BC Election Countdown

Voters are going to have a hard time deciding who to lead BC

The writ has dropped in British Columbia with less than 30 days to go before the provincial election.

In the last few weeks we've had so much drama -- in particular BC United suddenly ending its campaign and leaving its candidates orphaned -- that it gives the Conservatives an even closer edge to the incumbent NDP.

BC United leader Kevin Falcon has numerous missteps, from insisting the BC Liberals had to change to BC United, and then many of his star candidates defecting to the Conservatives. They want to win a seat, not be the opposition, if that.

The Conservatives have come out from nowhere in the last two years with John Rustad taking the reins after he was kicked out of BC United for not believing in climate change.

Meanwhile the Premier David Eby has squandered two years in power, making promises and not following through in issues like drug addiction, healthcare and housing. Now the province has mandated that all cities must densify and some municipalities are fighting back because one model doesn't fit every situation.

The healthcare system is on life support, with many hospitals in remote areas having to close on the weekends because there aren't enough doctors. Heck there isn't even enough family doctors so that emergency wards won't be overflowing.

Eby probably wishes he had called a snap election two years ago while he was ahead...

So it's neck-and-neck between the Conservatives and the NDP, though candidates who were unceremoniously left behind by BC United are running as independents on shoestring budgets. If they are elected they could form a new party.

Meanwhile, where does this all leave the voters of British Columbia? Very little choice. Either way they have to hold their noses to vote the lesser of two evils. 

People should still vote anyway because the parties need to know where BC residents stand on issues. But before then, the parties really need to listen to them and present platforms that provide real solutions. We're beyond promises.

Woman Dies After Waiting 12 Hours at HK Hospital

Lo Chung-mau had visited the hospital in early February

There was a shocking report on Monday of a chronically ill patient who died in the washroom at the accident and emergency department of Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital after waiting 12 hours for medical care.

The case was reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and a coroner is following up.

Lo touring the A&E holding area of the hospital

On Sunday night, around 11pm, the patient arrived at the A&E with a cough and fever, but would have to wait until 11.15am the next day before getting a medical assessment.

She was said to be on stable condition at the time.

But at the appointed time, at 12.30pm and 1.45pm, staff tried to locate her and was finally found at 4.30pm and certified dead at 5.06pm following resuscitation efforts. 

"The hospital met the patient's family members on Monday to explain the details of the incident and expressed condolences to family members. The hospital will offer the necessary help to family members," a spokesman said.

The authority could not explain why the woman could not be found, and added the washrooms are cleaned seven times a day.

Nevertheless, the average wait time at a public hospital in Hong Kong more than eight hours.

When asked to comment about the tragic case, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau acknowledged the long wait times.

Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital

"Waiting for such a long time is not ideal. It is mainly due to the shortage of medical staff. The government has been taking various measures to address this issue, such as the recent Greater Bay Area Healthcare Talents Exchange Programme, which have received positive feedback and have helped our healthcare system," he said.

Lo is stating the obvious which is hardly empathetic. 

And this shortage of medical staff was happening well before the pandemic! And now thanks to the national security law, and the developments post 2019 protests, some 1,200 doctors have left Hong Kong in the last three years.

Surely Lo has to step up recruitment efforts for more medical staff than just stating the obvious...

Hong Kong's Declining Workforce, Student Populations

Hong Kong doesn't have enough workers across all fields

In yet another sign that Hong Kong's population is decreasing, last year the city lost over 94,000 employees, the biggest drop in the working population since records began almost 40 years ago.

The downward trend has been happening since the 2019 protests and in the last four years some 220,500 workers have left Hong Kong. The drop has been exacerbated by baby boomers retiring at 60 or 65, and experts say the combination of these factors will continue for the next year or two.

Many workers left Hong Kong or retired

"Many of the people who were born in the 1960s, when Hong Kong was experiencing the post-war baby boom, have reached retirement age. Meanwhile, the city is also seeing many emigrate to other regions and countries," said Professor Paul Yip Siu-fai, associate dean of the University of Hong Kong's faculty of social sciences.

As a result there are 73,150 job vacancies in the private sector, a jump of 20 percent from last year.

The education industry is in dire need of people with 7,750 positions that need to be filled, followed by transport and logistics at 7,390 jobs. Human health services is third at 6,510 vacancies.

Hong Kong's official population figures show the population has dropped for a third consecutive year to 7,333,200, a 1 percent drop from 2021.

Schools with few students may need to close

And because of the falling population, at least two primary schools may close because they don't have the minimum of 16 students to stay open.

Pupils and teachers have been leaving Hong Kong during the school year, and that coupled with the declining birth rate has led to fewer Primary One classes. The actual number of Primary One classes won't be known until the school year starts.

However, it is worth considering that with the government's push to develop the Northern Metropolis, the area near the border with the mainland, there could be an increase in students there. The plan is to turn this area into a residential and tech hub with some 900,000 flats and up to 650,000 jobs.

"If we axe schools now, when the population of the district goes up again in the future, there will not be enough schools," says Chu Wai-lam, vice-chairman of the New Territories School Heads Association.

Forewarning of John Lee's Reign

Lam met with Lee today before holding joint press conference

Today incumbent Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor met with her successor John Lee Ka-chiu and then they held a joint press conference, but no questions were allowed to be asked.

He made a statement saying he will work on developing Hong Kong's economy, but how if the border to the mainland remains pretty much shut, and the city's own quarantine regulations have deterred airlines from resuming their flights at Hong Kong International Airport.

How Lee is going to rejuvenate the city's economy remains a complete mystery as he only mentioned it in his platform with no detailed plans, and no other candidates running against him to challenge him.

Chung says Beijing has picked incapable leader

Perhaps even worse is that Hong Kong's next leader is not really qualified to even lead the city, according to Chung Kim-wah, the former deputy head of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute. 

"Lee has no experience in all the most important policy areas, such as economy, finance and foreign trade, or fields such as social welfare, housing, education, healthcare and labour. He has only been a cop," Chung said. "My fear is that under his rule, things will go wrong in every aspect of Hong Kong.

"Choosing Lee has chief executive shows Beijing doesn't mind picking a completely incapable person to do nothing but carry out its will," Chung added.

Ouch.

This morning's pro-Beijing newspapers harped on how Lee garnered 99 percent of the vote (not hard when you're the only candidate), but also it he was he who vetted every person in the almost 1,500-member Election Committee.

Ads praising Lee as the next HK leader

The same papers also had pages and pages of advertisements congratulating Lee on becoming the next Chief Executive. Some of the companies included Cathay Pacific, Swire, Jardine Matheson, KPMG, Deloitte, and PwC. Surely it was perhaps the best day in the past two years for the newspapers' advertising departments.

Another devastating assessment is from Chris Fraser, the former chair of the philosophy department at the University of Hong Kong. He described the election as "merely an elaborate public confirmation ceremony for a preordained appointee."

"To the millions who marched in the streets in 2019, the whole charade is little more than another waste of taxpayer money on a pointless ceremony demonstrating that the Hong Kong government will never be accountable to its own citizens," said Fraser, who is now at the University of Toronto.

All eyes are on Lee, who has given the appearance of jumping straight into work, with already an office and staff.