Modern role of a village chief is that of a caretaker, says re-elected leader of Tsung Pak Long
Terry Kan, following in his father's footsteps, claims many aspects of rural life are long gone
Terry Kan Wing-fai, who has recently been re-elected as head of Tsung Pak Long in Fanling, where the Kans are indigenous residents, is an unlikely village leader.
"I don't see being a village head as a big honour. In modern-day Hong Kong, so-called rural areas have been heavily urbanised. Few villages - in the traditional sense - still exist. Paddy fields have gone and what used to be farmland has long been turned into high-rise public housing estates," said Kan, 39, a barrister.
"I am not trying to belittle the role of a village head. But nowadays, it is more like a caretaker. Only occasionally are you consulted by local officials about, say, where your villagers would like to put up a street light.
"Few young villagers today are interested in rural politics. I would not have taken part but for my father," said Kan, who was first elected as a village head of Tsung Pak Long in 2012.
His father, Brian Kan Ping-chee, is a retired horse trainer and powerbroker in Sheung Shui who was forced to quit rural politics after being jailed for election corruption in 2011 during the Sheung Shui district rural committee elections.
Brian Kan served as the chairman of the Sheung Shui district rural committee from 1988 to 2003, during which time he led protests against the government's attempts to change rules on village politics, including granting inheritance rights to women in the New Territories.
Terry Kan declined to discuss his father's case but suggested he had been framed by rivals.
However, he maintained it was not the reason he has stayed away from seeking chairmanship of the same committee.
But, speaking of politics, Kan said: "If there is a chance I can serve the people, I am pleased to do so. But I won't gamble with my life on politics.
"Being a rural committee chairman is really nothing at all.
"And I am not interested in the Heung Yee Kuk work either. In the eyes of the general public, the kuk has no credibility. Others might even label you negatively if you say you are with the kuk.
"People respect those from the elite professional groups like the Bar Association, but not the Heung Yee Kuk," said Kan.
Kan was an appointed North District Council member from 2003 to 2011.
