{{Infobox officeholder | name = Ko Wing-man | native_name = {{nobold|高永文}} | native_name_lang = zh-hk | honorific_suffix = [[Gold Bauhinia Star|GBS]], [[Justice of the Peace|JP]] | image = Ko Wing-man in 2019.jpg | image_size = | caption = Ko in 2019 | office = [[Secretary for Food and Health]] | term_start = 1 July 2012 | term_end = 30 June 2017 | 1blankname = Chief Executive | 1namedata = [[Leung Chun-ying]] | predecessor = [[York Chow]] | successor = [[Sophia Chan]] | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|6|16}} | birth_place = [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = | alma_mater = [[University of Hong Kong]] ([[Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery|MBBS]]) }}
'''Ko Wing-man''' [[Gold Bauhinia Star|GBS]], [[Justice of the Peace|JP]] ({{lang-zh|c=高永文}}, born 1957) is a non-official member of the [[Executive Council of Hong Kong]]. He served as the [[Secretary for Food and Health]] of [[Hong Kong]] from 2012 to 2017. Besides being an orthopedic specialist, he is the member of The Medical Council of Hong Kong, the chairman of The Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society, member of the Board of [[Hong Kong Baptist University]], member of the Board of [[Hong Kong Red Cross]], Board of Directors of the Chiu Sheung School Hong Kong, Consultant of the pro-Beijing [[New People's Party (Hong Kong)]], The New Voice Club of Hong Kong, Happy Charity For Public Foundation, Asia-Pacific Anti Additive Association, the President of the Hong Kong Medical & Health Association of China, the Chairman of the Strategic Development Committee, the Chairman of the [[Chinese Medicine Development Committee]] and the Standing Committee of the Chaozhou, GuangDong Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultable Conference.
==Background== Ko graduated from [[Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine]], [[University of Hong Kong]] in 1981. He began his career at [[Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong|Princess Margaret Hospital of Hong Kong]] then at the [[Hospital Authority]]. In 1992, Ko received his master's degree in [[Health Administration]] from the [[University of New South Wales]]. He served the position of Director of Professional Services & Public Affairs and Director of Professional Services and Human Resources during his time in the Hospital Authority. During the [[2002–2004 SARS outbreak|SARS outbreak]] in 2003, he served as the acting Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority when [[William Ho|Ho Shiu-wei]] was infected with [[SARS]]. The medical system in Hong Kong was heavily criticised for having responded too slowly to the deadly disease. Following the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong|LegCo]] investigation report on SARS, Ko resigned from the Hospital Authority, along with Chairman [[Edward Leong]] in 2004. In 2004, he began serving as Chairman of the Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society, Director of the [[Hong Kong Red Cross]] and Chairman of their Health & Care Service Management Committee.<ref name=HKGov>{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.hk/en/about/govdirectory/po/sfh.htm|title=Dr Ko Wing-man, BBS, JP, Secretary for Food and Health|publisher=[[Government of Hong Kong]]|date=July 2012|accessdate=19 July 2012|archive-date=12 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712050250/http://www.gov.hk/en/about/govdirectory/po/sfh.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Ko joined reconstruction efforts after the [[2008 Sichuan earthquake]]. In 2012, he was appointed [[Secretary for Food and Health]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://7thspace.com/headlines/415746/new_team_of_principal_officials_appointed.html|title=New team of Principal Officials appointed |publisher=[[Government of Hong Kong]] |date=28 June 2012 |accessdate=19 July 2012}}</ref>
In September 2022, Ko said that Hong Kong should not treat COVID-19 as a flu, and also said that the city should not relax anti-epidemic measures.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Standard |first=The |title=Treat Covid as flu? Not now: former health chief Ko Wing-man |url=https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/194302/Treat-Covid-as-flu?-Not-now:-former-health-chief-Ko-Wing-man |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=The Standard |language=en}}</ref>
On 12 September 2022, ''SCMP'' reported that the government's COVID-19 Expert Advisory Panel, composed of six medical specialists, had several members who suggested gradually lifting COVID-19 restrictions (including removing hotel quarantine by November 2022), with Ko and [[Lo Chung-mau]] expressing their doubts about their suggestions and preferring a cautious approach.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2022-09-12 |title='One-tone approach': why Hong Kong's health experts have been told to keep mum |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3192104/ordered-keep-mum-hong-kongs-outspoken-covid-19 |access-date=2022-09-12 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}</ref> Ko also rejected Singapore's approach to COVID-19, calling it "lying flat," though daily caseloads in Singapore averaged between 1,000 and 3,000 per day, compared to around 10,000 per day in Hong Kong.<ref name=":0" />
On 25 September 2022, after the government lifted mandatory hotel quarantine against Ko's earlier suggestion, Ko said the government made the decision based on data.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Govt was right to relax border control: Tam Yiu-chung - RTHK |url=https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1668361-20220925.htm? |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=news.rthk.hk |language=en-gb}}</ref> Ko also said that lifting of quarantine "does not mean the government has opted to lie flat," and that the city "has never opted to live with the virus."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=Almond |date=2022-09-26 |title=Covid-19: Relaxing quarantine policy not the same as 'lying flat,' Hong Kong officials say |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2022/09/26/covid-19-relaxing-quarantine-policy-not-the-same-as-laying-flat-hong-kong-officials-say/ |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=Hong Kong Free Press HKFP |language=en-GB}}</ref>
On 17 October 2022, Ko defended the government's decision to invalidate 20,000 vaccine exemption passes, and said it was for the public interest.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Standard |first=The |title=Southeast Asians help power visitor numbers |url=https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/4/246427/Southeast-Asians-help-power-visitor-numbers |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=The Standard |language=en}}</ref> However, the government's decision to invalidate the passes was earlier temporarily blocked by the High Court.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=Almond |date=2022-10-11 |title=Hong Kong court blocks gov't from invalidating Covid-19 jab exemptions issued by arrested doctors |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2022/10/11/hong-kong-court-blocks-govt-from-invalidating-covid-19-jab-exemptions-issued-by-arrested-doctors/ |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=Hong Kong Free Press HKFP |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Honours== In 1986, Ko received a fellowship from the [[Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh]]. He became a fellow of the Orthopaedic Surgery at Hong Kong Academy of Medicine in 1993 and a fellow of the Community Medicine in 2000. Ko received another fellowship of the [[Faculty of Public Health Medicine]] at [[Royal College of Physicians]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scm.hku.hk/cv/kowingman.pdf |language=Chinese |title=Dr Ko Wing Man |publisher=[[University of Hong Kong]] |date=14 October 2011 |accessdate=19 July 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>
He was awarded the [[Bronze Bauhinia Star|BBS]] in 2008.<ref name=HKGov />
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=[[York Chow]]}} {{s-ttl|title = [[Secretary for Food and Health]]|years = 2012–2017}} {{s-aft|after=[[Sophia Chan]]}} {{s-end}}
{{HKExco}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ko, Wing-man}} [[Category:Government officials of Hong Kong]] [[Category:Hong Kong surgeons]] [[Category:1957 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2007–2012]] [[Category:Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2012–2017]] [[Category:Members of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]] [[Category:Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]] [[Category:Recipients of the Bronze Bauhinia Star]] [[Category:Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star]]