Chiropractors' Council in Asia Holds First Meeting

By Editorial Staff

HONG KONG -- The founding of the Chiropractors' Council in Hong Kong in February of this year was the result of 25 years of struggle between the chiropractic profession and the medical establishment in Hong Kong (see "DCs Gain Legislative Recognition in Hong Kong" in the March 12, 1993 issue of "DC"). The Council is comprised of 10 members appointed by Hong Kong's Governor, the Honorable Chris Patten.

The Council held its first meeting October 4th, selecting a chairman and its first two committees.

Although the 10-member Chiropractors' Council of Hong Kong is officially a government body and has strong input from the medical profession, the power is distributed between five chiropractors, four medical representatives, (one remains to be selected), and one lay professional. Bruce Vaughn, DC, president of the Hong Kong chiropractors' Association (HKCA) and World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) Councillor for Asia, became the first chairman of the Council. Other chiropractic members are Drs. Ted Ong; Thomas Wong, secretary of the HKCA; Stephen Woo, past president of the HKCA; and David Fai.

The nonchiropractic Council members are Dr. Saw, deputy director of health in Hong Kong; Dr. Lee, vice president of the Hong Kong Medical Association; Mr. Desari, occupational therapist and senior lecturer at the Polytechnic, in charge of occupational and physical therapy; and Mr. Li, an accountant.

The next order of business for the Council was the establishment of two crucial committees: Registration, and Code of Practice. The Registration Committee's task is to establish requirements and procedures for the registration of chiropractors in Hong Kong. Dr. David Fai was elected chairman of this committee. The Code of Practice Committee's responsibility is to establish a code and scope of practice document for chiropractors in Hong Kong. The HKCA has been working on this issue for some time now, and a number of examples from different countries have been selected for scrutiny. Dr. Thomas Wong was elected chairman of the Code of Practice Committee. Committee members will be elected from both the Council and from within the chiropractic profession.

There are currently 39 chiropractors eligible for registration living in Hong Kong, a significant increase from a year ago, according to Dr. Vaughan. He stated that the Council's goal is to elevate the registration requirements for Hong Kong chiropractors to the same level with those of the US and other countries. Dr. Vaughan estimated that it would take approximately a year to set up official registration for chiropractors here.