The Standard reports the Hong Kong Medical Association has urged doctors operating in housing estates not to go ahead with a strike next Thursday over The Link Management's sharp rent increases.

The association's designated negotiator in rental negotiations, Gabriel Choi Kin, went a step further, saying estate doctors should not take part in a strike that he called a "sham."

He also held out the possibility last night that the doctors may get a reprieve from the rising rents under agreements negotiated with The Link over the past month.

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=4&art_id=89940&sid=25926618&con_type=1&d_str=20091102&fc=1