Celebrity chef Yan adds spice to Regina Ip's new party
It has already made it clear that it is out for the middle-class vote. Now, Hong Kong's newest political party has injected a dash of celebrity into its launch - by appointing television chef Martin Yan as an adviser.
It may not quite have the cachet of US President Barack Obama's 'Yes we can' mantra, but New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said yesterday that the celebrity chef's catchphrase, 'if Yan can cook, so can you', typified her party's desire to drive home the ethic of self-improvement.
Ip, former secretary for security, could not be specific on the exact advice the mainland-born, San Francisco-based chef would bring to the party, but said he was picked for his motivational abilities.
It is an unusual partnership, however. Ip believes Yan's involvement in Republican Party fund-raising in the United States will prove useful and be a perfect fit with the new party's right-of-centre political stance.
And she clearly believes he knows his political onions.
'Many Chinese in the US are more pro-Republican than pro-Democrat, as the Republicans are viewed as a more pro-business party. He is politically savvy and will have a big influence,' she said. 'Martin is from Hong Kong originally, so he keeps up with the news here and he knew me straight away.
'He's a charismatic person. I love his catchphrase, '[If] Yan can cook, so can you!' It means the sky is the limit if you just try your best. Martin is a self-made man and a Hong Kong success story. He is very inspiring to many people here.'
Ip said she had always loved watching Yan's shows and felt his manner of presenting stirred the same feelings in many others. Yan lives in the Bay area of San Francisco, where Ip lived for four years while studying at Stanford University. She said she had invited him to speak to party members the next time he was in town.
'We want to make use of his frequent visits here to speak with the public... When we [said on Facebook that] he was going to be an adviser to our party, lots of young people wanted to meet him.'
Party vice-chairman Michael Tien Puk-sun is another Yan fan. The two have worked closely in the past.
Ip is hoping Yan, along with other high-profile advisers such as entrepreneur Allan Zeman, will boost her party's prospects. 'Allan is the same sort of story as Martin. Someone who has gone from rags to riches.'
Ip has said it is the rich and successful that her party is targeting, describing the party as centre-right and unapologetic about its elitist image. She confirmed it was uninterested in the working-class vote or in contesting public housing constituencies.
Its board is filled with former senior government officials and business leaders, among them former colonial official David Akers-Jones and ex-health secretary Libby Wong Chien Chi-lien.
Yan, 62, is a household name in Hong Kong. Born in Guangzhou, he moved to Hong Kong when he was 13 and, while schooling, worked at his uncle's Chinese restaurant, learning about traditional Chinese barbecue. He received a diploma in cooking and later left for Canada. He has hosted more than 1,500 episodes of Yan Can Cook since 1982.
