Result of Election of Vice-President (Education & Examinations)

According to HKAM Regulation 9(4), no Fellow shall serve more than 12 years on the Council during his lifetime. The current Vice-President (Education & Examinations) will step down from office at the end of this year's AGM after having served the Council in different capacity over the past 12 years. An election of a successor for the remaining term of one year has been conducted earlier within Council in accordance with procedures stipulated in the Regulations. Only one nomination was received by the nomination deadline. The only nominee, LAU Chak Sing, is elected ipso facto and his term of office will begin immediately following the AGM on 16 December 2011 and will end at the conclusion of the AGM in 2012. Council decided to announce the result before the AGM.

Result of 2011 Council Election

There are 5 vacancies for the term 2011-2013. According to HKAM Regulation 8(7)(a), not more than one member of any single College may be elected to the Council under the category of elected Council members. There were 7 candidates from 5 Colleges. Three of them are from the same College. Under such circumstance, CHOW Chun Bong, HUNG Se Fong, LAU Chor Chiu and LAW Chi Lim are elected ipso facto. An election has been earlier conducted for KWOK Po Yin Samuel, PANG Ka Hung Peter and William Ignace WEI, who are all from the same College (College of Surgeons of Hong Kong). A total of 1,620 returned envelopes were received by the Academy by 5 pm on 7 November 2011. The ballot papers were opened and counted by the Auditor on 8 November 2011. Of the 1,620 returned ballots, 21 were regarded as invalid votes because of unpaid subscription by voter, blank paper, and voting for more than one candidate etc. Council endorsed the following results at its meeting on 17 November 2011 and decided to announce the results before the AGM.

The following Fellows are therefore elected and their term of office will begin immediately following the AGM on 16 December 2011 and will end at the conclusion of the AGM in 2013.

CHOW Chun Bong
HUNG Se Fong
LAU Chor Chiu
LAW Chi Lim
WEI William Ignace

Owing to an oversight, the membership of the Appeals Committee was omitted on pager 60 of the report:

Appeals Committee

We would like to apologize to the Chairman and members of the Committee. The corrected electronic version of the Annual Report can now be viewed at the Academy website: http://www.hkam.org.hk/publications/annualrep/2011/Annual_Report_2011.pdf.

Merry Christmas

The Academy wishes all Fellows a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. The Academy Secretariat will be closed at 1:00pm on 22 December 2011 (Winter Solstice).

The Academy Lounge on 3/F will be closed at 3:00 pm on 24 December 2011 for private function.

20th Anniversary Scientific Meeting cum HM Lui Memorial Fund 10th Anniversary Symposium, 10 December 2011

The HK College of Paediatricians will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary on 10 December 2011 (Saturday). There will be a whole-day Scientific Meeting cum HM Lui Memorial Fund 10th Anniversary Symposium. The College is very privileged to have eminent overseas speakers from the UK, Mainland, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and local speakers to talk on recent advances in paediatrics. For the scientific program, please refer to the link (http://www.paediatrician.org.hk/councilnews.htm#education).

In the evening, following the Annual General Meeting will be the Fellows Conferment and New Members Admission Ceremony. The highlight of the 20th Anniversary Celebration falls on the Gala Dinner. Graced by officials and representatives from Sister Colleges and various statutory bodies, this promises to be a truly joyous occasion that the College community will cherish for the years to come.

23rd Annual Scientific Meeting
Hong Kong Ophthalmological Symposium 2011, 10-12 December 2011

The College of Ophthalmologists of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong Ophthalmological Society will be holding the 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting Hong Kong Ophthalmological Symposium 2011 on 10 - 12 December 2011.

Venue: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

Contact:
Tel: 2761 9128
Website: http://www.hkos.org.hk/asm.shtml

Announcements of Drug Office, Drug Registration and Import / Export Control Division

Please note the following announcements of the Drug Office of Department of Health:

• TGA: Dabigartran (Pradaxa) & the risk of bleeding - new recommendations for monitoring kidney function
• Health Canada: Fluoroquinolone antibiotics - patients with myasthenia gravis may risk increased muscle weakness)
• Health Canada: Pradax (dabigatran etexilate) and Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate) - risk of potential patient harm associated with brand name confusion
• FDA Drug Safety Communication: Trilipix (fenofibric acid) - label change
• The United States: FDA Commissioner announces Avastin not shown to be safe and effective in breast cancer indication
• Recall of Vidaza and alert on quality issues of four imported cancer drugs manufactured by Ben Venue