Most unclear on health-care financing options, survey finds
Most people do not have a clear idea about the government's six proposals for changing health-care financing, a survey suggests. Only 37 per cent of 1,573 people interviewed by the Catholic Church's Justice and Peace Commission were very clear about the six options. More than 60 per cent said the government was not consulting the public enough about health-care financing. The commission suggested that the government extend the period for public consultation on the plans and carry out district consultations.
Four seamen charged over March sinking of Ukrainian tugboat
The captain of the Ukrainian tugboat Neftegaz-67, which sank off Tuen Mun in March with the loss of 18 lives, and three members of the crew of a mainland vessel with which it was in collision have been charged with endangering the safety of others at sea. Yuri Kulemesin, 44; Liu Bo, 35, captain of the freighter Yaohai; Tang Dock-wah, 60; and Bruce Chun Wah-tak, 47, each face two counts. The four entered no pleas to the charges when they appeared in Tuen Mun Court on Thursday. The case was adjourned until June 17.
Improvements to grant system await committee findings
The lump-sum grant system for social-welfare groups could only be reviewed after an independent review committee produced its findings in September or October, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said. He admitted there was scope for improving it. Representatives of staff of non-governmental organisations told a meeting yesterday of the Legislative Council's welfare panel that the groups' managers had reduced their wages or cut back on services to save some of the grant money they received. They urged the government to scrap the system or modify it. Before the grants were introduced in 2001, the government stipulated the staffing and salary structures of NGOs.
