Lawmakers said yesterday they have passed a motion calling on the government to set up an independent commission to "seek the truth" behind its handling of the SARS outbreak and to find out who, if anyone, should be held responsible.
In a rare move, pro-Beijing legislators, who usually support the government, backed the motion moved on Friday by Yeung Sum, head of the territory's biggest opposition party.
Critics have blasted officials for reacting too slowly to the outbreak and Hong Kong's political leader, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, appointed a panel of international experts on Wednesday to review the government's response and find ways to better prepare for future disease outbreaks.
But legislators questioned whether it was appropriate for Dr. Yeoh Eng-kiong, the Hong Kong health secretary, to head the panel and demanded an independent commission be set up to look into the issue.
"We think the experts' panel is not independent. How can Yeoh Eng-kiong review whether he should be held responsible himself?" independent lawmaker, Dr. Lo Wing-lok, who represents the medical sector, said by telephone yesterday.
"He clearly has a conflict of interest. We can't accept him to chair the panel," said Yeung, chairman of the Democratic Party.
"We think an independent committee is needed to seek the truth. Apart from reviewing the incident, we need to find out who should take responsibility," he said.
Tung had said the panel -- with experts from Britain, the US, Australia, Hong Kong and China -- will complete its report by September.
Yeung said they are calling for an independent committee to be established in October.
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
HAZARDOUS CONDITION: The typhoon’s sheer size, with winds extending 443km from its center, slowed down the ability of responders to help communities, an official said The US Coast Guard was searching for six people after losing contact with their disabled boat off the coast of Guam following Typhoon Sinlaku. The crew of the 44m dry cargo vessel, the US-registered Mariana, on Wednesday notified the coast guard that the boat had lost its starboard engine and needed assistance, Petty Officer 3rd Class Avery Tibbets said yesterday. The coast guard set up a one-hour communication schedule with the vessel, but lost contact on Thursday. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft was launched to search for the six people on board, but it had to return to Guam because of
RSS