From bus conductor to lawmaker: First grass-roots councillor Wong Lam dies at age 96
Wong served in the Legislative Council from 1976 to 1985 and was the first to give a speech in Cantonese; he decried today’s Legco antics
Hong Kong’s first grass-roots legislator has passed away at the age of 96.
Wong Lam, a Kowloon Motor Bus conductor turned lawmaker, died on March 19th.
He was an unofficial member of the Legislative Council between 1976 and 1985 at a time when the legislature was dominated by colonial and local elites.
Aside from being the first lawmaker to come from a grass-roots background, Wong was also the first to make speeches in Cantonese in the legislature.
Born in 1919 in Hong Kong, Wong joined Kowloon Motor Bus in 1937. He moved through the ranks from conductor to public relations manager.
Wong became known to colonial officials in 1966 when his company put him in charge of opening new bus routes in Kwun Tong, as he had to liaise with various government departments including the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs and the Social Welfare Department.