All Around Town: Hong Kong lawmaker gets the ministerial treatment

There were surreal scenes in the Legislative Council yesterday as food and health chief Dr Ko Wing-man was seen half-hugging radical pan-democrat lawmaker Wong Yuk-man, telling the vocal government critic not to be afraid. It was the day in the year when Legco's dining hall turns into a temporary medical centre where nurses give out seasonal flu jobs to lawmakers. Ko, alongside undersecretary Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee, attended to show support for the lawmakers - and most importantly to take pictures with them so they could upload them on Facebook. New People's Party lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun even invited Ko to give him a jab. While Ko did so, lawmakers across the political spectrum mocked the invitation. "It might help him gain exposure in the media [with Ko's help], but that is a very unwise decision," one lawmaker joked. "Everybody knows nurses do a better job than doctors in giving injections, especially when Ko has not done it for so long."

Jeffie Lam

Newly-elected district councillor Rex Mo Shing-fung raised eyebrows earlier this week when he was reported to have named Mao Zedong as his "most admired politician". In an interview with the Chinese-language newspaper, the 29-year-old also said Mao became a dictator after rising to power and that was something people in power should be wary about. However, Mo, from the Beijing-loyalist Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, told yesterday that Mao was only "one of the political figures" he appreciated. "I was talking about charisma and people's trust, which are needed in district work," he said. "I also admire Barack Obama, the first black American to be elected US president. He emphasised 'change' in his campaign, and that's also a keyword in my election platform," Mo said. He also made sure that his former DAB chairman Tam Yiu-chung was on his list.

Tony Cheung