ANOTHER BAD FREE SPEECH TAKE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES. I know, bottom story of the day, etc., but even so, how do you unironically print this?

Mr. Dong, who moved to Hong Kong from New York in the middle of the 2008 financial crisis, decided to leave Hong Kong because the city has felt anemic during the pandemic, while many mainland cities seem to glow with energy and hope. “I don’t think I can find the kind of freedom I want in Hong Kong,” he said.

Could something other than COVID have contributed to a lack of freedom (and “energy and hope”) in Hong Kong over the last year or so?

Exit question: Given that the country that appears to have benefited most from COVID is China, does our ruling class have a plan just in case a slightly different germ “gets out” next time? Or do we shut down every other economy in the world for a year plus all over again?