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Opinion | From Bruce Lee to Siobhan Haughey, Hongkongers have made their mark all over the world
- In fields ranging from business and academia to sport and film, Hong Kong has been the birthplace of legends past and present
- With the global spread of Hong Kong-born talent, our city’s ‘dream big’ attitude and can-do spirit are on full display for the world to see
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Bright lights. Big city. For a small place with a population of 7.4 million people, Hong Kong consistently plays an outsized role in the world – from being one of the world’s top IPO venues to the world’s largest offshore renminbi market to the world’s top air cargo hub, to name a few.
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Our bright lights don’t just shine here in the city; our talented luminaries are also making headlines and history overseas. Hong Kong has spawned cultural icons, sports heroes, political heavyweights, academic leaders and design gurus, among others.
Most film fans will have heard of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, who are household names in the kung fu and action genres. But behind the camera, genius also bears visible Hong Kong footprints.
Less well known publicly but revered in Hollywood circles is martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, the man behind the groundbreaking action of The Matrix and Kill Bill. Celebrated auteurs like John Woo and award-winning Wong Kar-wai add to Hong Kong’s eminence in cinema.
In sports, world champion and world record holder for the women’s 200-metre freestyle Siobhan Haughey has been lighting up the swimming world. She won two “triple crowns” in the 100m and 200m freestyle events at this year’s Fina World Cup, sweeping gold in both events at all three legs of the tournament.
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Ng On-yee is a three-time women’s world snooker champion and Ada Tsang Yin-hung set a world record for fastest ascent of Mount Everest by a woman.
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