we have never had serious epidemic
since the seventies, so why should we worry?" Tong said.
Given the short distance between Hong Kong and
Guangdong, an adjacent mainland province, and the heavy
traffic flow between the two regions, it might be
somewhat difficult to explain the lack of response on
the Hong Kong side.
In retrospect, most of
Tong's clients believed complacency is the reason why
when SARS cases were discovered in Guangdong, no one in
Hong Kong, including the government, sounded any alarms.
This complacency also explains the government's
slow response after SARS cases occurred in Hong Kong
Prince of Wales Hospital. "We pay dearly for this
complacency," she said.
"As people blamed the
government for this outbreak, they also realize they
only have themselves to rely on from now on. With
medical expense increases, government subsidy cuts
because of the budget deficit, and most of all, health
risks surging, the incentive to buy insurance is high,"
she said.
Tong predicted a 15 percent growth of
her business this year. What makes her even happier is
that after this she is convinced what she has been doing
is meaningful.
(©2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd.
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