'We need a pragmatic CE'

(China Daily HK Edition)
Updated: 2007-03-13 08:49

Incumbent Chief Executive (CE) Donald Tsang will be the best person to be re-elected as chief executive of Hong Kong, said Election Committee (EC) members from the Chinese medicine subsector.

All the 20 members from the subsector will vote in favor of the second term for Donald Tsang on March 25.

"All our 20 votes and no less will go to Mr Tsang's way," Chan Kong-sang, president of Hong Kong Registered Chinese Medicine Practitioners Association, said yesterday.

"We need a calm, pragmatic CE who can stand up to tests and transform Hong Kong into a harmonious, prosperous, stable society.

"We do not want a radical, articulate CE who merely sings out slogans," he said after a meeting with Tsang at their office yesterday morning.

"This is not an administrative order but rather our consensus to support Mr Tsang unanimously as a person who has strong commitment to Hong Kong and who cares about Chinese medicine.

"We have no intention to invite Mr Alan Leong for a meeting. He has never contacted us and nor has he mentioned Chinese medicine in his policy platform.

"In Mr Tsang's policy platform, he has mentioned the development of Chinese medicine and we so know who really cares about the well-being of our subsector," he added.

As to the content of their conversation, Chan revealed that they had put forward several requests during the hour-long meeting with Tsang.

First, it is their hope that Chinese medicine be incorporated into the public healthcare system before dedicated hospitals for Chinese medicine services are opened.

The practitioners also want a seat in the functional constituency of the Legislative Council, and the employment prospect of Chinese medicine graduates from local universities is also a concern.

Asked about Tsang's reply, Chan quoted him as saying that he would carefully study their requests once he is re-elected.



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