The woman who has spent more than 30 years at the forefront of the fight to close the gap between the haves and have-nots has announced she is not only stepping down as chief executive of the Council of Social Service, but is quitting all her public posts by the end of the year.
However, Christine Fang Meng-sang, 55, declared she was not retiring. "There are things that I need to do, in my mission to help the underprivileged," she said. "I will continue."
Fang was speaking at a forum on poverty organised in Kwun Tong by several non-governmental organisations.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, who was attending the event, said he was shocked by Fang's news. "She is a hard act to follow … She is a real talent and a real professional. It is a great loss to the welfare sector."
Fang said she officially resigned from her post as chief executive of the council on Monday, after 12 years in the job. It is one of Hong Kong's oldest and most respected charities - an umbrella group of more than 400 NGOs that provide 90 per cent of social services in the city.
She will go before the year is out, and quit all her other public posts - including terms at the population steering committee and the Housing Authority - at the same time. "It is not an easy decision, but I think there are priorities and choices in life that you have to make," Fang said. She cited her husband's retirement this year as a reason behind her decision.