Hong Kong’s history-making football manager Chan Yuen-ting and activist singer Denise Ho named among BBC’s ‘100 Women of 2016’
BBC honours record-making football coach and activist Canto-pop star
A football manager who made history and a pop star who drew the wrath of Beijing were Hong Kong’s representatives on the BBC’s 100 Women of 2016 list released on Monday.
Chan Yuen-ting, 28, became the first female coach to win a top-flight championship in charge of a men’s team.
And Denise Ho Wan-sze drew praise and condemnation in equal measure from people on both sides of the political divide for her high-profile support of the Occupy movement in the city.
Ho, 39, hit the headlines in 2016 after sponsors Lancome cancelled a promotional concert she was set to give after state-run tabloid The Global Times called for a boycott of the Canto-pop star. The move, seen as pandering to Beijing, sparked protests against the make-up company.
Chan, nicknamed ‘Beef Ball’, made headlines around the world as she led Eastern to the Hong Kong Premier League title – a feat recognised as unique by Guinness World Records – despite having almost no top-level playing experience and being younger than many of her players.