Premier Wen Jiabao met with World Health Organization (WHO) Secretary-General Dr Margaret Chan in Zhongnanhai, seat of the central government, in Beijing on Tuesday. The premier praised Dr Chan for her excellent job as head of the international health body in the past four years. In particular, he cited the successful fight against the (A)H5N1 outbreak and improvement of the WHO's management standard and leadership. He also expressed his support for Dr Chan's bid for another term as head of the UN body.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Donald Tsang also said the SAR government wholeheartedly supports Chan for another four years at the helm of the WHO, saying Hong Kong is proud of her being nominated for a second term as WHO secretary-general.

Dr Chan is no stranger to Hong Kong residents. She was head of the Health Bureau when the dreaded "bird flu" struck Hong Kong. She was quoted as saying "I eat chicken everyday" in the early days of the outbreak. The virus soon spread and claimed human lives, forcing the government to cull tens of thousands of chickens when a general phobia toward poultry products gripped the city.

Some local media took Chan's words as evidence of incompetence and ridiculed her for days on end in total disregard of the fact that the whole world was unaware of the existence of (A)H5N1 the mutant virus when it claimed its first human victim in Hong Kong. Fortunately Hong Kong's outstanding role in identifying the culprit of the pandemic and successfully suppressing its spread was widely recognized and won sincere applause from around the world. It also earned glowing praise from the WHO for Dr Chan's leadership in that battle.

She went on to become the first Chinese secretary-general of WHO, and a Chinese woman no less, an achievement for which all her compatriots and fellow Hongkongers in particular are extremely proud.

This is a translation excerpted from a Ta Kung Pao editorial published on July 13.

(HK Edition 07/14/2011 page3)