New Hospital Authority chief backs independent probe

New Hospital Authority chief backs independent probe

The new chairman of the Hospital Authority, Henry Fan, said on Thursday that he's in favour of the setting up of a committee with statutory power to look into Hong Kong's months-long social unrest.



Speaking to reporters for the first time since taking up his new post, the veteran businessman and former executive councillor said some frontline doctors had told him about their experience of treating youngsters who were badly injured in recent protests.



Fan said his heart ached to see the city’s current situation, which he said was worse than the 1967 riots.



He said a political problem needs a political solution, adding that an Independent Commission of Inquiry is the best way to go.



“That would give statutory [powers] to the committee which would then enable the committee to call witnesses, and witnesses giving evidence before the committee would also be protected from civil or criminal action," said Fan.



"So I think in order to really get down to the truth of what happened and why it happened, it is important that we have such a committee”, he said.



But while the new Hospital Authority chief said staff could express their political views on social media platforms and join authorised protests in their personal capacity, they should not stage rallies at hospitals as they should be politically neutral while at work.



On the future of the Hospital Authority, Fan acknowledged a series of longstanding problems facing public hospitals, including a shortage of staff and long waiting times for services.



He said he would set up a special task force under the HA board to review the sustainability of the public medical sector.



“Unless we have a system which would allow our public health system to be sustainable, sooner or later, we will run into trouble."



"Hopefully with the support of the members of the Hospital Authority board to set up a task force, we could then be in a position to brainstorm ideas, come up with possible solutions, do consultations with our staff, and hopefully come up with some solutions on a topic-to-topic basis”, said the new chief.