Exclusive | Non-government charity work in belt and road countries easier as opposition won’t play politics, says CY Leung from his own NGO’s experience doing eye operations
- Former leader Leung Chun-ying reveals foundation he chairs ‘overwhelmed’ by city students wanting to volunteer for public health work in belt and road countries
- Work by such non-profits has not been met with misgivings from those nations’ politicians, who otherwise often protest against foreign government efforts, he says
A former Hong Kong leader involved in non-governmental work has said doing volunteer projects in belt and road countries can be smoother when led by non-profit groups rather than the government as it can deter opposition players in such places from getting in the way.
In an exclusive interview with the Post, Leung Chun-ying also revealed that GX Foundation, an organisation he chairs that aims to undertake public health missions in countries spanning Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, had been “overwhelmed” by Hong Kong university students wanting to volunteer in its work.
The charity, with eight truck-towed mobile surgical units as well as mainland Chinese medical professionals, coordinators and volunteers from Hong Kong, has pledged to perform 37,500 free cataract operations in Laos, Cambodia, Djibouti, Senegal and Mauritania before 2027.
Even though the foundation’s board comprises mostly representatives from Chinese state-owned enterprises, Leung said their work had not been met with misgivings from local politicians, who would otherwise often protest against efforts spearheaded by foreign government agencies.
“There’s a distinction between the government doing it and an NGO doing it,” Leung said.
“Being the opposition [in the other countries], [they’d] ... say, ‘hey, the Hong Kong government or the Chinese government is doing this for political purposes’.”
“We don’t talk politics,” said Leung, who is also a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the nation’s top political advisory body. “We don’t want anything bad. We don’t look to signing a trade treaty with the host country. And we’re there just for humanitarian purposes. Much easier.”
