By Ng Kang-chung

Copyright scmp

Former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying has received a top honour from Cambodian officials in recognition of his contributions to the country’s healthcare system.
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Neth Savoeun on Monday awarded Leung the Knight Grand Officer class of the Royal Order of Monisaraphon.
The title is primarily awarded to individuals who have made outstanding achievements and contributions in education, arts, science, literacy or social work.
Leung currently serves as a vice-chairman of China’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and chairman of the medical charity group GX Foundation.
Founded in 2018, the GX Foundation is a medical humanitarian aid charitable organisation based in Hong Kong.
According to its website, the foundation mainly “provides medical and public health humanitarian assistance to belt and road countries, embodying the spirit of ‘sharing’ and ‘people-to-people connectivity’”.
It has conducted more than 7,700 screenings and performed 5,800 surgeries in Cambodia through its cataract blindness elimination programme.
Last year, the foundation launched an anti-dengue fever project in Cambodia’s Kampong Speu province and along the Phnom Penh–Sihanoukville Expressway, a project under the Belt and Road Initiative.
It involved installing mosquito lamps and distributing educational materials to help reduce the risk of dengue infection among local communities.

In a social media post on Monday, Leung said he was “deeply honoured” to receive the award and was delighted that GX Foundation’s work had been recognised.
“Looking ahead, I will continue to promote cooperation between [China and Cambodia] in the fields of medicine and public health, promote mutual understanding between the peoples, and make greater contributions to building an all-weather China-Cambodia community with a shared future,” he wrote.
In September 2022, Leung was awarded the Royal Order of Monisaraphon at the Knight Commander rank.
Meanwhile, Emily Chan Ying-yang, CEO of GX Foundation, was conferred the Knight Officer rank, while GX’s senior adviser Chung Pui-sing, Cambodian advisers Oknha Yum Sui-sang, Luu Meng, Ber Ly, Luong Chan-huy, Wong Hon-ping, as well as Southeast Asia project director Lam Wing-yin were awarded the Knight rank.
Among the guests attending the presentation ceremony was Wang Wenbin, the Chinese ambassador to Cambodia.