Hong Kong area committees count former basketball star, tycoon’s son and daughter of ex-beauty queen among new members

Basketball star Yung Kam-wah, Arnaldo Ho, son of late casino king Stanley Ho, and Fiona Tong, daughter of Isabella Kau, Miss Hong Kong 1982 runner-up among those appointed

New faces announced as Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak says criteria for selection includes love for ‘both the city and the country’

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Former basketball star Yung Kam-wah talks to youngsters in Kwun Tong several years ago. Photo: Dickson Lee

Willa Wu

Published: 7:58pm, 2 Apr 2024Updated: 1:27pm, 3 Apr 2024

Corrected [1:12pm, 3 Apr, 2024]

[1:12pm, 3 Apr, 2024]
This article has been updated to clarify that the Wong Fung-han previously listed as an area committee member in the story does not refer to Gilly Wong Fung-han, the Consumer Council's chief executive.

The offspring of Hong Kong tycoons and well-known families, as well as a star basketball player, are among government appointees to three neighbourhood committees whose job is to work with district councils to improve public services.

The new faces include Arnaldo Ho Yau-heng, son of late Macau casino king Stanley Ho Hung-sun, Fiona Tong Pui-yan, daughter of Isabella Kau Hung-ping, a businesswoman and runner-up in the 1982 Miss Hong Kong beauty contest, and former Hong Kong basketball player Yung Kam-wah, nicknamed “Asia’s three-point king shooter”.

A political commentator from a Beijing loyalist think tank on Tuesday said the new line-up could boost the profiles of the three committees and the home affairs chief added she was confident the fresh members would contribute to the security and happiness of the public.

The latest recruits are part of the 2,999 members of the “three committees” appointed by the city government to work with the 18 district councils, overhauled by Beijing to ensure the “patriots only” ruling principle.

Arnaldo Ho, 25, the son of casino king Stanley Ho, has become an area committee member in Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters

The government said as the new members started their two-year terms on Monday that it hoped the committees and the district councils would improve their collaboration.

Newcomers made up almost a third – 977 members – of the committees.