Running out of time: Hong Kong’s No 2 official in final plea for lawmakers to pass medical reform bill
But Carrie Lam admits she is not confident, and medical sector legislator refuses to halt his delaying tactics
Hong Kong’s No 2 official has made a final appeal for lawmakers to stop their delaying tactics and pass the government’s medical reform bill before the legislature’s term ends next Friday.
But Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor admitted on Saturday she did not have high hopes.
“Judging from the experience that we had at the last meeting, during which half of the discussion time was spent on filibustering, on calling of quorums, if that sort of approach continues, I am not confident at all,” she said.
“We have only one single meeting left to discuss not only the Medical Registration Bill, but the two other bills, which are equally important livelihood matters.”
Lam hit back at critics of the bill, describing their objections as “totally unfounded” and “Arabian Nights fantasy”.
The controversy centres on a government plan to increase the number of appointed lay people on the Medical Council, the doctors’ watchdog, from four to eight. Officials say this would improve transparency and speed up the handling of complaints. Doctors fear this would allow the council to be dominated by government supporters, undermining the watchdog’s autonomy.
The lawmaker for the medical sector, Dr Leung Ka-lau, has slowed down debate of the bill in Legco by constantly calling quorum counts. One Legco meeting was adjourned because it was one lawmaker short.
On Friday, lawmakers finally passed the second reading of the bill by 53-8 with four abstentions, but there was no time for a vote in the third reading.
Despite her lack of confidence, and with just 30 hours left for lawmakers to discuss the bill when the meeting resumes on Wednesday, Lam said she would not adjust the agenda to let the two other bills get passed first.
One of these aims to strengthen regulation of the fast-growing burial industry, and the other will increase the number of people who can assess buildings for fire risk.
In rebutting the bill’s critics, Lam said the autonomy of the watchdog would not be weakened because there would still be 24 doctors on the council. She also made clear that of the four appointed lay people, three would be nominated by patients’ groups and one by the Consumer Council.
“Accusations that the chief executive would manipulate the Medical Council through the four appointed members are totally unsubstantiated,” she said.
The bill would also lengthen the number of years non-local doctors can work in the city from one to three years. Lam said it was an “Arabian Nights fantasy” that this would lower the professional level of doctors in the city.
And medical graduates would not lose out on jobs, Lam said, as the government had set aside HK$200 billion to finance its 10-year hospital development programme, which would create an additional 5,000 beds.
But lawmaker Leung insisted he would not budge. He stressed it is was important not to give the government too much power as that would weaken the council’s autonomy, and it was crucial to defend “social justice”.
Executive Council convenor Lam Woon-kwong said lawmakers should not oppose the government and its proposals just because they did not like the chief executive.
