Ko Wing-man, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, is on the show this week to talk about how members discuss topics and find common ground on issues of great concern to our society.

Check out the full transcript of TVB’s Straight Talk host Dr Eugene Chan’s interview with Dr Ko Wing-man:

Chan: Good evening and welcome to Straight Talk with Eugene Chan! Joining us this week is Dr Ko Wing-man, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He will be sharing with us his insights from the 2025 Beijing Two Sessions. And then next week, we will continue this discussion with Hong Kong deputy for the National People's Congress Andrew Yao Cho-fai. Dr Ko is an orthopedic specialist, and I'm sure many of us remember him as our Secretary for Food and Health from 2012 to 2017. Prior to that, he led Hong Kong through the SARS outbreak as the acting chief executive of the Hospital Authority. He was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star Medal in 2017 for his long service in the public health sector, especially his pioneering work in enhancing Hong Kong's mainland medical exchanges. He is currently a member of the Executive Council. Welcome, Dr Ko!

Ko: Hello, Eugene!

Chan: So happy to have you on the show after three years.

Ko: I'm sorry for my voice.  

Chan: Anyway, I know you were in Beijing for like 12 days, and you just returned from Beijing after the two sessions. And what is your overall experience like attending the two sessions this time?

Ko: It is a warm meeting with quite heated discussion ...

Chan: Really?

Ko: ... during the group and panel discussions. But if you ask me what is my insight from that meeting, I think everybody will have their own reading of the proceedings of the two meetings. My own reading is that the country has gone through a very turbulent year in 2024 and, of course, as international politics is intense on China, we went through a difficult time. Eventually, the financial and economic situation turns better towards the end of the year. That's why there's a bit of optimism amongst delegates and members of the two meetings.

Chan: Right. Dr Ko, I'm sure the viewers will be very excited ... will be very interested to know when you say the heated and very active discussion. Has it always been the case in two sessions or this year in particular, you felt that there is even more participation from the delegates?

Ko: I think, in the group discussions, it's always been a very heated discussion, especially for me, because I like the ... unlike the majority of the members from Hong Kong, I, together with another member, is in the medical and health sector group. So, there ... in the two medical and health sector groups, there are around 90 members. Except for the two from Hong Kong, most of them are from mainland itself. There are, of course, a lot of issues concerning healthcare reform in the mainland.

Chan: I see. So, before we move into that sector of your specialty, healthcare work, I'm sure we ... the viewers would want to have a glance into a typical day during the two sessions. You told me earlier that the members were there for nearly a week. You were there for 12 days. So, what exactly happened, or what is a typical day like for a delegate?

Ko: Well, every day is different. We receive a full itinerary of the meetings once we report to the meeting. On days when there are plenary sessions, of course we have to go to the People's Hall, right? But on other days, when we only have group discussions, we stay in our station, hotel.

Chan: Hotel, yes.

Ko: I'm sorry. Yes, hotel. So, the group discussions were conducted in the hotels, whereas the plenary sessions were in the People's Hall.

Chan: Would you say it is a very intense sort of seven days, or even 12 days, for you?

Ko: It's quite intense, because even in between in and out of the meetings, the media from both mainland and Hong Kong were very active during the sessions, and they are, of course, interested to find out the insights from individual members during the meetings as well as what sort of issues where they are most concerned about, and more importantly, they usually would be very interested in the motions of proposals that individual members have brought to the meetings.

Chan: Right, Dr Ko. The reason why we have two episodes on the two sessions is because of the people in Hong Kong. We know how important the two sessions are, sort of, implied for the direction. You mentioned a very solid point earlier, saying that all delegates will have their own interpretation of the policy. So, what would be the main message from the two sessions from Hong Kong, from your point of view? Because in the government work report, Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered at the opening session of the NPC and he reaffirmed the "one country, two systems" guiding principle and pledged to bolster the Greater Bay Area's capacity for innovation, while highlighting Hong Kong's increasing vital role in helping our nation to further open up. Maybe you can share with us on that basis, what will be your takeaway message and especially, what do you think Hong Kong people should know?

Ko: You know, every year when the premier was delivering his government report, everybody from Hong Kong and Macao perhaps would pay exceptional attention to what the premier is going to say about Hong Kong, Macao and "one country, two systems" arrangement. This year, I think most people are rather happy because the premier, in his report, delivered the whole spirit of "one country, two systems" arrangement as well. If you add together what our chairman delivered in Macao when he attend the 25th anniversary celebration of Macao's return to the motherland … he added a very important connotation to the "one country, two systems" arrangements, which is firstly, the arrangement is the best arrangement for Hong Kong in order for Hong Kong to maintain long-term stability and economic development. And secondly, he also reiterated that the system is very important in order that Hong Kong can contribute to the development of the country into a modern nation. And thirdly, which I think is even more important, is that the chairman can see that the arrangement can serve as an example for other countries, in other places where people living in two different political systems, societal arrangement and economic system can that stay together harmoniously, and, therefore, this can be the model of the resolution of a lot of geopolitical matters, not only in Hong Kong or in our own country.

Chan: Well, that's a very strong message …

Ko: Exactly.

Chan: Especially, when you look at the world right now, there's a lot of so-called conflicts happening, and in Hong Kong and the mainland, we are the same country. But even with the two systems, we can live harmoniously, and we can sort of help one another as well.

Ko: And more importantly, Vice-Premier Deng, when he visited the Hong Kong delegation, reiterated that it is most important for Hong Kong to be able to maintain its overseas ties, that connectivity with the international community, especially in the area of finance, economy, trading. But for us professionals, we also think that it is very important for us to be able to maintain our ties internationally, with other professionals of other countries.

Chan: Right, okay. Dr Ko, let's take a short break now. We'll be right back and talk to you more about what Dr Ko has his insights on.

Chan: Welcome back to the first episode on the 2025 Beijing Two Sessions. With us is Dr Ko Wing-man, a member of the standing committee of the CPPCC, and he has been sharing with us his insights. So, Dr Ko, I think one of the very important messages at the end of part one was Hong Kong's connectivity to the rest of the world. This is what we should be doing and I suppose that is what we are good at. I mean you are an specialist in our healthcare profession. So, how can Hong Kong leverage our own world-class healthcare system and international expertise to contribute to the overall development of the mainland? Because this is something that we have been trying to do, and maybe you can share with our viewers how world-class is Hong Kong's healthcare system in respect to the rest of the world, and also to our motherland.

Ko: Now for us in Hong Kong, the healthcare system in Hong Kong has always been recognized by international bodies as one of the most, if not the most, efficient healthcare delivery system. And of course, that has also something to do … of course one of the reasons as well. Accounting for the fact that the life expectancy for Hong Kong people is always top in the world. And in this regard, I think we have a very well-managed healthcare system with people very experienced in healthcare management, hospital management, which is always a very important topic when it comes to interflow between the healthcare sector of Hong Kong and the mainland. In fact, since 20 years ago, Hong Kong health service executives have been invited to the mainland for sharing. And the mainland also wants to improve its health services management, as well as hospital management. So, I am particularly interested, since my retirement from the government, in the integration of healthcare system between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. I consider it very important for us to be able to bring our expertise in health services management to integrate with that of the mainland professionals. Now in recent years, we all know that the medical standards of mainland have been catching up very fast – both in terms of the clinical practice standard as well as the development in the areas of biomedical medicine, biological medicine. So, I think together with the Greater Bay Area, it can develop the total system into a more efficient one with good quality assurance. And, therefore, we should end the discussion of whether you could see people coming to Hong Kong from mainland for medical treatment or vice versa. Together we can actually create a platform where our excellence in healthcare services and medical services can attract people from other parts of mainland, as well as Asia Pacific, and internationally.

Chan: Right. So, Dr Ko, I think just now you have given us a very good overview of what is happening between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, especially some pictures flashes back during the COVID time, we had the support from the mainland medical team to help us during that difficult period. And so, you know, we have more and more people crossing the border, spending time over in Shenzhen or other cities, but you often hear that people, even if they want to retire on the mainland, they are always coming to Hong Kong for medical services. So, what you are saying is, you don't have to do that anymore. Is that what you are implying?

Ko: I think with the escalation in the clinical standard in mainland China, as well as the improvement in connectivity, both in terms of payment arrangement, electronic healthcare records, and the people who are living in the Bay Area would see less and less need for returning to Hong Kong, especially when they have urgent medical needs. But of course, when it is an elective condition, people from both sides can always elect according to their preference as well as financial means, to go to anywhere to seek medical treatment. I would hope that the systems, the cultures, and the standards on both sides will be more and more harmonized in the future.

Chan: Right. Just now before our interview, we were chatting about the efficiency of the Hong Kong medical system, as compared to the one in so-called Canada or the United Kingdom. It looks like people in Hong Kong are very fortunate to have such an efficient system.

Ko: When I was saying that, I don't mean that there is no complaint about the healthcare system in Hong Kong, there still is. But I think in terms of efficiency, particularly in terms of utilization of resources from the government, the Hospital Authority has been setting priorities in healthcare treatment so that for people who have urgent medical needs or serious medical conditions, they can always rely on our healthcare system. Whereas for other systems, when the situation … whereas for other situations where it is less urgent or more elective, so to speak, then you should have more choice.

Chan: Right. So Dr Ko, let's move back to the government work report at two sessions, where it termed new quality productive forces, such as bio-manufacturing, quantum technology, AI, and even 6G telecommunications, as a major task for 2025. Hong Kong is known for advanced and sort of in medical research. Do you see Hong Kong be able to apply such direction into our healthcare sector, from your point of view? With AI especially?

Ko: Firstly, we indeed saw tremendous and rapid development in the technology aspect, AI, robotics, etc. But in terms of medical research or biomedical research, Hong Kong has long been a recognized hub in the international community for clinical research. In fact, Hong Kong is a very important member when it comes to multinational research initiative in the development of new drugs and new medical technology. In this regard, I think Hong Kong has an advantage over the mainland. So, I think it is now in the mind of many people that Hong Kong can attract multinational pharmacological and other medical technology development initiatives to come to Hong Kong, in terms of setting up research centers because Hong Kong has already got a very good base for clinical research and Hong Kong clinicians and academics are well-renowned, in fact, our professionals routinely being appointed to very important international board and councils in research.

Chan: Right. So, Dr Ko, I think what you are saying that is Hong Kong does and can play a very important bridge between our motherland to the rest of the world, especially with international collaborations.

Ko: And you can also see that the development of the new pharmacological products is actually coming up very fast from the mainland, but they have certain difficulties when it comes to the conduct of clinical trial, which can satisfy the requirements from organizations, like FDA and European Medicines Agency, in terms of registration. So, Hong Kong in that regard, we can help. We can collaborate with mainland pharmaceuticals, for example, in bringing new and original medicines to Hong Kong for clinical trials.

Chan: Right. So, what you are saying is Hong Kong definitely can play the role, as you said earlier, we have to connect to the rest of the world. And having this international benchmarking for our Chinese, say medicine or pharmaceutical companies, does give Hong Kong a new role.

Ko: Certainly. And you also know that the Hong Kong government now has the so-called one-plus arrangement for registrations of new pharmacologicals. So, under this system, it is entirely possible for Chinese-invented new medicines to be registered in Hong Kong with the approval from the national board in the first instance, and then come to Hong Kong to gain real world data, in order for them to be registered in Hong Kong. Once it is being used in Hong Kong, the rest of the world can see.

Chan: Right, so would you say the Hong Kong medical and health sectors are facing sort of a new horizon coming up with all these international connections and national policies?

Ko: I do think so.

Chan: Right, so a very bright future for the Hong Kong medical profession.

Ko: Oh, we have to work hard.

Chan: Of course. Right. So, thank you, Dr Ko, for sharing your insights from the two sessions with us. It is clear that by harnessing the strengths of a world-class healthcare system and international expertise, Hong Kong can not only support healthcare advancements on the mainland, but also serve as a gateway to share Chinese healthcare innovations with the world.

Don't miss next week's episode where we will explore more policies from the two sessions. Have a good evening and see you next Tuesday.