Ada Wong says she will step down and set up a think-tank to focus on district issues The chairwoman of Wan Chai District Council, cultural advocate Ada Wong Ying-kay, is to quit council life after 12 years to set up a think-tank focusing on district issues. Ms Wong, 48, will step down after serving five years on the now-defunct urban council and seven years on Wan Chai District Council. 'It is time for me to step back and spend more time to dig out the roots of problems,' she said in an interview with the South China Morning Post. She accompanied ally Michael Wong Sui-wah yesterday as he submitted his first-time nomination to run for her seat in the Broadwood constituency. She will work as campaign manager for Mr Wong, who was her campaign manager when she ran in the constituency in 1999. The two solicitors are partners at a legal firm. Mr Wong will face a challenge from Leung Chi-pui, a businessman who also submitted his nomination yesterday. Ms Wong's think-tank will advocate district issues at policy level and promote a culture of community. 'All existing think-tanks in Hong Kong are studying high-order matters,' she said, citing environmental issues and democracy as examples. 'But currently there is no think-tank concerning district issues. 'Why are regional problems never addressed at the policy level?' Ms Wong noted that district problems might accumulate and become social crises if not handled properly. She cited the lack of community planning in Tin Shui Wai that resulted in numerous family tragedies. Without saying district councillors were powerless, she lamented the fact district councils had remained a consultative structure and failed to become a real force in pushing forward policies. She said one of her proudest achievements with the council was creating a 'pet park' on the Wan Chai promenade. Her biggest regret was failing to rescue 'Wedding Card Street', which is being redeveloped. She will resume studying for her doctorate in education at the University of Hong Kong, which she has suspended during her chairmanship of the council. Asked if she would return to the district council some day, Ms Wong said nothing was impossible but it was unlikely until 'the district council becomes a real power to administer the district'. Another Wan Chai councillor, Mary Ann King Pui-wai of Civic Act-up, is also quitting. She said it had been frustrating that the government treated the council as a tool to manipulate public opinion, not as a mechanism to listen to people's views.
