Editor’s Note: There’s no doubt that Hong Kong’s future is intertwined with that of the nation’s. In the run-up to the Communist Party of China’s 20th National Congress, China Daily has invited leaders from Hong Kong’s various sectors and professions to share their vision of the upcoming event and the city’s development. In this article, Dennis Lam Shun-chiu, a lawmaker and ophthalmologist in Hong Kong, said closer medical integration between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Chinese mainland has boosted the city’s medical industry, and the SAR could also contribute to training medical personnel for the mainland in the new era.
1. The Communist Party of China’s 20th National Congress will begin soon. How do you view the development of the country and the city in the past decade? What about in your sector? Which changes have impressed you the most?
For the past decade, China has achieved continuous economic growth and substantial development in advancing urbanization, environment protection, technology, education, people’s income and overall quality of life. In the past 10 years, development in the Hong Kong SAR has come along in leaps and bounds under the constitutional principle of “one country, two systems”.
In the past 10 years, development in the Hong Kong SAR has come along in leaps and bounds under the constitutional principle of “one country, two systems.”
Dennis Lam Shun-chiu,
lawmaker and ophthalmologist in Hong Kong
China’s medical and healthcare industry has experienced tremendous transformation in the past 10 years. The past decade has seen deepened reform of the medical and health system and gradual resolution of long-lasting issues such as access to and affordability of medical services. China has implemented a national strategy for addressing an aging population, improved integrated medical and elderly care services, and finally refined the one-child policy into a three-child policy. China is participating in global health governance at a deeper level and in a broader scope, taking concrete steps to push forward health cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.
ALSO READ: CPC sets stage for historic 20th National Congress
Among all the positive changes, I am mostly impressed by the continuous development of traditional Chinese medicine through innovation and modern medical technology. Research and development in TCM is a key segment of development for Zhuhai city’s Hengqin. The capacity of the community-based TCM services has made notable improvements; now TCM medication and services are increasingly accessible.
Another phenomenon that impresses me deeply is the overall quality of healthcare workers and enhanced medical technology. By 2021, there were nearly 14 million health professionals in the mainland. Now 50 percent of the mainland’s hospitals are capable of performing complicated surgeries. The average medical diagnosis and treatment rate as well as the hospitalization rate have gradually approached the average level of developed countries.
2. Poverty alleviation is one of the key tasks of the CPC’s work in the past decade, which also came to fruition when mainland rid itself of absolute poverty. What can Hong Kong learn from the mainland’s poverty-alleviation work when it is embroiled in a widening wealth gap?
The mainland’s approach to poverty reduction has been based on two pillars, according to a joint report by the Ministry of Finance, the Development Research Center of the State Council and the World Bank in 2022. The first was a broad-based economic transformation to open new economic opportunities and raise average incomes. The second was the recognition that targeted support was needed to alleviate persistent poverty; support was initially provided to areas disadvantaged by geography and the lack of opportunities, and later to individual households.
READ MORE: 20th National Congress: HK legal sector to benefit from BRI
I think both approaches are highly referential for Hong Kong to battle the widening wealth gap in the city. First, Hong Kong should perhaps consider developing a new industry based on technology and innovation along with its traditional pillar industries (i.e., finance, construction, shipping and tourism). According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the Chinese mainland added 11.33 million urban jobs in the first 10 months of 2021 alone. As technology and innovation is the first driving force to lead the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, if Hong Kong can grasp the opportunity of developing its own technology and innovation industry, then more jobs will be created in Hong Kong. Second, Hong Kong should identify underprivileged groups for targeted support programs, such as people with disabilities, new immigrants, ethnic minorities and the elderly.
3. President Xi Jinping's report at the 19th CPC National Congress pointed out that the country has entered a new era of development and the Party is striving to build a moderately prosperous society. What role do you think the Hong Kong SAR, and especially your sector, could play in the country's blueprint for the new era?
With Hong Kong’s unique global strategic position, the SAR could continue to play its role in introducing external investment and talents, and in absorbing internationally-advanced technologies and managerial expertise for the mainland.
Hong Kong has excellent medical expertise and internationally recognized clinical testing technologies. I believe under a more supportive policy framework, Hong Kong could play a leading role in bringing world-class medical care service and management to the Greater Bay Area and the rest of the mainland. The SAR can potentially contribute significantly to educating and training the next generation of elite medical personnel for the mainland in the new era.
4. What do you think closer integration with the Chinese mainland for the past 10 years has brought to your industry? Looking forward, how do you perceive it will go?
Closer integration with the mainland for the past 10 years has brought unprecedent opportunities of development for leading players in Hong Kong’s medical and healthcare industry. Take my own company as an example, C-MER opened the mainland’s first Hong Kong wholly-owned hospital under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement in 2013 in Shenzhen, which has since been regarded as one of the two prime examples of successful Shenzhen and Hong Kong integration in medical and healthcare services (the other one being the HKU Shenzhen Hospital). With 10 years’ development in the mainland, C-MER now operates 12 hospitals and 17 clinics in 10 cities in the mainland including all four first-tier cities.
READ MORE: 20th National Congress: HK vital in China's modernization
Looking forward, I hope the integration will be more mutually beneficial. Earlier this year there was heated debate in the Legislative Council on whether Hong Kong should allow mainland-trained graduates to register and work as doctors in Hong Kong. I hope Hong Kong will be more open-minded and proactive in attracting medical talents with a mainland background to facilitate deeper integration and alleviate the shortage of manpower in its medical professional team.
5. For the past 10 years, many favorable policies were rolled out for Hong Kong and Macao residents. Is your industry one of the beneficiaries? What role do you think such policies play in helping your sector to grow stronger?
Hong Kong’s medical and healthcare industry has benefited deeply from a number of favorable policies rolled out for the past 10 years. One example is the Measure of using HK registered drugs and medical devices used in HK public hospitals in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a pilot program launched by the National Medical Products Administration that allows designated public and private hospitals in major Guangdong cities to import Hong Kong and Macao approved products. In August 2021, C-MER Zhuhai Eye Hospital became the first and so far the only designated eye hospital under the measures. On March 27, 2022, our Zhuhai Hospital held a launch ceremony for the first clinical use of imported drugs in Zhuhai, where we performed the first dose of Beovu in the mainland.
ALSO READ: 20th Party Congress matters to everyone in Hong Kong
These policies are indeed critical for Hong Kong’s medical and healthcare industry to enter the mainland market and grow stronger in the region, without which we cannot fully exert our advantages in providing medical service of international standard with cutting-edge technology, novel drugs and Hong Kong-style management.
6. What are your expectations for Hong Kong’s participation and contribution to the nation’s development in the upcoming decade?
The SAR has contributed greatly to the process of the nation’s economic reform and opening-up. Hong Kong serves as a bridge for implementing the nation’s Belt and Road Initiative, and helps the mainland shift and reshape its growth model. It is crucial that Hong Kong continues to expand its unique position in connecting the mainland with the rest of the world. At the same time, Hong Kong should evolve from a mere connector to a more proactive participant, making the most of the mainland’s vast market and progress opportunities.
For example, the SAR has unique advantages to play a leading role in innovation and technology development of the Greater Bay Area. Hong Kong can provide diversified and international financing channels for the new-economy tech companies in the region, then selling high-tech products made in the Greater Bay Area to overseas market by leveraging the role of a free port and independent customs zone.
READ MORE: 20th National Congress: Ip spells out HK roles in nation's new era
Furthermore, Hong Kong can play a demonstrable role in the construction of a business environment for the mainland. In the nation’s process of accelerating the construction of a world-class business environment, Hong Kong can provide valuable experiences on the operation mechanism of a market economy.
All in all, I believe Hong Kong’s unique role in the nation’s development will be strengthened and further enhanced in the new era.