Liaison Office protests 'normal'

It's normal for Hong Kong people to express their aspirations through protests at the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR, Hao Tiechuan, the office's director general of publicity, culture and sports, said Tuesday - as long as they don't break the law.

Speaking on a radio talk show Tuesday, Hao said Hong Kong media tend to report negative news about the mainland.

This helps propel improvements and progress on the mainland, but, on the other hand, the criticism may cause misunderstanding among Hong Kong people who don't know the mainland very well, Hao said.

Agency violates tour guide rule

Initial investigation showed Tuesday Good Friendship, a tour agency involved in the scuffle between a tourist couple and a tour guide, had breached the "one group, one guide" regulation, according to Travel Industry Council.

Joseph Tung, the council's executive director, said the council has received a report from Good Friendship and the guide Lam Yu-yung.

More than one guide was deployed to take the group sightseeing and shopping, meaning Good Friendship will be compelled to provide another account in two weeks.

Another in court over minibonds

Another bank manager has appeared in court for allegedly misleading customers into buying Lehman Brother minibonds.

Tai Ching, a 39-year-old personal finance manager of the Bank of China (Hong Kong), was indicted on two counts of fraudulently or recklessly inducing others to invest money.

She denied the charges in the District Court Tuesday.

The prosecution said Tai persuaded a 57-year-old housewife to purchase HK$330,000 worth of the complicated, high-risk structured products, though the victim said she accepted only low-risk investments.

The prosecution also accuses Tai of urging a 69-year-old woman to buy HK$1 million worth of the minibonds, declaring that they bore high interest and were principal-protected.

Tourist charged in road deaths

A Hong Kong man involved in the fatal traffic accident in Jiangxi province will face criminal charges filed by local authorities.

The 54-year-old Hong Kong man, surnamed Chan, was believed to be sleep-deprived when driving a Toyota van on a trip to Sanqing Mountain on February 17.

The van lost control and plunged 70 meters down a gully. Four of the six people on board were killed and two, including Chan, were injured.

Local police said the investigation showed the accident was caused as a result of Chan's drowsy driving. He will be prosecuted according to the criminal law.

Public hospitals lack physicians

Hong Kong Public Doctors' Association estimated public hospitals are short of 10-15 percent of physicians to make facilities fully functional.

At a meeting Tuesday, So Kit-ying, the association's chairwoman, said physicians account for 40 percent of the workload in the public healthcare system. But many hospitals are having a hard time retaining physicians.

She urged the Hospital Authority to face the staff shortage, increase promotion opportunities and tackle the rising demand for medical care from the aging society.

China Daily

(HK Edition 03/02/2011 page1)