No way: Hong Kong chief secretary dashes hopes over changes to contentious medical bill
Carrie Lam says she will not change her stance as pan-democrats seek a meeting with her to discuss change
Any hopes by pan-democrats that the government will amend a bill reforming Hong Kong’s medical watchdog have been dashed after Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor insisted on Friday that she would not change her stance on the issue.
Her rejection of their appeals came two days after the Legislative Council’s scrutiny of the bill was adjourned as not enough lawmakers were in the chamber.
At the centre of the controversy is a proposed amendment to the Medical Registration Ordinance, which will allow the government to appoint four more members to the Medical Council. This doubles the number of lay members appointed by the chief executive and breaks the balance of elected and appointed members.
The government says the move will boost the council’s accountability in handling complaint investigations.
On pan-democrat lawmakers’ request to meet and discuss an amendment proposed by Civic Party lawmaker Dr Kwok Ka-ki, Lam said she had not received a formal invitation.
While she said she would carefully consider pan-democrats’ requests after they made the proposal as she valued the relationship between the executive branch and the Legislative Council, she stressed her stance was clear on the bill.
“If the pan-democrats are hoping that I will shelve the bill or accept amendments that [Health] Secretary Dr Ko Wing-man believes are difficult to be recognised, they can give up on expecting me to change my stance,” she said.
Lam added she was “very familiar” with the bill and had on various occasions urged doctors to support it to restore the credibility of the Medical Council.
Kwok hit out at the chief secretary, saying he was “shocked” and “disappointed”.
“She said she wanted more cooperation between the executive branch and the Legislative Council, but she stated her stance and rejected us before even receiving our letter,” he said.
Dr Gabriel Choi Kin, a council member of the Medical Association, criticised Lam for going against the wishes of doctors and “disrupting harmony between patients and doctors”.
He said he was also resigned to the bill being passed.
Legco deliberations will continue next Wednesday. Choi said the Medical Association planned to stage another sit-in outside the Legco complex that day.
The bill will lapse if it is not approved by the final Legislative Council meeting starting on July 13, which will be the last meeting before the body’s four-year term officially ends in September.
Meanwhile, at least 300 doctors from the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, which has around 7,300 fellows, have called on the academy to retract a statement issued two days ago supporting the bill. The doctors say they are unhappy that they were not consulted before the statement was issued.
