Former Medical Association president Louis Shih Tai-cho has claimed that he was forced to resign from his post on Saturday due to pressure from the Association’s governing council.
Shih said that the council was unhappy after he bypassed the board to publicly express his desire for the seven Medical Council of Hong Kong seats held by the Association to be opened up for direct voting by members, RTHK reported.
“I hope that my resignation can convince the Medical Association to hold fair and democratic elections for our 9,000 members with regards to the seven council seats,” he said on Tuesday.
Shih claimed that Dr. Choi Kin and other members of the council disagreed with his proposal and asked him to resign. Choi denied Shih’s allegations, stating that he was simply quoting the opinions of other board members.
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The Medical Association council called an emergency meeting on Monday, announcing afterwards that Shih’s vacated post would be left vacant, with vice-presidents Dr. Alvin Chan Yee-sing and Dr. JP Chow Pak-chin acting as president for the time being, Stand News reported.
Currently the seven seats occupied by the Medical Association in the Medical Council of Hong Kong are selected by the association council from a list of nominees based on association members. Shih announced his proposal to select the candidates by voting last month.
