Legislative Council President Jasper Tsang has rejected all 112,000 amendments suggested by lawmaker Leung Ka-lau regarding a bill submitted to the council proposing changes to the make up of the Medical Council.
The government proposed in April adding four additional lay members – meaning people from outside the medical profession – to the council. The four would be nominated by sectors which represent patients’ and consumers’ interests, before being appointed by the Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.
Meanwhile, two members who are currently nominated by the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine and appointed by the Chief Executive will instead be elected by the 26-member council of the academy.
The government had originally proposed simply adding four lay-members only but met resistance from the medical profession, who wanted to “maintain balance.”
However, Tsang also told local media at the same event that the amendments were superfluous and that Leung Ka-lau had not submitted the amendments on paper.
Leung previously said in April that he supported more open elections of the four medical council members but did not support elections through the academy as it is not an institution that every doctor can join.
Correction: A previous version of this article said that 11,200 amendments were introduced by Leung. In fact, it was 112,000 amendments.
