Our selection of the previous week’s most politically charged and controversial soundbites.
“I will be there at the 1 July march … as an individual … I have practised as a doctor for more than 40 years, I think what I am witnessing now is problematic.” – Gabriel Choi Kin (蔡堅)
Doctors sat in outside Legco in protest of a planned increase in representation of government-appointed lay persons to sit on the Medical Council of Hong Kong on June 29 as debate on the Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill resumed. Dr Gabriel Choi Kin, an outspoken and influential medical veteran, criticised the government for turning a deaf ear to the industry’s concerns.
“From the perspective of the Basic Law, they [pan-democrats] are also part of the establishment.” – Wang Guangya (王光亞)
Wang Guangya, Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council of China, answered in a media interview with a mainland Chinese outlet. Wang claimed that while pan-democrats might hold different views from Beijing, they are “patriotic” in general and are part of the establishment under the Basic Law.
“[The Link is] not a developer.” – Leung Chun-ying (梁振英)
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying suggested that the operation strategy of the Link REIT was not purely about profit maximisation as critics say, but also serving the needs of public housing estate tenants. Rumours spread as to whether Leung’s statement is a sign of impending repurchase of the company by the government. Link REIT replied by “welcome to buy us back”.
“If you want to pay tribute to the Big Buddha, just climb the 260 steps instead of riding in a plane!” – Po Lin Monastery’s official Facebook page (寶蓮寺 Facebook專頁)
The Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island mocked Shenzhen Airlines’ ZH9041 almost crashing into the Big Buddha before landing on the Hong Kong International Airport. A leaked conversation between the pilot and the control tower on liveatc.net revealed that the pilot might have ignored the landing instructions from the air traffic control tower. The Civil Aviation Department claimed that the incident did not pose a threat to public safety in response to public criticism for delayed news release, but later pledged to launch an investigation.
