Outspoken veteran of the medical field Dr Gabriel Choi Kin looks set to be the only candidate for next president of the Medical Association
EMILY.TSANG@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Sunday, 08 May, 2016, 7:37pm
Dr Gabriel Choi Kin. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Two years ago Dr Gabriel Choi Kin was the mastermind who backed Dr Louis Shih Tai-cho to become the president of the Hong Kong Medical Association (HKMA), the city’s largest doctors’ group.
But since then, the outspoken doctors have been engaged in on-going rows, at odds over a number of sensitive issues – medical and political.
Tensions escalated to a point to prompt Shih to suddenly announce his resignation last week after discord with Choi and most of the members in the association over the upcoming reform proposal on the city’s medical watchdog and regulating body.
The resignation means the position will be vacant for two months until an election takes place in the association’s general meeting in July.
Choi, a well-respected nephrologist and former HKMA president for many terms, is so far the only candidate who has announced interest in the seat and he is likely to stand uncontested.
Being the next president means he would be picking up on all the hot issues the association is facing currently.
One of the most contentious issues has seen a split in the sector on the reform of the doctors’ regulating body, the Medical Council, which has been criticised for its delay in taking disciplinary action against the doctors.
“Dealing with this big issue will be a major thing for the next Medical Association’s president,” Choi said, confirming he is after the seat.
As to his previously expressed interest in whether to run for the Legislative Council seat for the medical sector in the upcoming election, Choi said he was having second thoughts.
“I am now 67, and I am considering whether I have enough energy to handle the workload of both the president of the Medical Association and a lawmaker,” he said.
The specialist, who runs a private clinic in Wong Tai Sin, joked: “I am not really as good a fighter as our chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor,” referring to Lam’s nickname ‘Good Fighter’.
Choi has long had a public profile and been an active member in the medical sector, elected to be the association’s president for the first time in 2004.
He is no stranger to controversy, and his record shows he is unlikely to shy away from sensitive issues.
Those in the medical sector used to call him the “Chiu Chow Angry Man”, for he was from Chiuchow and well-known for his fiery temper and outspoken character.
But while age may have softened the temperament of the man, it does not mean he is less bold in speaking his mind.
During the pro-democracy Occupy movement more than a year ago, Choi was among the first of the few medical veterans who openly backed the students and was seen showing support in the Admiralty protest.
This kicked off a notable falling out between Choi and Shih, with Choi backing the idea for the
association to conduct a survey among doctors on views of the government’s political reform package, which sparked the student’s demonstration.
Shih, the president at the time, decided against it.
Their disagreement continued over the year, and finally erupted during a radio programme last week after Shih announced his sudden resignation.
“I stepped down because my suggestion to discuss a change was objected by the association’s board member,” Shih said in the programme, where he was appearing alongside Choi.
Shih was referring to the reform of the Medical Council.
Currently, half of the 28-strong body are made up of government appointees from the Department of Health and universities, and half are elected doctors.
Among the 14 elected seats, seven are voted on by registered doctors, and the remaining seven are elected by the board members of the Medical Association.
The government suggested adding four lay people to a total of eight in the body, in order to speed up disciplinary hearings.
While several doctors’ groups agreed that the council is in urgent need of reform, they objected to the suggestion, fearing that the extra appointees in the board would upset the balance.
Some also expressed concern that the government would exploit its electoral advantage to relax the examination for overseas and mainland doctors.
Amid the debates, Shih also suggested opening up the seven seats voted on by the association’s board to be voted on by all registered doctors.
Choi said there were board members who were outraged about Shih making public his suggestion before a discussion with the board.
“They thought the suggestion had distracted public attention from the council reform to the association,” Choi said. “He should not do that as the president.”
Choi backed the current system, and said it is similar to that of the representative democracy system.
As an elected member of the Medical Council, chairing its preliminary investigation committee, Choi said the government proposal would not speed up the disciplinary action against doctors.
The committee is responsible for investigating each and every complaint and deciding whether a hearing should be held.
It handles some 900 complaints against doctors every year, most of which were frivolous, Choi said.
He backed another reform proposal, which suggested adding four more seats to be elected by registered doctors, on top of the government’s plan to add four lay members.
“The workload is huge. If we do not add manpower in handling the complaints, there will still be prolonged waiting times to process them,” he said.
“Frankly, I already have an intention to resign as the chairman of the committee, since it is a job that pleases no one – the work is killing you but everyone still blames you for the delay,” Choi said.
The voluntary position should be taken by a full-time staff preferrable a retired medical professor, who could devote all his time into the job, he said
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1942272/always-heart-debate-dr-gabriel-choi-kin