Photo: wenweipo.com

Netizens demanded that China's national flag be hung at the AsiaWorld Expo in Hong Kong, which has been turned into a makeshift hospital to treat COVID-19 patients, after a photo of the Statue of Liberty on the wall of the venue caused controversy online. 

Responding to residents' complaints over the presence of the photo, the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong said the Statue of Liberty was the original decoration in the expo, and had not been placed by the Hospital Authority.

The Hospital Authority said that as the expo is now a medical facility, in order to prevent technicians from becoming infected, it won't ask to take the photo down.

Elizabeth Quat from the Democratic Alliance for Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong wrote on her Facebook Sunday that she also received complaints from residents over the photo and said she had suggested the Hospital Authority offer an explanation and take the photo down.

Many netizens swarmed online, demanding that the national flag be hung in the expo to demonstrate consciousness of the national identity.

"It's ridiculous not to see China's national flag but the Statue of Liberty!" some netizens posted online.

The AsiaWorld Expo started treating patients on Saturday, and expert teams from the Chinese mainland with experience in makeshift hospitals in Wuhan will depart for Hong Kong to help with the construction of makeshift hospitals.