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KMB bus driver who led wildcat strike reflects on incident in new book and says she has ‘no regrets’

Tracy Yip recounts how event in February united sectors in society, and hopes city’s radical young can show mutual respect when voicing opinions

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Bus driver Tracy Yip will continue to fight for better work terms for her colleagues. Photo: Tory Ho

Hong Kong people have a legal right to strike but few dare take action like bus driver Tracy Yip Wai-lam, who led a short-lived industrial protest to oppose her company’s pay restructure.

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The 49-year-old artist-turned-driver made headlines in March when she was sacked one week after the late February strike. As public pressure mounted, Hong Kong’s largest bus company, KMB, made a sharp U-turn and allowed Yip to keep her job.

“I am the first to come forward. If [we have to] die, I die first. If there is punishment, I am the first to be punished. Sacrifice is needed in everything. [I] won’t back down,” she vowed during the strike.

Since then, Yip has been busy reflecting on her moment of fame and has written a book called Dissident Bus Driver available at this year’s Hong Kong book fair.

Yip said she wants to use her experience to inspire young people with radical ideas to show mutual respect when voicing their opinions.

Tracy Yip with union members days after leading a wildcat strike against salary terms. Photo: Sam Tsang
Tracy Yip with union members days after leading a wildcat strike against salary terms. Photo: Sam Tsang
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“If people can ignore whether someone is ‘yellow or blue’, and instead work together for society and citizens, it can be so effective,” she said, referring to the colours that have come to symbolise a Hong Kong divided along political lines.

After the pro-democracy supporters of the Occupy movement began wearing yellow ribbons, the pro-government camp responded with blue ribbons of their own.
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