Hundreds of doctors side with police over Hong Kong protests, exposing deep divisions in medical profession
- About 500 medics back the force’s handling of unrest and urge city not to glorify violence in open letter
- It follows show of support for protesters by other health care staff that slammed police’s use of force
More than 500 doctors came out in support of police over their handling of Hong Kong protests and pleaded with society not to glorify violence in an open letter published on Monday.
Revealing the division within the city’s medical profession, it came less than a week after about 1,000 health care staff condemned what they called police’s excessive use of force and demanded the government met all five demands from protesters.
The latest open letter – called “Hong Kong’s law and order hangs in the balance; we must break silence” – was published on the front page of local newspapers Ming Pao and Hong Kong Economic Journal on Monday.
Among the signatories was Dr Donald Li Kwok-tung, a Hong Kong member to China’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and a family medicine specialist in private practice.
He was joined by Dr Dennis Lam Shun-chiu, a Hong Kong deputy to the country’s top legislature the National People’s Congress and the city’s richest ophthalmologist; and leading Hong Kong liver expert Professor Lo Chung-mau, head of the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital.