A former pro-democracy lawmaker has been struck off Hong Kong’s medical register following his conviction for conspiracy to subvert state power in the landmark “Hong Kong 47” national security case.
The Medical Council of Hong Kong ordered on Thursday that urologist Dr Kwok Ka-ki, 64, be removed from the General Register “indefinitely,” after a disciplinary panel found that his national security conviction had caused “damage” to the profession and that he “showed no remorse.”
The ruling is the first removal order by the council against a doctor convicted under the national security law, imposed by Beijing in 2020 following months of pro-democracy protests and unrest.
Kwok wrote on Facebook on Thursday that he “expected” the outcome, but added that his national security conviction did not result from “professional misconduct.”
‘Flagrant violation’
Kwok was not present and was not represented by a lawyer during a panel hearing on Thursday, according to a 15-page judgment.
The former lawmaker, who represented the medical sector between 2004 and 2008 and New Territories West between 2012 and 2020, had been included in the General Register since 1987 and in the Specialist Register’s urology section since 2004, according to the judgment.
The panel found Kwok guilty of a disciplinary charge after he was convicted of a national security offence as a registered physician. Kwok had a clear disciplinary record prior to the hearing, the judgment noted.
“We are particularly concerned about the damage that [Kwok’s] flagrant violation of the [national security law] had done [to] public confidence in the medical profession,” the five-member panel wrote.
Kwok’s mitigation plea failed to demonstrate his remorse or show that he had reflected on his conviction, the judgment also said.
Kwok was quoted in the judgment as telling the panel that: “[his] conviction was not related to [his] clinical practice. Basically, the charge arose from [his] political commitment as a member of the Legislative Council in the participation in the primary election in 2020. There was no complaint [about his] integrity, and no dishonesty and negligence to [his] duties as a doctor.”
The panel said Kwok’s plea showed that he was “still putting his political agenda [at] the forefront.”
The judgment added: “In his subsequent correspondence with the Secretary [of the council], [Kwok] went so far as to [say] that ‘It is an uphill battle for me to face all these challenges in preparing for the inquiry. While I am facing an authority with resources and manpower, I am here alone. I am always ‘an egg in front of a high wall.’
“This illustrates to us that the Defendant has showed no remorse and let alone been rehabilitated.”
‘Excel’
In his Facebook post, written in Chinese, Kwok said he will keep helping people despite being stripped of his doctor qualification and urged supporters not to be frustrated.
“Nowadays, we know that all kinds of absurd things could happen. I don’t take it as a surprise, and people don’t need to be sad or frustrated,” he said. “We must live well and excel at what we can still do.”
Claudia Mo, a co-defendant in the “Hong Kong 47” case, expressed disbelief at the council’s decision in a Facebook post on Friday, saying: “Expected, but still …”
Kwok and Mo were sentenced to four years and two months in prison after they pleaded guilty to the offence.
They were released from prison in April last year, alongside former pro-democracy lawmakers Gary Fan and Jeremy Tam. The four were the first defendants to complete their jail terms in the case.
The “Hong Kong 47” case centred on an unofficial primary election held in July 2020 that aimed to help the pro-democracy camp win a controlling majority in the legislature.
The judges ruled that the defendants had planned to use their constitutional powers to veto the government budget, ultimately forcing the resignation of the chief executive and a government shutdown.
This, the judges ruled, would have resulted in a “constitutional crisis.”
