British doctor’s autobiography describes remarkable life in HK

Mark O'Neill January 09, 2025 22:03

Dr John Mackay arrived in Hong Kong in 1963 and has lived here ever since. For 30 years. he was one of the city’s most respected physicians in one of the largest medical practices and then chose a second love – mountaineering.

Now Earnshaw Books has published his autobiography in two volumes, one on his life as a doctor and the second on his life climbing the peaks of the world.

“What inspired me to write ‘A Doctors’ Life in Hong Kong’ was the thought that, after I was gone, my children and family would not have a good record of my life,” he said. “My parents did not leave any record of their adventurous and interesting lives – to my lasting regret. Once I had started writing, I realised there was enough of interest for a wider audience.”

Hired by Drs Anderson & Partners, his first impressions of Hong Kong were striking. “The stunning typography, mountains soaring out of the sea, and multiple islands reminded me of the West Coast of Scotland. The contrast between the opulent residences on The Peak and the squatter huts of bamboo and corrugated-iron in some lowlands, and the vibrant neon-decorated streets down-town.
“At the boundary with China, I saw PLA soldiers on patrol on the far bank of the Shenzhen river: behind them, rice fields and an occasional rice farmer. Now the fields have been replaced by the dramatic skyscrapers of the Shenzhen metropolis, today a city of 13 million people. The population of Hong Kong in 1963 was just over 3 million. Now it has reached 7.4 million. The number of doctors has risen from 1,400 to 15,550,” he said.

His medical career has seen equally dramatic changes. “In the 1960s and 1970s, infectious diseases were rampant, particularly tuberculosis. There were many memorable medical cases but one stands out. One of the first HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) sufferers in Hong Kong was an unfortunate man from Sydney, Australia, who come here with his wife to celebrate his retirement.
“Tragically, he was infected by HIV when given a tainted blood transfusion during a minor operation in Sydney. When I saw him in hospital, he had an unusual chest infection which did not respond to antibiotics. A blood test confirmed the diagnosis, AIDS. There was at that time no treatment: I had to advise him to return home for terminal care. Thankfully, medical advances in HIV management mean AIDS is no longer the death sentence of the 1970s.”

The biggest changes in the city’s health care system were the growing sophistication of disease investigation and management, and establishment of the Hospital Authority in 1990. “The average life expectancy has increased from around 65 years when I arrived to 85 today, one of the longest in the world.

“On a personal level, I found that some local citizens came to see me, a doctor practicing ‘Western’ medicine, only because practitioners of Chinese medicine had failed to cure them. What they needed was the magic of a ‘Western’ medicine injection. It was sometimes difficult to persuade them that an injection was not necessary.

“Today, the disease pattern in Hong Kong mimics that of many affluent countries -- long-term chronic diseases like high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes and heart disease have replaced infectious diseases, infant mortality and diseases of poverty. The health system, as elsewhere, is struggling with this change,” he said.

In 1993, he made a drastic change. He resigned from his medical practice and devoted the next three decades to climbing.

This is the subject of the second half of his autobiography “A Love of Mountains”. Over 26 years, he climbed the highest points of 34 countries, including Kilimanjaro, 5,985 metres, in Tanzania, Toubkal, 4,167 metres, in Morocco and Mount Paektu, 2,744 metres, in North Korea.

Since 1967, he has been married to Dr Judith Mackay, one of the world’s leading advocates on tobacco control. She works with all the governments in Asia and is very active in advising the health system in Hong Kong. They have two sons who live in Britain. One is a doctor and his daughter also a doctor – making three generations in the medical profession.

Mackay said that he was always confident the 1997 transition to Chinese rule would go well, probably the smoothest of a British colony ever. “Many British systems have been maintained, such as the legal system and the court. I am grateful that I continue to live in Hong Kong, now a calm and peaceful territory. I have been very fortunate in my life.”

Mark O'Neill

A Hong Kong-based writer, teacher and speaker.