A group of prominent medical professionals, including leading infectious diseases expert Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, has called on Hong Kong’s finance minister to swiftly develop high-end medical services to attract wealthy international clients. Their proposal aims to ease the city’s budget deficit while leveraging its world-class healthcare sector.
In a letter addressed to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, the six experts urged “rapid and visionary action” to address the dual challenges of a ballooning fiscal deficit and increasing geopolitical tensions. The letter, published on Sunday, advocates for the creation of a “fusion” between high-end medical services, tourism, and wealth management, capitalizing on Hong Kong’s well-established healthcare reputation.
“In essence, the strategy is to combine premium medical services with Hong Kong’s global image to boost government revenue while simultaneously improving the local healthcare system,” the researchers wrote.
The group included Professor Yuen, renowned microbiologists Professor Jasper Chan Fuk-woo and Professor Siddharth Sridhar from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), as well as Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai and Professor Jin Dongyan from HKU’s medical and biomedical sciences departments. Dr. David Christopher Lung, an honorary clinical associate professor at HKU, also signed the letter. The experts emphasized that they were offering their views in a personal capacity.
The experts proposed offering more than just medical tourism, which has gained popularity in parts of Southeast Asia. They suggested attracting international patients for cutting-edge medical treatments, such as advanced drug therapies, targeted cancer treatments, and clinical trials. The initiative would also incorporate traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture and moxibustion, as well as cutting-edge technologies like stem cell therapies and AI-assisted diagnostics and therapeutics.
The experts cited well-established medical institutions such as the Mayo Clinic and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the United States as models for the proposed healthcare offerings in Hong Kong.
The letter further emphasized that such high-end services would complement the city’s ability to attract affluent visitors for world-class events like exhibitions, concerts, and award ceremonies. However, the experts warned that Hong Kong’s government must act now to invest in strategic technologies—such as diagnostic tests, antimicrobials, and vaccines—even though they might not generate significant profits in the short term. They argued that delaying investment in these areas could leave the city unable to afford them in the future.
The experts also urged the government to increase, rather than reduce, investment in higher education, talent development, and research as part of a long-term strategy for economic growth, even if officials are planning to cut spending in other areas.
In terms of logistics, the experts suggested that Hong Kong has sufficient medical talent and technological advancements to develop the proposed high-end medical services with minimal disruption to public healthcare. They recommended that authorities allocate funding for infrastructure, as well as land for private healthcare investors.
Drawing from Hong Kong’s history of dealing with health crises—such as the 1894 plague, the 1997 bird flu outbreak, the 2003 SARS epidemic, and the recent Covid-19 pandemic—the letter concluded, “While we hope for the best, we cannot afford to ignore past lessons. The time to address our fiscal challenges is now, and we must prepare for any future risks that may arise.”
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