Executive councillor Ronny Tong on Thursday said the government’s move to invalidate some 20,000 vaccine pass exemption certificates should not be considered a rule of law issue.

Some people, including legislator Doreen Kong, have criticised the decision by health authorities to invalidate certificates issued by seven doctors who allegedly didn't hold medical consultations with the recipients. They said the doctors were suspected but not convicted of wrongdoing, and the move to revoke the certificates lacked a legal basis.

“To elevate the debate into a question of whether the rule of law in Hong Kong has been breached is an overreaction. It is way beyond the necessity of the debate we are having at the moment,” Tong told RTHK.

The executive councillor said people are free to challenge the legal basis of the decision by way of a judicial review. “I accept that people may have different views. If the views involve the legality of a government decision, then I think judicial review is always the proper and the only channel to deal with it."

Separately, the government announced that people affected by the move can consult a doctor at a government general out-patient clinic at no cost, to see if they are eligible for a new exemption certificate.