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Hong Kong politics
Hong KongPolitics

Outgoing Hong Kong opposition district councillors contemplate life outside politics as they shutter offices and return to past lives

  • One says he did not want to become a ‘spineless politician’, so did not seek re-election in the December polls
  • But a veteran pro-establishment councillor says bodies will now be able to concentrate on livelihood matters rather than politics

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Veteran district councillor Winnie Poon, who is retiring, in Telford Gardens, part of the area she has served for 10 consecutive terms. Photo: Harvey Kong
Harvey Kong
Sitting in her office of about 200 sq ft at Telford Gardens in Kowloon Bay which she has used since 2005, veteran Hong Kong district councillor Winnie Poon Yam Wai-chun said she was almost done with clearing out the space, which will be handed back to landlord MTR Corporation after her term ends on Sunday.
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“Overall, the large objects that I needed to get rid of have mostly been thrown out,” the 69-year-old former social worker said.

Poon, who has served as a Kwun Tong district councillor for 38 years over 10 consecutive terms, is one of a handful of opposition representatives still on the municipal-level bodies after a wave of resignations and disqualifications of many of her colleagues in 2021.

But her final term will come to an end on December 31 after she decided against competing in the revamped district council election held earlier this month.
Leo Chu, a Democratic Party member and former vice-chairman of Yau Tsim Mong District Council, is standing down after he failed to get enough nominations to run in December’s election. Photo: Sun Yeung
Leo Chu, a Democratic Party member and former vice-chairman of Yau Tsim Mong District Council, is standing down after he failed to get enough nominations to run in December’s election. Photo: Sun Yeung

She said her family wanted her to retire and the government’s overhaul of the district council election system had also played a part.

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The election process, changed under Beijing’s principle of “patriots ruling Hong Kong” after the opposition camp’s 2019 landslide, slashed the proportion of popularly elected seats from more than 90 per cent to less than 20 per cent.

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