Medical workers urge govt action, blast police

The advertisement placed by a group of medical professionals says a government response is urgently needed to save Hong Kong. Photo: RTHK

A group of professionals in the medical sector published a petition in local newspapers on Wednesday, urging the government to respond to all five of the protesters' demands and blasting police for blocking access to injured protesters.



The full-page advertisement, with hundreds of signatures displayed in the background, said a government response is urgently needed to save Hong Kong.



It said Chief Executive Carrie Lam needs to positively respond to all five core demands of the protesters, include setting up an independent inquiry to look into police operations and what they said was an abuse of power.



Earlier this month, Lam agreed to one of the five demands and announced that the government will formally withdraw the contentious extradition bill. But the medical professionals said this is too little, too late.



They also said Lam's other measures to try and solve the political impasse, such as top officials reaching out to different groups to hold dialogue, aren't new and have failed to soothe the public's anger.



The medical professionals, who described themselves as a group who love Hong Kong, also accused the police of "rampant" abuse of power when subduing people.



It said the police actions go against humanitarian principles – especially when officers refused to allow first-aiders help injured people at Prince Edward MTR Station on August 31.