The Food and Health Bureau has advised the Law Reform Commission of the Administration's response to the recommendations in the Commission's report on Substitute Decision-Making and Advance Directives, published in August 2006. The Food and Health Bureau said:

"(i) Advance Directives

The Administration shares the view of the LRC that Hong Kong people are not yet familiar with the concept of advance directives. The Administration also concurs that, as pointed out by LRC, it would be premature to attempt to formulate a statutory framework and to embark on any legislative process for advance directives without greater public awareness of the issues involved. The Administration is aware that advance directives touch upon a wide range of issues beyond their legal and practical aspects (for instance, end-of-life care) which warrant very careful consideration and deliberation.

The making of an advance directive is a personal decision. An individual is already free at present to make an advance directive if he so wishes. The Administration respects an individual's freedom to make such a decision, and has no intention at this stage to actively advocate or encourage the public to make advance directives. However, having considered the LRC's recommendations, the Administration recognises the need to enhance the public's understanding of advance directives, to provide information for those who wish to make such directives, and to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship in the handling of such directives through close communication. In this connection, the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) consulted parties concerned on these issues from 23 December 2009 to 22 March 2010, including hospitals (both public and private), the medical profession (including the Medical Council of Hong Kong), the legal profession, the healthcare sector, patient groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) providing healthcare-related services to patients.

Based on the views received from the consultation, FHB will take necessary follow-up actions in consultation with parties concerned, including the Hospital Authority, the medical profession and the relevant NGOs. Among other developments, it is noted that a working group under the Ethics Committee of the Hong Kong Medical Council is working on a guideline on the handling of advance directives. FHB will also collaborate with concerned NGOs to raise the public's awareness of advance directives.

(ii) Definition of mentally incapacitated person

On the LRC report's recommendations to amend the definition of 'mentally incapacitated person'  for the purposes of the application of certain parts of the Mental Health Ordinance (Cap 136), the Administration noted that there are ongoing developments in the knowledge and concepts in the field of mental health, as well as corresponding changes in recent years to the terminology adopted in legislation in other jurisdictions. The Administration will examine the definition of 'mentally incapacitated person' in the overall context of the law in the light of these developments and explore the scope for improving the clarity and consistency of the existing definition in its application to various parts of the law. The relevant parties (including mental health experts) will be consulted and the Administration will seek to pursue any necessary legislative changes under a composite proposal in the long term. "

A summary of the Administration's views on the individual recommendations in the report is here.