'Political phoenix' rises again with her literary contribution to Creative October

Like the 'political phoenix' she was called in her Legco days, Elizabeth Wong Chien Chi-lien rises from the ashes again. The former secretary for health and welfare was 'forced' to retire as a civil servant in 1994. Then Libby, as she was known, bounced back into Legco, winning a functional constituency seat in 1995.

Although she quit politics for good in 1997, she still has a bit of an edge, only now Libby's outspoken bite is in her books. After publishing two novels, Wong has now put out an eco-drama called Beat The Climate Crunch and a satirical comedy An Instant Patriot, collectively packaged as 2 One-Act Plays. The book was released last week at Central's Bookcafe.

'This October book launch chimes in well with the government's own call for making Hong Kong a creative place,' Wong said at the event. 'I am doing my little bit to support the project Creative October.'

Now living in Sydney, Wong declined to say anything really provocative on Hong Kong issues and politics.

She insisted the prime reason for her publication was to offer a practical use of the English and Chinese languages through drama for Hongkongers, but from the titles, there's no denying she's also poking fun at local politics.

Recently she also finished a course in directing at Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art. Maybe she can come back to run the West Kowloon cultural hub.