中國於1月8日解封邊境讓國民出國，全球10多個國家對中國旅客立即設下入境限制或檢疫要求，唯獨星加坡不額外設限，一視同仁。當愛國人士舉手稱讚星加坡之際，他們又有否從這事件作深入思考？
這篇CNBC的新聞，題為 “Why Singapore isn’t imposing new travel rules on visitors from China” (為何星加坡沒有對中國旅行實施新旅遊限制?) ，寫得非常詳盡，內容反映了幾件值得思考的事（在下面詳述）。以下是這篇報道的一些重要訊息，我們不再作翻譯了：
Singapore’s Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung told Parliament Monday(January 9) that the government is not imposing new restrictions on travelers from China because limited flight capacity, combined with its current border policies, have resulted in few imported cases — and even fewer severe cases — coming from China.
Ong said the government is “acutely aware” that some Singaporeans are worried that an influx of visitors from China could lead to a rise in infections.
But he said travel volumes between Singapore and China are “very low” — with fewer than 1,000 people arriving from China daily.
“As of now, we run 38 weekly flights from China to Singapore, compared to around 400 flights pre-Covid,” he said.
……
Ong acknowledged that a new, more dangerous variant could emerge from China as the virus spreads through its population of 1.4 billion, but said that so far, this has not materialized.
Ong said Singapore is monitoring this through GISAID, a non-profit organization that he said is obtaining viral sequencing data from authorities in major Chinese cities and provinces, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Sichuan, which is processed in GISAID’s Singapore office.
Though there are “gaps in the data,” Ong said, “So far, the data shows that the epidemic in China is driven by variants that are well-known and have been circulating in other regions of the world” — namely BA.5.2 and BF.7.
So far, more than a dozen countries have announced new rules for visitors from China. But Ong said Singapore did not, because it already has effective border measures in place.
“Many countries have dismantled all their border measures,” he said. “Singapore … kept relevant measures precisely because we anticipated these risks.”
He said that while “many Singaporeans have forgotten about it,” all travelers must be either fully vaccinated or test negative for Covid before entering, which is the same requirement that Spain recently announced for travelers from China.
…….
The government’s “greatest concern” is the emergence of a new, more dangerous variant that could escape vaccine protection — “a nightmare variant [that] can knock us back to almost square one,” Ong said.
If that happens, “We may need to reinstate measures such as strict border controls, quarantine for travelers, social restrictions including limit on group sizes, until a new and effective vaccine is developed.”
To monitor this, Singapore will stay plugged into the “global surveillance system,” he said.
Ong said the other key concern is protecting Singapore’s health-care system. He said that during the early stages of the pandemic, infections were the government’s primary concern, but as vaccines have been rolled out, it’s now focused on severe infections.
…..
He said 60% of those (Singaporeans) aged 18 years and above were up to date with their vaccinations at the end of 2022.
“In the past 30 days, the number of Covid-19 patients in the Intensive Care Unit is in the low single digit,” he said. “Hence, with extensive vaccination coverage, we can treat Covid-19 as an endemic disease.”
Ong cast doubt on the effectiveness of some travel rules being imposed on Chinese travelers:
* PCR tests on arrival “are too late, because the travelers are already within your borders,” plus they are sensitive, which means they will “yield a large number of positive cases from countries that are experiencing or have just experienced a big wave,” since recovered travelers can shed dead viral fragments for weeks.
* Pre-departure tests “can be useful … [to] reduce the number of imported infections” but low travel volume between Singapore and China “limits the number of imported infections more.”
Ong added that if Singapore tested all travelers coming from China, questions would arise about travelers from other regions who contribute more infections and severe cases.
“Further, by triggering [pre-departure tests] on travellers from one part of the world experiencing high infection numbers, are we contributing to an international precedent of imposing tests on travellers from countries experiencing an infection wave?”
Ong added: “How will other countries treat travellers from Singapore when we encounter another infection wave?”
Ong noted that while some countries are imposing a pre-departure test requirement on visitors from China, Singapore will “not discriminate because severe cases can originate from any country.”
Chinese officials have labeled travel restrictions that target its residents “discriminatory.”
South Korea and Japan — two top destinations for Chinese travelers — announced that they aren’t increasing flights from China, limiting where flights can land, and requiring pre- and post-departure tests from its visitors.
……
China’s embassies in South Korea and Japan announced Tuesday that they would stop issuing visas to “Korean nationals” and “Japanese citizens.”
……
“China’s opening up to the world is great news and something we are looking forward to,” said Ong, adding that the government will carefully adjust travel volume “at least until the infection wave has clearly subsided in China.”
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從這篇文章，人們可以看到幾件較為重要的事情：
1）星加坡以科學抗疫，每事有備而戰，有抗疫藍圖。星加坡的這位衛生部長王乙康Ong Ye Kung說話充滿自信，透明度高。星加坡的科學抗疫手法、自信和透明度都值得中國學習。雖然王乙康是一名衛生部長，但他說話有外交手腕，有政治智慧，值得只懂得說不躺平的香港官員學習！
2）星加坡不需要為中國旅客入境設下限制，原因是它一直維持所有入境旅客需要打疫苗，以及在入境時要有新冠陰性檢測結果。因此他們不需要因應中國爆疫加入額外的限制，不會導致像一些國家的手忙腳亂，實施對中國旅客的限制措施而最後被質疑歧視中國。
3）相信一些國家為何現在額外對中國入境人士設限，就是當他們瓦解入境限制的時候，沒有想到中國真的有一天會開放邊境，以及開放的情況是中國全面爆疫的時候，因此要急急的對中國旅客設限。
4）中國一直實施密封式的清零封控政策，所以人民感染率低，但由於經濟抵受不住了，現在突然一下子全部開放，當然感染率爆發。北京大學國家發展研究院近日發表報告，基於網上搜尋與新冠症狀有關的字眼作統計，截至今年1月11日，全國新冠感染人數累積約9億人。而就在這個爆疫的時候立即開放邊境，讓所有國民出國。一些早前取消入境限制的國家也沒有辦法便立即設限，正如世界衛生組織所說，他們的做法可以理解。
5）文中指出，星加坡要倚靠一個研究機構才能得出中國的疫情數據，全世界接近200個國家難道都要這樣做嗎？一些貧窮的國家可以有資源嗎？向世界衛生組織提供疫情數據是每一個國家對全球的責任，是一種社會責任。如果每個國家也像中國一樣，不提供感染以及死亡數字，世界衛生組織怎樣監察全球的疫情變化，有沒有變種？有否新疫情出現等等，如果世界衛生組織不蒐集數據以及研究，全球怎樣防止疫症蔓延？提供數據可以保障全球人類的生命，這才稱得上中國一直自稱的人民至上、生命至上。再者，中國越缺乏透明度，越會令全世界帶着有色眼鏡看它，不再相信它的話，講真話的時候也沒有人相信，就像狼來了的故事，代價會更大。
從這篇新聞裏面，一些立場先行的人，就只會集中看文章的某一點而作出反應，說”你看看星加坡對中國那麼友善，我們以後多去星加坡旅行”，或說”誰人不需要中國的旅客收入，星加坡這樣做才正確啊！”
但我們閱讀任何文章的時候，不應急於集中看與自己立場相同的一點，而是全篇文章看透，一路讀一路思考，就會看到一些更重要的事實，便會有更深的體會，以及反省，這才是有深度的閱讀。雖然這是一篇簡單的新聞，但真的有很多學習。
希望讀者無論是閱讀透視報或是其他媒體的文章時，也從多角度思考每一個議題，這樣思維才能擴闊，逐漸會變得更理性去看待社會事件。
透視報編輯部