The government announced the second batch of medical qualifications recognized by overseas doctors early last month. Fudan University became the first mainland institution to make the list. However, the course is taught entirely in English and is only available to overseas citizens.
Lin Zhexuan, a member of the Legislative Council of the medical and health sector, wrote to the government earlier that he was disappointed that there was only one mainland university on the list.
Today (4th) the Legislative Council held a meeting on the "Physicians Registration Ordinance 2022". Legislative Council member Ho Kwan-yiu questioned that the Ordinance does not expressly state that the language of instruction of the relevant courses in institutions must be in English.
He emphasized that the official language of Hong Kong is both Chinese and English, why it must be in English, and he believes that "this thought should not be liberated first. You have returned to the present, and your thinking has not returned." Hold a closed-door meeting with the new director and relevant persons to discuss related issues such as regulations and language of instruction.
The Deputy Secretary-General (Health) of the Food and Health Bureau, Kwan Rubi, said that he will strive to submit the remaining lists of recognized medical qualifications within this year. However, many members questioned that the two batches of colleges and universities in the list all teach in English, and there is no doubt that the colleges and universities will teach in Chinese. Exclusion, eliminating the opportunity for doctors to come to Hong Kong, cannot solve the looming problem of the loss of local doctors.
A member of parliament pointed out that "patients may be mentally prepared and the queue will get longer and longer"
Legislative Council member Chen Kaixin believes that due to the epidemic, the doctor's practice exam has been cancelled four times, and the loss rate of doctors in the local public medical care has been serious in the past year. "Patients may be psychologically prepared. Differentiate doctors by language.
Guan Rubi responded that if the course is not taught in English, it may not meet the general requirements of the regulations.
At present, the authorities are examining a basket of factors, and the special committee will discuss them again.
Legislative Council member Ho Kwan-yiu (screenshot of Legislative Council meeting)
He Junyao said that Hong Kong uses Chinese and English as the official languages, and pointed out that the regulations do not expressly state that the language of instruction of relevant courses in institutions must use English, and the use of Chinese as the language of instruction does not mean that the courses are flawed.
He said that the special committee cannot use the ground as a prison, and questioned why colleges and universities must teach in English to be included in the list. The number of Hong Kong permanent residents studying abroad should be counted back to practice in Hong Kong. If the number is insufficient, it should not only target Hong Kong residents, but also “open up.”
A closed-door meeting will be held later with the new Secretary and relevant parties
Ask who is responsible for making the list?
Guan Rubi pointed out that the special committee selected more than 100 institutions based on QS, The Times and the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and selected relevant information of the institutions before screening.
Zhang Yuren said that a closed-door meeting with the new Secretary and relevant persons will be held today based on the opinions of various Members on the ordinance and language issues.
In November last year, the Government established a committee under the Medical Council under the revised Medical Registration Ordinance to review non-local medical courses of similar quality to those of the two universities in Hong Kong and draw up a list of recognized medical qualifications .
At present, there are two batches, and a total of 50 universities have been included in the list.
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