Rare Disease Groups Call For More Legal Protection
"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("
"); jQuery(document).ready(function() { jwplayer.key='EKOtdBrvhiKxeOU807UIF56TaHWapYjKnFiG7ipl3gw='; var playerInstance = jwplayer("jquery_jwplayer_1"); playerInstance.setup({ file: "https://newsstatic.rthk.hk/audios/mfile_1448296_1_20190318171013.mp3", skin: { url: location.href.split('/', 4).join('/') + '/jwplayer/skin/rthk/five.css', name: 'five' }, hlshtml: true, width: "100%", height: 30, wmode: 'transparent', primary: navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Trident")>-1 ? "flash" : "html5", events: { onPlay: function(event) { dcsMultiTrack('DCS.dcsuri', 'https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1448296-20190318.mp3', 'WT.ti', ' Audio at newsfeed', 'WT.cg_n', '#rthknews', 'WT.cg_s', 'Multimedia','WT.es','https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1448296-20190318.htm', 'DCS.dcsqry', '' ); } } }); }); });
2019-03-18 HKT 17:24
Share this story
Tsang Kin-ping speaks to RTHK's Candice Wong
Groups representing people with rare diseases have staged a protest outside the government's headquarters warning that Hong Kong is deviating from international practice by not having specific laws in place to support such patients.
Labour Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung is trying to secure legislation to guarantee that those with rare illnesses get the treatment and drugs they need, but officials say it is unnecessary.
Tsang Kin-ping, the president of the Hong Kong Alliance for Rare Diseases, was at the protest on Monday and told RTHK's Candice Wong that the government has left them no choice but to support the proposed legislation.
Tsang said many countries have an official definition of what constitutes a rare disease, adding that in recent years, the mainland announced 121 rare diseases and took measures to address the issue.
He told RTHK's Candice Wong that the World Health Organisation has also urged governments to treat rare diseases as a top-priority issue in public healthcare, but the Hong Kong government is “seriously lagging behind”.
OCBC Plans Hong Kong Wealth Expansion With Up To 50 New Bankers
OCBC is expending its wealth management team in Hong Kong by 30% this year to meet growing regional demand for investme... Read more
Hana Financial To Acquire US$669M Stake In Dunamu, Deepening Crypto Push
Hana Financial Group has agreed to acquire a 6.55% stake in digital asset operator Dunamu. The transaction is valued at... Read more
Reap And TerraPay Partner To Expand Cross-Border Payouts Via Local Payment Rails
Reap has partnered with TerraPay to expand its cross-border payout network using domestic clearing systems. The integra... Read more
Tencent Fintech And Cloud Services Lift Q1 2026 Revenue 9% To US$8.68 Billion
Tencent reported a 9% increase in revenue from its fintech and business services division for the first quarter of 2026... Read more
Ant Group Profit Falls An Estimated 79% As AI And Payments Spending Rises
Ant Group saw an estimated 79% decline in quarterly profit as the company accelerates its spending on AI, large languag... Read more
Alibabas Cloud Revenue Jumps 40% As AI Investments Pressure Profitability
Alibaba Group has released its financial results for the quarter and fiscal year ending 31 March 2026, reporting a 3% a... Read more