Cheung Yu-yan Dismisses Nurse Job-Grabbing Complaint
AM730 · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A complaint aired on a radio phone-in after Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s Policy Address has triggered a fresh dispute over imported labour in Hong Kong’s healthcare sector. Executive Council member Tommy Cheung Yu-yan said the city’s shortage of nurses and other medical staff was beyond dispute, defended bringing in non-local healthcare workers, and questioned whether the caller was in fact a union member posing as an ordinary citizen.
Key Points
- A listener on the radio simulcast programme “Phone-in” after the Policy Address told John Lee Ka-chiu that too many mainland nurses were being imported and were “taking jobs” from locals.
- In a newspaper interview, Tommy Cheung Yu-yan said Hong Kong faces an undisputed shortage of healthcare workers and argued outside competition could help improve local medical services.
- Cheung said some doctors were highly paid while ordinary residents still struggled to get treatment, and he maintained imported nurses could add hospital manpower so patients could receive care.
- Recalling his mother’s earlier stay at Prince of Wales Hospital, Cheung said he heard nurses in a lift saying they were exhausted, while staffing at Shatin Hospital later appeared more adequate
- Cheung, who served 25 years as the catering-sector lawmaker, also said restaurants face labour shortages and argued imported workers bring employers no easy advantage because wage, housing and medical costs must be met.
Why It Matters
The remarks sharpen a politically sensitive debate over whether imported labour eases service bottlenecks or threatens local employment, especially in public healthcare and catering. Cheung’s accusation that the caller may have been acting for a union is also likely to deepen friction between business-aligned voices and labour groups over how Hong Kong should address chronic manpower shortages.