Legislative Councilor, Lee Cheuk-yan
Legislative Councilor Lee Cheuk-yan went from being an apolitical science student to holding the very political position of General Secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions. He tells Winnie Chau why he isn’t worried about the democracy movement’s future in Hong Kong.
My parents were landlords in China and were persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. We migrated to Hong Kong when I was two. They had to start over from nothing, but since my mother was a university graduate and my father a white-collar worker, we ended up reasonably well off.
I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I was young. I was a science student, so I chose civil engineering at university.
Politics wasn’t something I gave much thought to. My family didn’t talk about it, as they came to Hong Kong to escape the political situation in China. There wasn’t much discussion at school either.
My interest in politics began at university. The University of Hong Kong was particularly active about social issues in those days.
I visited the boat people and helped them shovel out seawater that had seeped into the boat. Seeing children growing up in such an environment, I asked myself how society could be so unfair.
My first job was at the health center at the United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong. I met a lot of people with occupational injuries and diseases. This is where I developed my drive to help laborers.
Many people claim that politics has nothing to do with them. But politics concerns everyone.
