Tung Wah Group of Hospitals

Since its establishment in 1870, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs) has been a pivotal part of the Hong Kong society for over 150 years, relentlessly upholding its mission “To heal the sick and to relieve the distressed; to care for the elderly and to rehabilitate the disabled; to promote education and to nurture the youngsters; and to raise the infants and to guide the youth”. Striving to serve the community, TWGHs has gradually evolved to meet the ever-changing needs of the society and public by optimising and expanding its services. The Inauguration Ceremony of the TWGHs Board of Directors 2021/2022 was held at the Assembly Hall of Tung Wah Hospital on 16 April 2021, with the Hon. TSUI Ying Wai, Caspar, JP, Secretary for Home Affairs officiating at the Ceremony. It marked the new Board of Directors’ commitment and dedication to leading TWGHs towards a bright future on the philanthropic road.

The Hon. TSUI Ying Wai, Caspar, JP, Secretary for Home Affairs, presented testimonials to the retiring Board Members and Advisers. He also administered the oath of the 2021/2022 Board Members including Mr. TAM Chun Kwok, Kazaf, the Chairman, Mr. MA Ching Yeung, Philip, the 1st Vice-Chairman, Mr. WAI Ho Man, Herman, the 2nd Vice-Chairman, Ms. TANG Ming Wai, Mandy, the 3rd Vice-Chairman, Mr. HO Yau Kai, Orlando, the 4th Vice-Chairman, Mr. TSENG Hing Yip, York, the 5th Vice-Chairman, as well as Mr. LEE Chak Hol, Michael, Mrs. MAK TANG Wai Man, Vivian, Mrs. NG CHENG Nga Yu, Emmi, Dr. CHUANG Tze Cheung, Christopher, Ms. CHOI Ka Yee, Crystal, Ms. CHEUNG Hing Ling, Fay, Mr. Frankie WONG, Mr. Joseph LIN, Ms. Jennifer YEUNG, Mr. Jonathan NG, Mr. ZHENG Jiansheng, Sam, Miss Kiki LIU, Mr. CHEN Peng Yu, Vincent and Mr. Leo YANG, the Directors.

Speaking at the Ceremony, Mr. TAM Chun Kwok, Kazaf, the Chairman, said that TWGHs has walked alongside the city for over 150 years. Its medical and health, education, community and traditional services have developed rapidly to fulfil the needs of society. At present, the total number of service centres has increased to 350, while the total recurrent expenditure of TWGHs will exceed HK$10.6 billion in the coming year. A number of large-scale construction projects are in the planning or implementation phases, and the Board vows to adopt a cautious financial strategy in terms of execution, and strives to monitor the Group’s operations through effective administrative measures to reinforce its commitment to fulfil the needs of society.

TWGHs has come a long way from a charity Chinese hospital offering free medicine and medical consultation. To keep up with the trends of modernisation and scientification of Chinese medicine, TWGHs will continue to improve its Chinese medical services, including expanding the Tung Wah Hospital – HKU Clinical Centre for Teaching and Research in Chinese Medicine and relocating the Chinese medicine outpatient clinic of Tung Wah Hospital. Furthermore, Tung Wah Hospital’s Chinese medicine service unit and the TWGHs Wong Tai Sin Hospital’s Clinical Centre for Teaching and Research in Chinese Medicine will be renovated and refitted to step up facilities. The redevelopment of Kwong Wah Hospital is also in full swing and there will be space to accommodate clinical services requiring relocation due to redevelopment. The whole redevelopment project is expected to finish in 2026. Besides, the newly established TWGHs Medical Centre (North Point) will expand in phases to provide more comprehensive diagnostic and specialist services to the public.

The 2019 pandemic outbreak has posed unprecedented challenges to the world. In view of this, TWGHs launched several phases of anti-epidemic community support subsidy programmes to assist the Hong Kong public. Alongside with the Government’s announcement of the “COVID Vaccination Programme”, TWGHs pledges to give its full support to the programme and strives to take part in protecting citizens’ health.

TWGHs is committed to achieving the goal of whole person education and will continue to operate new schools to ensure that ideal learning environments are available to students. In primary education, TWGHs Shui Chuen O Primary School operating in temporary premises has been officially renamed TWGHs Tsoi Wing Sing Primary School. Superstructure construction of the permanent campus is underway and the whole campus is expected to be ready for use in 2022. Furthermore, with the mission of “Rooted in Chinese culture, grooming talent for the world”, TWGHs Tseng Hin Pei Primary School, located at Queen’s Hill, Fanling, is scheduled to open its doors in September 2021 and offers a resourceful environment for students to learn, explore and grow. It strives to inspire students in diverse ways, foster positive mindsets and holistic growth. In special education, the Group invested in the campus architectural design of two special schools on Renfrew Road in Kowloon Tong. Construction of the campuses is expected to finish in 2026. Meanwhile, TWGHs has got the approval from the Education Bureau to utilise a shuttered campus in Mongkok as a temporary campus for a special school. The school will be named TWGHs Chi-Li Pao School and it can help meet the urgent need for special education.

Mr. TAM Chun Kwok, Kazaf, the Chairman, continued, TWGHs places great emphasis on giving students an enriching learning experience. National identity education, STEAM education, themed visits and exchange, as well as career education and moral education will continue to be promoted. The aim is to broaden perspectives, strengthen the sense of national identity, equip students with a diverse assortment of skills, wisdoms and worldviews, so as to better prepare them for the opportunities and challenges ahead. It is hoped that the global pandemic will come to an end soon and exchange activities can be resumed shortly.

In tertiary education, Tung Wah College announced the appointment of Professor Sally CHAN as the 3rd president in early 2021. As a world renowned scholar in nursing education with a unique relationship with Tung Wah College, Prof. CHAN had been a visiting scholar at the College since 2014. It is believed that she will honour the College’s foundation built over the last decade and take it to even greater academic heights.

The Group develops comprehensive community services of a high quality guided by its commitment to “Quality Care, Holistic Development”, and is intimately tied to every aspect of life of Hong Kong people. To respond to the challenges of a rapidly ageing population, TWGHs actively proceeds with the redevelopment of homes in elderly services. The Group completed the technical feasibility study of the redevelopment of the TWGHs Jockey Club Care and Attention Home for the Elderly. Meanwhile, it is planning for the redevelopment of the TWGHs Pao Siu Loong Care and Attention Home with the objective of increasing service type and quota to meet the evolving needs of the frail and the elderly. With the objective of sustainable development and social harmony, TWGHs has been actively promoting the development of social enterprises in recent years to offer training and employment opportunities to the underprivileged and the disabled. In the coming year, there will be a focus on improving the sale system, market development, and the consignment and pick-up networks of iBakery and CookEasy, so as to extend the reach of quality products to the market. Soft meal products will also be launched to bring tasty and nutritious meals to seniors with swallowing difficulty.

Mr. TAM Chun Kwok, Kazaf, the Chairman, said, TWGHs will carry on its work in youth development and cultivation. The Hollywood Road Youth Hostel in Sheung Wan received support from the Panel on Home Affairs in January and has successfully undergone assessment from the Public Works Subcommittee in April this year. It is hoped that funding will come through soon so that the facility can provide affordable accommodation to employed young people. At the same time, the Group is building a Holistic Centre for Youth Development in San Po Kong which is scheduled for initial operations in 2023. When fully functional, the Centre will offer comprehensive facilities for art and culture, as well as an assortment of other activities and services. In addition, the “We Venture” project sponsored by the Youth Development Fund launched YEE (Youth.Entrepreneurship.Empowerment) project, a two-year scheme that assists young people aged 18 to 40 to start businesses in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area to overcome challenges of entrepreneurship through various channels such as entrepreneurship funds, business development workshops, and legal, accounting and marketing consultancy services. The Group has also taken the lead to subscribe to the Government’s “Restored Landfill Revitalisation Funding Scheme” by building a camp ground and E-Co Village on the Tseung Kwan O Stage I Landfill. It is hoped to turn the landfill into a venue for educating about environmental protection, and integrating family, community and the environment while providing multifarious leisure facilities. The scheme is expected to finish in 2023.

Mr. TAM Chun Kwok, Kazaf, the Chairman, continued, TWGHs has a trove of cultural assets that are valued. Besides provision of traditional services to the community, the Group strives to promote traditional Chinese culture by integrating it into everyone’s lives. TWGHs Coffin Home, having made Hong Kong’s declared monuments list, will transform its main hall into an education centre on Tung Wah’s century-long bone repatriation service, which will also be open to public. The first-ever “TWGHs Ginny Man Cultural and Creative Prize” is organised to encourage young people and students to make creative products. The Group will assist in the mass production, sales and marketing of the winners’ products to be sold at TWGHs MM² Café. Meanwhile, the International Funeral Parlour will undergo an 18-month renovation to step up its facilities in order to provide better service to the public in the future. As a charity with the longest history in Hong Kong, full-scale distribution of the Chinese edition of Hand-in-Hand for Benevolence: 150 Years of History of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals of Hong Kong will proceed soon. Promotion will begin shortly as well as the editorial work on the English edition. Besides, the Group will collaborate again with the Hong Kong Public Libraries System to hold three seminar series and touring exhibitions to promote Tung Wah’s history and culture. More than 60 files of historical archives from TWGHs Wong Tai Sin Hospital will be conserved and preserved to enhance their historical status and use to society. The Group will also embark on a research project with the History Department of Hong Kong Baptist University on health professionals of Kwong Wah Hospital and the history of everyday life in Hong Kong over the past century. The project will conduct a preliminary exploration into the history of TWGHs’ nursing education by doing oral history interviews with subjects who were teachers or students of the Kwong Wah Hospital Nursing School between 1960 and 1990. Last but not least, TWGHs were invited by the Curriculum Development Institute of the Education Bureau to collaborate over the development of new teaching materials for Chinese history for secondary schools, and to organise seminars and training for teachers in Hong Kong to enhance their understanding towards the history of Hong Kong and TWGHs.

Mr. TAM Chun Kwok, Kazaf, the Chairman, stated, TWGHs has advanced bravely for 150 years, and have taken the first steps towards the next 150. Heartfelt gratitude is expressed to thank for the guidance of the HKSAR government and the support of benefactors. Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, the Group had never ceased its charity work. TWGHs continued to meet with HKSAR government officials and partner organisations to discuss and devise the best way forward when the epidemic abates and to keep flourishing the charity work. Looking forward, Mr. TAM Chun Kwok, Kazaf, the Chairman, emphasised that TWGHs is a self-improving organisation, the Board of Directors and all staff will work together to attain this year’s governance motto “Benevolence and Virtuous Deeds to the Benefit of All” and carry forward the long-standing charitable work of TWGHs for the benefits of the Hong Kong community.

For details of the biography of 2021/2022 Board Members, please visit
http://www.tungwah.org.hk/en/about/corporate-governance/board-of-directors/

Since its establishment in 1870, TWGHs has been all along upholding its mission “To heal the sick and to relieve the distressed; to care for the elderly and to rehabilitate the disabled; to promote education and to nurture the youngsters; and to raise the infant and to guide the youth.” Nowadays, TWGHs is the largest charitable organisation with the longest history in Hong Kong. For more than one and a half centuries, TWGHs has persistently pioneered and marked significant milestones in medical and health, education, community, historical and cultural heritage, and traditional services to fulfill the needs of the society and to provide the public with high quality services at low rates or for free. Today, TWGHs operates 350 services units, including 5 hospitals and 36 Chinese and Western medicine services units, 58 education services units, 227 community services units that cover elderly, youth and family, rehabilitation, social enterprises and social innovation services, 2 records and heritage service units, namely, Tung Wah Museum and TWGHs Maisy Ho Archives and Relics Centre that aim to protect and preserve local traditional culture and history, as well as 22 traditional service units, offering funeral and burial services, and temple and ritualistic services.

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Photo 1: Mr. TAM Chun Kwok, Kazaf, (first row, right 3), Chairman of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (2021/2022), and his fellow Members of the Board taking the oath of office.

Photo 2: Ms. Ginny MAN (Left), Chairman of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (2020/2021), handed over the title deeds and seals to Mr. TAM Chun Kwok, Kazaf, (Right), Chairman of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (2021/2022).

Photo 3: Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Board of Directors 2021/2022