Christine Fong Kwok-shan, a long-time district councillor in Hong Kong known for defending constituents’ rights with fiery and sometimes controversial political acts, has pledged to abandon her past protest methods, now that she has been elected as a lawmaker.
The city’s new “Queen of Votes” in the Legislative Council election, who previously positioned herself as an independent moderate belonging neither to the pan-democratic nor pro-establishment bloc, reaffirmed her stance as a “patriot” who was part of the pro-establishment camp, and pledged to “share honour and disgrace” with the government during her tenure.
Fong, 59, finally secured a place in the legislature with her sixth bid over 17 years by winning more than 58,000 votes – the highest number among candidates – in Sunday’s election. The number represented a 42 per cent vote share.
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An engineer by trade, she entered politics in the 2000s and has served as a district councillor since 2008.
She made her name as a politician with fiery actions opposing the expansion of a landfill in Tseung Kwan O, the bedrock of her career. She jumped into Victoria Harbour, doused herself in prop blood, staged hunger strikes and was convicted under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance twice after protesting in two meetings in the legislature.
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“I have grown up. I have been through a lot, and perhaps back then I did not fully consider how the government actually works,” Fong told the Post in an interview on Wednesday.