HONG KONG – The review of public hospital fees in Hong Kong is aimed not at reducing medical expenditure but at enhancing efficiency and maximizing the use of public resources, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu stressed on Tuesday.

Pointing out that the review was part of the government’s healthcare reform, the chief executive said he had ordered the Health Bureau to follow three principles.

“First, it is not an expenditure cutting exercise,” Lee said, adding that the special administrative region government was not going to spend less on public health but would just readjust “the spending distribution for the sake of efficiency and effectiveness.”

“Second, priority should be given to the most needy. These include helping those with economic difficulties and those cases in which the patient suffers from an emergency, or the most serious and critical illnesses,” Lee said.

He also said that the review aims to reduce the waste of resources, including drugs and services provided by public hospitals.

The bureau aimed at announcing more details of the review within this month, the CE added.

Asked about establishing the city’s third medical school, Lee said the government had already set up a taskforce to review proposals submitted by three local universities.

“We attach importance to this issue as it is part of our healthcare reform,” he stressed, adding that members of the taskforce comprised local and overseas professionals and scholars with rich experience in medical education and university management, as well as members of the Medical Council of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine.

ALSO READ: HKUST’s bid to establish city’s third medical school nears finish line

The taskforce will take into account the ten conditions set by the government and talk with the universities involved, the CE added.

Entry convenience for invited ASEAN persons

At the same briefing, Lee announced that an immigration facilitation scheme for specially invited individuals from ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations officially began on Tuesday.

As part of the initiatives announced in his third Policy Address published last November, the measure aimed at allowing the invited persons to "participate more actively in international events held in Hong Kong and to invest in Hong Kong", the CE said.

It also intended to attract them “to enter the mainland and global market through Hong Kong as a springboard”, in a bid to contribute to the city's economic growth, he added.

The scheme will allow those who had made contributions to Hong Kong's development or have been invited to attend important events in the city to enjoy convenient immigration services, including one-stop self-service customs clearance and visa application through dedicated counters, he elaborated.

ALSO READ: Indonesia stresses importance of ASEAN trade ties with HKSAR

The Immigration Department will provide one-stop processing of relevant applications from invited persons through an electronic platform, relax the application criteria for self-service immigration clearance and simplify the information required for visa applications.

Under the scheme, relevant policy bureaus and departments - including the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, and the Department of Justice - will issue invitations.

Approved applications will be valid for three years, while the invited persons can stay in Hong Kong for two months or more in each visit, the CE said, adding that the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and the Department of Justice on Tuesday will first send invitations to ASEAN business leaders and legal luminaries who had made considerable contribution to the city's economy.

Operations of Kai Tak Sports Park

Regarding some incidents involving the operation of the Kai Tak Sports Park, Lee said the government had asked the park’s management to set up a mechanism to conduct regular meetings with the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.

The government had also ordered the management to formulate contingency plans and designate a spokesperson for any changes in activity arrangements, he added.

ALSO READ: Lee: Kai Tak a ‘shorthand’ of HK’s progress

Asked about opening more cross-boundary ports for private cars to travel to the mainland, the CE reiterated that traffic flow was a key factor needed to be considered as some ports were more popular and it may cause traffic congestion, adding that it required cooperation with the mainland authorities.