London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Hong Kong Doctors Work in Secret to Help Protestors

Hong Kong Doctors Work in Secret to Help Protestors

Groups of medical workers are secretly treating protesters who are injured in violence at demonstrations. Those injured are no counted by hospitals causing many to believe the number of people hurt in the ongoing movement is higher.

Hong Kong’s summer of protests is now stretching into the fall. Clashes between demonstrators and police have often become violent. But medical workers have quietly joined to form the Hidden Clinic and other groups to help injured protesters.

The groups secretly treat young demonstrators who fear arrest if they go to government hospitals.

One person recently contacted the Hidden Clinic through the social media service Telegram. The person wanted to find help for a friend who appeared to have a broken arm, the group told The Associated Press, or AP.

The person explained their injured friend’s concerns about arrest, saying, “Many of his friends have been detained when seeing doctors.”

The Hidden Clinic claims to have treated 300 to 400 protesters with many injuries. They include broken bones, open wounds and contact with tear gas so intense that they were coughing up blood. The group also says the severity of the injuries has increased.

A medical worker who specializes in traditional Chinese medicine and is not connected with the Hidden Clinic said she has treated 60 to 80 patients.

The woman asked that her identity be kept secret because she fears punishment during one of her trips to mainland China. She uses traditional treatments involving needles and pressure points, called acupuncture, to ease patients’ pain. She does not ask for payment.

These secretive medical services suggest that the official number of 1,235 injured protesters treated in public hospitals since June 9 may not be complete.

Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said the official number includes injuries to more than 300 police officers. It comes from the Hospital Authority which only counts patients who visited 18 public Accident and Emergency departments in the territory of 7.5 million people. It does not include those treated privately.

The protests against a proposed change to Hong Kong’s criminal law started in June. The measure would have permitted Communist Party-controlled courts to move criminal suspects in Hong Kong to mainland China for trial. Hong Kong has been a partly self-governing center for international trade and finance since 1997, after Britain handed over control.

Hong Kong’s leadership has withdrawn the disputed measure. But the demonstrations have developed into a movement against Lam’s government. The government has counted over 400 demonstrations so far. This has tested promises from the Communist leaders in Beijing not to get involved in the internal affairs of Hong Kong.


A lot of hidden injuries’

The full reach of the secret efforts to treat protesters is not clear. That is because both the injured and the medical workers distrust the government and want to protect themselves. But the AP has spoken with several medical workers and protesters who have been treated outside the government health system. They suggest the medical support is far-reaching.

One trainee doctor would not give her full name and asked to be identified only as Wong. She worried that she might damage her career. She said her supervisor at a major public hospital does not know about her involvement with the Hidden Clinic.

After her work day, Wong spends her nights dealing with injured protesters. She gives them quick examinations through text messages and photographs and offers advice. She then reaches out to the Hidden Clinic’s doctors, setting up more complete examinations and treatment. She even helps with costs.

When the protests began, Wong said that she helped establish the Hidden Clinic at the end of July because she said she recognized that the injuries are getting more severe.

“Data published by the government aren’t really accurate anymore, and there are a lot of hidden injuries,” Wong added.

For some injuries, the Hidden Clinic offers temporary treatment that lets protesters wait a few days before going to a health center. In this way, they can lie more believably when they deny they were hurt in violence.

“You can just say that, oh, you got injured while playing football or something,” Wong said.

The AP asked the Hospital Authority about protesters’ fears of public hospitals. Officials said in a statement that the Authority considers patient confidentiality very important. It has also told law enforcement “to be mindful of the respect for patient data privacy in hospitals.”

However, the protesters do not believe the officials.

“Government hospitals have police,” said a 19-year-old student who came to an October 6 protest prepared for trouble. He wore a metal shield on his left arm, a hardened head covering, protection for his arms and legs, and a breathing device to protect against tear gas.

At an earlier clash, a rubber bullet struck him under his arm. So he said he used Telegram to find free treatment from a private clinic that found he had no broken bones. He identified himself only as John.

Doctors operating in secret say they feel as though they have to help.

“These kids are striving for a whole era’s freedom,” said the traditional medicine worker. “For those of us who don’t dare go out, the very least we can do is treat their wounds.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×