Veteran Hong Kong businessman Henry Fan surprise pick to take charge of city’s ailing Hospital Authority
- Former Citic managing director to replace Professor John Leong as chairman in December after only joining authority last year
- Fan is an adviser to city’s leader Carrie Lam and older brother of executive councillor Fanny Law
Former executive councillor and veteran businessman Henry Fan Hung-ling will take charge of Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority in December, the Post has learned.
Fan’s appointment, which will be officially announced on Thursday, is something of a surprise as he was only appointed a member of the authority in December 2018, and has no medical background.
“Health care is one of the deep-rooted problems in Hong Kong. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor wants Fan to take a fresh look at it from a new perspective,” a source said.
Another source said the 71-year-old would succeed Professor John Leong Chi-yan, a renowned doctor and scientist, as authority chairman on December 1.
On Tuesday, Fan declined to comment on whether he would take up the post. The authority declined to comment on the appointment, beyond noting that the decision lay with the chief executive.