Serve people
Chan vows to address medical, housing woes
Lawmaker-elect Rebecca Chan Hoi-yan on Monday pledged to make people’s livelihoods a top priority — with particular emphasis on medical and housing issues.
Chan made the remarks to the media before she went to Kowloon City to thank voters for supporting her in Sunday’s Legislative Council Kowloon West geographical constituency by-election.
Chan, a former journalist, won 106,457 votes and secured the seat vacated by disqualified lawmaker Lau Siu-lai, and will be sworn in at Wednesday’s LegCo meeting.
Chan noted that after assuming office, she would submit proposals to tackle problems relating to people’s livelihoods — so voices of the powerless in society could be better heard.
“I will carry out the necessary work in accordance with my manifesto and meet my commitments once I assume office,” said Chan.
Her election manifesto laid out that she will focus on sorting out the housing problem, especially for the grassroots, and relieving the pressure on public healthcare services.
In addressing the housing issue, she proposed increasing the number of transitional houses, and providing rental subsidies to people who have been on the queue for public rental housing for more than three years.
Chan, previously a political assistant to former secretary for food and health Ko Wingman, also proposed expanding the capacity of specialist and general out-patient clinics, as well as offering medical vouchers worth HK$3,000 annually to senior residents aged 60 or above. Under the current practice, senior citizens aged 65 or above are entitled to a HK$2,000 medical voucher each year.
Chan’s previous working experience and her image as a relatively young candidate helped her garner numerous voters, according to her supporters.
Member of Kowloon City District Council Terence Siu Tin-hung, 27, volunteered to help Chan in the by-election due to her “rich working experience” in the media and government.
Siu hopes Chan will do more work to shorten the waiting time for public healthcare services and improve environmental and sanitation problems in the district.
“I believe Chan will bring new energy to LegCo meetings rather than filibusters; she can put forward pragmatic suggestions to the government,” said Siu.
Another Chan supporter, a resident in Yau Ma Tai and a journalist surnamed Ho, said she has faith in Chan. This is because she had worked for the government and knew about pressing issues.
Concerned about a shortage of public healthcare resources, Ho said she hopes Chan will ask the government to increase spending in this area to allow the grassroots easier access to public medical services.
“Numerous patients have been waiting for too long — especially for specialist services,” Ho stressed.
Li Hou-ling, 61, a booth owner in Kowloon City market, said she hoped the young lawmaker-elect could help improve healthcare for disadvantaged groups, including elderly people and cancer patients.
Chan, 41, was the youngest of the five by-election candidates. After she takes the oath to assume office, she will be the youngest lawmaker in the current-term LegCo.