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HK Magazine

I used to live in a tong lau on Shanghai Street.
Although we rented one flat, we sub-rented partitioned rooms for more income. My family, including my parents and three siblings, had to live in a room less than 100 square feet big.
At the age of 18, I applied for my first job as a laboratory technician at my alma mater.
I scored the job, but life got pretty mundane. I started to ask myself: Is this something I want for the rest of my life?
Around that time, an old friend told me that he was going to France for further studies.
I thought if I were able to improve my English, I would be able to read the works of many great philosophers. So I went to Britain instead.
I was quite worried because I had never been abroad. The furthest I had been to was Macau.
When I boarded the plane, I only had my roundtrip tickets and HK$1,000 with me.
I met [actor, producer and activist] John Shum and an old revolutionary, Wang Fanxi. Gradually, I became a Trotskyist under their influence.
John Shum, a group of Hong Kong students and I founded a group called Reawakening. We organized marginalized Chinese workers in Britain and fought for their rights.
Looking back, it was the most glorious time of my life, because it gave me a sense of direction.
When I returned to Hong Kong, I worked as an English teacher at a school targeted at educating workers and raising their social consciousness.
In 1985, we discussed whether one of us should join the district board election. As I was always the one to participate in civic affairs, I was asked to run for the Kwai Tsing district.
It was an overwhelming victory. I secured 3,594 votes.
One day I received a call from a factory worker. He wanted help with severance.
A man in his 50s waited for me at the doorstep when I arrived at the factory. He didn’t shake hands with me, so I felt very awkward.
I knew something was wrong. One worker only had seven fingers. In fact, all the workers—there were about 12 or 13—had lost fingers.
That was one of the most memorable moments of my political career.
I have been in politics for more than 20 years, but I still don’t think I’m a suitable person to work on the front lines. I would prefer to play a supporting role.
As a leader, you should have a charming personality. But I am not that type of person.
I have learned persistence. I have spent nine years fighting for half-fare concessions for people with disabilities. I am still fighting for it.
It also took me 13 years to help a group of juvenile murderers. They committed murder before the handover. Because of the political situation, they couldn’t determine a sentence, and the wait was endless. It was very inhumane.
I am devoted to helping the marginalized. We can’t merely work for votes. Legislators should have a conscience. That’s the only way for society to improve.
In 2004 I finished a full marathon within the time limit for the first time. But when the MCs announced my name, they called me Tam Yiu-chung [DAB legislator].
I was angry with myself because I didn’t really make an impression on people. I felt defeated.
I felt even sadder because they mixed me up with Tam Yiu-chung. Since he became a legislator in 1986, he has changed. Now he doesn’t speak for workers. He is like a worker aristocrat.
But after all these years, I still find myself to be a believer of communism.
I have never felt discouraged during my political life. I understand the limits of the legislative branch, and I haven’t put too much hope in it. But I remain optimistic about the growth of a civilian movement in Hong Kong, that it can harness a lot of power and energy in the future.
You can find a copy of Leung Yiu-chung’s recently released autobiography in bookstores citywide (in Chinese only).


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Legco member, Leung Yiu-chung

Magazines

For three decades Legco member Leung Yiu-chung has championed grassroots rights and workers’ welfare. Curiously, despite his victories and his distinct silvery white hair, many Hongkongers don’t know who he is. Quiet and reserved, he’s never been a darling of the media. He talks to Grace Tsoi about his under-the-radar struggles in defense of those who’ve been marginalized. 
