Earning her nickname “Ne Zha”, the little fire prince in Chinese folklore, from a role she played as a young actress nearly four decades ago, Hong Kong district councillor Christine Fong Kwok-shan has forged her political career with every bit of feistiness and stubbornness found in the mythical character.
Her persistence has finally paid off, as the 59-year-old won her bid for a Legislative Council seat in the early hours of Monday after five failed attempts.
Nothing was more vindicating for the regular comeback contender to be crowned the “Queen of Votes” with 58,828 ballots in the New Territories South East geographical constituency after years of bitter defeats.
“There are no miracles, actually. There are only accumulated results. I sincerely thank all voters for witnessing this miracle with me, which is the fruit of my accumulated efforts,” Fong said after learning of her win.
“I’ve waited for so long, and have run for so many elections. Winning this time isn’t about the number of votes, but about residents’ trust in me.”
An engineer by training, Fong entered the city’s political scene in 2004 as a member of the business-leaning Liberal Party and was appointed as a Sai Kung district councillor in 2008, an area that became the bedrock of her career.
