Health & Environment

Budget 2023: Government allocates HK$7 billion to greener city efforts
- 2023-02-22
- Health & Environment
- By: James Ezekiel Kalaw MODESTOEdited by: Mollie Hib
- 2023-02-22
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced HK$7 billion towards building a greener Hong Kong this morning. The environmental proposals include a focus on decarbonisation, electric vehicles, food waste and countryside conservation. The Green City project, introduced in last year’s budget, will further be developed by continuing the city’s mission to be carbon neutral by 2050. Chan said that the government aims to reduce Hong Kong’s carbon emissions by 50% before 2035. The government will also form the Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development to advise on decarbonisation strategies, Chan said. Chan said that the government will continue “building a liveable city” through additional plans, like introducing electric transportation, enlarging the scope of food waste collection points and funding countryside conservation and revitalisation projects. However, despite this year’s proposals by the government, some environmentalists remain critical of the plans. Hong Kong Biodiversity Museum Director, Benoit Guenard, 42, said that stimulating people’s interest in being environmentally conscious is important to get individuals more involved in protecting the environment. Guenard also said that the government should allocate more funding towards developing institutions, such as public museums. “I think it’s a pity that Hong Kong has not reached that level of realising how valuable these kinds of institutions are,” he said. The museum director said that government funding towards the HKBM only occurred two years ago since its opening in 2014 in Pok Fu Lam. ”It is important to let people foster an understanding of being environmentally aware,” said Stephen Ng Chung-on, 64, senior manager of Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change. “Public education is always the key to improving people’s understanding of many things,” said Ng. “It can be easy to propose and make projects because the government has the capability. But the people must also grasp what is the …

Budget Plan 2023: health care spending reduced; no more free COVID tests
- 2023-02-22
- Health & Environment
- By: Yiyang LI、Hanzhi YANGEdited by: Tsz Yin HO
- 2023-02-22
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po will cut the health care expenditure amid the easing of COVID-19 regulations and an overall financial deficit. The Hong Kong government will lower the healthcare budget to HK$104.4 billion, nearly 35% less than last year, still accounting for 19% of government spending. The funding will be mainly used to improve public medical services, such as temporary cancer services, along with building more beds and operating rooms for public hospitals. As the government has dropped all COVID policies, including mandatory PCR test requirements, free testing services will be cancelled from March.1. Only paid testing services will remain. “Very few people come for tests and our workload is much lighter,” said Tong Man-fa, 37, who works for a community testing centre in Yau Ma Tei. A paid test costs HK$240 for express service and HK$150 for standard service; the government has covered these costs since they began. “I think it’s time to shut down this place, and I return to my department,” Tong added. “The decrease in spending is a reasonable move,” said Dr Ada Fong, a doctor of Internal Medicine at Kwong Wah Hospital. She said the number of hospital admissions last year was significantly higher than this year and most of those patients were seeking COVID treatment. “Despite the reduction in spending, the quality of overall medical service should still remain,” Fong said. Chan also said in the budget that the government will invest more in strengthening televisual diagnosis to lower the queuing time. Dr Fong said that it may not be very effective as most diseases require physical checks and hospital care. “I don’t feel it’s more useful than hiring more medical staff,” Fong said.