Fierce opposition from China's medical profession and policy restrictions on private ownership have sunk the plan of Taiwan's richest man to set up what would have been the mainland's three biggest and most modern hospitals, despite cabinet approval.
The chairman of Formosa Plastics, Wang Yong-ching, who has extensive investments on the mainland, wanted to build state-of-the-art hospitals in Beijing, Fuzhou and Xiamen, the first with 5,000 beds and the other two with 3,000, at an overall cost of US$1 billion (HK$7.8 billion).
Keen to improve medical facilities using private funding, the central government approved the plan in July last year.
Mr Wang told staff to carry out feasibility studies to find the best sites for each hospital and to draw up detailed budgetary and staffing plans.
But in each of his chosen locations, Mr Wang encountered strong opposition from medical institutions, which were fearful of the impact the new hospitals would have on them, the Business News reported.
Each of the hospitals would have been larger and better equipped than any in the three cities and would have paid substantially higher salaries, which the institutions feared would attract their best doctors and nurses, the report said.
