Only China Terrified of Covid-19

The Queen made her final journey to Windsor Castle

Queen Elizabeth II was finally laid to rest today, but not before a funeral full of tradition, ceremony and meaning.

Numerous heads of state were invited, and the only person wearing a mask at Westminster Abbey was Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan -- complete with a Chinese flag on it for branding purposes.

It was also a metaphor for how much China is an outlier compared to the rest of the world when it comes to Covid-19.

Wang (centre) wearing a mask at the funeral

And people within the country are angry after a bus in Guiyang, Guizhou province, carrying people who tested positive, was involved in a motor vehicle accident, killing 27 of those passengers and injuring 20. on Sunday. 

They were being bussed at 2am to a remote quarantine centre 260km from Guiyang, the capital.

It wasn't Covid that killed them, but an accident.

CNN even pointed out a picture of someone in a hazmat suit spraying the crumpled heap that was the bus with disinfectant afterwards.

Guiyang vice-mayor Lin Gang apologised on Sunday night, but did not elaborate on the government's role in the crash, or what the apology was for.

Instead he said the government would "inspect safety risks in transporting people to quarantine" as well as investigate the cause of the incident.

The crushed bus that left 27 passengers dead

But the apology and the suspension of three officials was not enough to quell the anger fomenting online. There were more than 69,000 comments on social media after 24 hours of the crash, and related topics on Weibo were viewed more than 400 million times.

The level of social media engagement is similar to when Dr Li Wenliang, the doctor who warned about Covid-19, died in February 2020.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, things are starting to look up. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu suggested the city should have an "orderly" approach to opening up, and there were indications hotel quarantine will end soon, but people arriving will have to self-monitor at home for seven days.

"I'm conscious of the fact that while we need to control the spread of Covid, we also need to ensure that there will be maximum activities... and economic activities for society to carry on," Lee said.

Lee strongly hints hotel quarantine over soon

"I am also conscious of the need to maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness by ensuring that we have good connectivity."

Finally Lee's pleas are being heard by Beijing, after several major sporting events were cancelled. 

The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon was cancelled for November 20 but now organisers have announced it will be held in February, though no word on how many can participate.

Covid-19 has taken a terrible toll on Hong Kong's economy, with financial secretary Paul Chan Mo Po projecting a potential budget deficit of more than HK$100 billion (US$12.7 billion). All that taxpayer money going down the drain all for "dynamic zero-Covid"...

China-UK Tensions for Queen's Funeral

The Queen's coffin is lying in state at Westminster Hall

A friend of mine got into the line at 4am wait for hours to file past the Queen's coffin at Westminster Hall.

But a delegation of Chinese officials won't have the privilege of paying their respects to the late monarch.

House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle refused the request due to Chinese sanctions against five British MPs and two peers.

There is an up to eight-hour wait to pay respects

Last year China imposed travel pans and froze assets of nine Britons, including seven parliamentarians -- for accusing Beijing of mistreating Uyghurs.

That led to China's ambassador to the UK being banned from Parliament -- a move which has now been extended to a Chinese delegation that wanted to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth who is lying in state until Monday.

Control of Westminster Hall is shared by the Lord Great Chamberlain, who is appointed by the monarch, and the speakers of both the Commons and the Lords. They decide who is allowed in -- and not.

Nevertheless, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been invited to the funeral on Monday, to the uproar of seven MPs and peers, who said it was "wholly inappropriate" for the Chinese government to be represented given its human rights record.

"You cannot have a Golden Age, normal relations, with a country that has now been exposed as committing the sorts or atrocities it has, not least the genocide against the Uyghurs, the oppression going on in Tibet for the last 60, 70 years, and now what we see going on in Hong Kong as well," said former Tory minister Tim Laughton.

The Queen put on the charm offensive in 2015

However, there is speculation Xi won't come anyway, but Vice President Wang Qishan may attend instead.

And to think the Queen hosted Xi at Buckingham Palace in 2015, rolling out the red carpet in a bid to sweet talk Beijing into 30 billion English pounds of business, or so then prime minister David Cameron hoped.

Seven years later his party is condemning Xi's invite to the Queen's funeral...