With local elections looming just around the corner in September and December, preparations are now taking place for candidates to declare their loyalty to Hong Kong to pass the registrar’s test for eligibility.
The elections have been dubbed the “patriots only elections” which has been mocked by the western media as a dubious requirement to keep any opposition out of local politics.
Western media mock the “Patriots only” elections, suggesting that Beijing is controlling the local elections by opposing any potential candidate who is contrary to its liking.
But this was refuted in 2021 when then Chief Executive Carrie Lam said that as long as the candidates can show allegiance to Hong Kong, uphold the Basic Law and pass national security checks, they will be permitted to run for election.
"For people who hold different political beliefs, who are more inclined towards more democracy, or who are more conservative, who belong to the left or belong to the right, as long as they meet this very fundamental and basic requirement, I don't see why they could not run for election," she said.
Every country has patriots, particularly on local and federal governments. A recent YouGov survey on globalization and national sentiments on how people in 19 countries view their own nation, placed the USA top of the list.
But the survey is wrong. The USA is no longer a patriot state, but one of nationalism which implies a sense of superiority and prioritizes one’s nation above all others. It is at the top of a hierarchy of nations. According to various definitions, nationalism looks down on other nations, is often aggressive or exclusive and can cause division or conflict. Patriotism, on the other hand, respects other nations, is positive and inclusive and builds harmony.
By these definitions, Hong Kong/China is definitely patriotic.
In the west, patriotism is taken for granted; it has been around for hundreds of years and is firmly embedded in local folklore. But for Hong Kong it is something relatively new, making it vulnerable to the influence of foreign forces hellbent on breaking its successful one country two systems of administration.
Prior to the 2021 elections, the US propaganda agency National Endowment for Democracy (NED) was firmly entrenched in Hong Kong with the sole objective of destroying the unique administration system. It was seen as China’s tool to reunite with Taiwan; if it works in Hong Kong, it can work anywhere. But the US plan is to use Taiwan as a base for its military arsenal on the doorstep of the mainland, as it has done in Japan and the Philippines. In the eyes of the US, the one country, two systems principle cannot succeed.
The NED instilled distrust of the administration with the universities, legislators, trade unions, vulnerable school children, weak-kneed activists, the media and others, culminating in the bloody riots of 2019. Action was needed. A legal framework was established with the national security laws which gave the police power to arrest suspects on charges closely aligned to traitors. Numerous trials are continuing, while the government maintains its vigilance to ensure non-patriots don’t infiltrate the election committee or the legislature to disrupt the smooth running of Hong Kong.
With change came enlargement of the Election Committee (EC) and the Legislative Council. The EC, Hong Kong’s electoral college similar to the US’s which elects its president, was established under the Basic Law to elect the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. It grew from 800 members in 1998 to 1500 members today. [The US electoral college has only 500 members to elect its president]. Among its members are members of the district fight crime and district fire safety committees, the true patriots of Hong Kong who not only love their territory but are also prepared to service it in a voluntary position. Other members of the EC include architects and planners, Chinese medical practitioners, universities and schools, engineers in their various fields, medical and health specialists, social welfare, sports, performing arts and publications, technology and innovation, religious bodies etc.
Many will be returned uncontested in the September 7 elections because they have already been chosen by their respective bodies. However, 28 candidates will compete for 21 seats from 6 contested sub-sectors including commercial, architectural, technology, labour, the representatives of the area committees of the district fight crime and fire safety committees of Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories.
Then, at the end of the year, some 90 members will be voted in the Legislative Council Elections which will include 40 members from the election committee, 30 to be returned by functional constituencies and 20 by geographic constituencies. All are patriots who love Hong Kong for what it is, for what it has achieved, and with the full knowledge that together they made Hong Kong prosper to be the international city it is.
Mark Pinkstone
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
As Hong Kong has been developing in leaps and bounds, so has its medical services increased to meet local demands.
And with planned new hospitals in the Northern Metropolis along with current expansion and construction development, expertise is expected to increase and the dreaded waiting times for patients will be considerably reduced.
Hong Kong is poised to be the medical centre of Asia.
Currently, Hong Kong has about 36,000 beds in 43 public hospitals and 14 private hospitals. And already they are overcrowded, aided undoubtedly by an increasing aging population. Patients have to wait up to two hours for a consultation in public hospitals and up to a year or more for onward specialised bookings for appointment.
But that is about to change. Opening on December 11 in Tseung Kwan O will be the 400-bed Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong run by the Baptist University under the umbrella of the Health Bureau of the government and not to be confused with the Hospital Authority which runs all public hospitals and clinics in Hong Kong.
This is a major breakthrough for Chinese medicine (CM) to be fully integrated with research into western-Chinese medicines while serving the community. It will be the flagship for the 18 Chinese medicine clinics already operating in all districts in Hong Kong.
In its first year of operation, it will provide only outpatient 25 beds and day-patient services and six specialised CM services – internal medicine, external medicine, gynaecology, paediatrics, orthopaedics and traumatology, and acupuncture and moxibustion. It will also provide 12 special disease programs including those for elderly degenerative diseases and stroke rehabilitation.
Inpatient services will start from late next year, with other services expanding year by year, including the remaining 11 special disease programs. It is expected that by the end of 2030, the hospital will provide full inpatient services with its 400 patient beds, as well as outpatient services of 400 000 annual attendances.
Construction is also well underway and above the foundations for the North District Hospital (NDH) extension in Sheung Shui. The expansion of NDH mainly covers the construction of a new hospital block, refurbishment, alteration and addition to existing hospital building, and the provision of associated internal roadworks as well as external and landscaping works. Upon completion of the expansion project in about 2028, the hospital will provide about 1,500 additional beds, atop of its 680 existing beds.
And then comes the mother of all hospitals: The Northern Metropolis Hospital in Ngau Tam Mei, south of Yuen Long, is developing a new integrated medical teaching and research hospital which will become the flagship hospital of the Northern Metropolis with about 3 000 beds, providing comprehensive healthcare services for the new population in the area.
Last year in his policy address, the Chief Executive John Lee announced plans for developing a new integrated medical teaching and research hospital which will become the flagship hospital of the Northern Metropolis, providing comprehensive healthcare services.
The area is a goldmine for development. Representing about one third of Hong Kong’s total land area, existing agricultural land and fishponds will be turned into a massive hub for international scientific and technical research and development.
In the First Hospital Development Plan, there are three projects in two clusters, including the expansion of North District Hospital, the redevelopment of Prince of Wales Hospital, and the extension of Operating Theatre Block for Tuen Mun Hospital. It is anticipated that a total of 1 950 additional beds and other hospital facilities will be provided by 2031 in the New Territories after the completion of the three projects, bringing the physical bed capacity in the east and west clusters in the New Territories to about 12 000 beds.
Most importantly on the backburner is a decision by the Chief Executive in Council (ExCo) last year that a site of about two hectares be reserved in the San Tin Technopole (between Yuen Long and Sheung Shui) for healthcare facilities “which may include private hospital use.”
A private hospital in the New Territories opens up many possibilities, including medical tourism.
The Chinese medical hospital will draw in many tourists from the mainland and Asia seeking medical help through traditional Chinese and western medicine methods. A tourism hospital situated along the Chinese boundary will boost tourism figures ten-fold.
A case in point is the Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a classic example of how the private sector can benefit in healthcare. Founded in 1980, Bumrungrad International Hospital has been a global pioneer in providing world-class healthcare services and international patient support for nearly four decades. The hospital is an internationally accredited, multi-specialty hospital listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand since 1989. It is, perhaps the largest private hospital in Southeast Asia, caring for more than 1.1 million patients annually from more than 190 countries.
