Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 24, 2023

Health chief given power to void vaccine exemptions

Health chief given power to void vaccine exemptions

The Hong Kong government today amended the current regulations to authorize the health chief to invalidate the vaccine exemption certificates, assumed to be “fake”, as the issuing doctors handed them out without assessing the patients.
With the Executive Council's approval of the decision, the newly issued Prevention and Control of Disease (Vaccine Pass) Regulation (Amendment) was gazetted today afternoon and will be in force from tomorrow(October 26).

According to the amendment, Secretary for Health will be empowered to declare an exemption certificate invalid when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that no clinical assessment has been conducted by a registered medical practitioner before issuing the exemption. Besides, the Secretary may also nullify all exemption certificates issued by a registered doctor in consideration of public interest.

"It is the most appropriate method to protect public health and prevent people from taking advantage of the loopholes of legislation for seeking their own profits," said Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a member of the Executive Council.

This announcement came after Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said in a press conference on Tuesday morning that the government will soon “make a decision” on how to deal with the exemption certificates in accordance with the law.

A total of seven doctors were arrested across the city in the past month for allegedly issuing vaccine exemption certificates to patients without actually assessing their condition with a maximum price of HK$5,000.

After this, the government announced to nullify the over 20,000 documents while an experienced judicial review applicant Kwok Cheuk-kin filed to the city’s High Court to challenge the government’s decision.

Last Friday, the High Court ruled Kwok’s triumphed in this legal bid and judged Lo Chung-mau, the Secretary for Health, has no legal powers to invalidate vaccine exemptions sold by the arrested doctors, after which Lee said last Saturday the involved vaccine waivers would be thoroughly studied by the Department of Justice.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
Close
0:00
0:00
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Goldman Sachs cuts outlook for European bank debt over Credit Suisse crisis
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
The US government has charged Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with leading a $1 billion fraud scheme that cheated thousands of followers out of their money.
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
The BBC problem about China
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
"Will Fly Wherever International Law Allows": US Warns Russia After Drone Incident
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
Announcing GPT-4
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
China is calling out the US, UK, and Australia on their submarine pact, claiming they are going further down a dangerous road
A brief banking situation report
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
'No relation to the American SVB': India's SVC Bank acts to calm depositors amid brand name confusion.
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
Saudi Arabia has announced a major breakthrough in diplomacy with Iran after two years of intense talks
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Fitness scam
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Barcelona is feeling the heat as they face corruption charges over payments to former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
Silicon Valley Bank: Struggles Threaten Tech Startup Ecosystem"
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Old clip of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sinkhole is going viral
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
2 universities in Hong Kong embrace use of ChatGPT, other AI tools
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
Missing Chinese banker was working to set up Singapore family office
Hong Kong ditches Covid mask mandate after 945 days
Xi Jinping and His Wife Meet with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk
How do stolen goods end up on Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace?
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Is Gold the Ultimate Safe Haven Asset in Times of Uncertainty?
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
Hello. Here is our news digest from London.
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
When it comes to Tesla vs Lamborghini, an empty vessel makes more noise
European MP Clare Daly condemns US attack on Nord Stream
Former U.S. President Carter will spend his remaining time at home and receive hospice care instead of medication
North Korea test-fires an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan west of Hokkaido
×