Florists slammed "unrealistic alternatives” by authorities amid cancellation of Lunar New Year fair

Hong Kong’s florists yesterday stormed out of a meeting with authorities in protest of the “unrealistic alternatives” offered to them, after the cancellation of the annual Lunar New Year fairs.

Florist Lee Wing-keung of flower shop Keung Kee Garden in Tai Po said authorities‘ “seek industry views” yesterday was totally false.

“They just simply hand over a piece of paper asking if we [florists] accept the alternative of selling our flowers in public housing estates,” said Lee, saying such an arrangement means they will have to compete with local flower shops in the estates.

“Other than that, some florists may only provide a few types of flowers, we may not be able to provide what the customers want if we are scattered around the city,” he stressed, adding that the stalls should be set up at well-known locations to attract big spenders.

Lee also pointed out that authorities have banned “dry goods” stalls from the Lunar New Year fair, leaving the fair with more space to accommodate customers while also observing social distancing.

“They [authorities] can also set up checkpoints at the entrances to take customer’s temperature and provide alcohol hand sanitizer for them,” Lee suggested, calling authorities to consider reopening the fairs.