Column | Regina Ip’s plan for Hong Kong to host 2021 China National Games – awarded to Shaanxi last year – sums up ignorance of sport

At least rival chief executive candidate Woo Kwok-hing doesn’t even pretend to know or care about sport

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Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee attends her Chief Executive bid press conference. Photo: SCMP / Felix Wong

Published: 4:26pm, 16 Dec 2016Updated: 7:00pm, 17 Dec 2016

Recently in this space I wondered if the candidates for Hong Kong’s chief executive “election” might pay more than lip service to sport in their manifestos this time, given China’s determination to make sport a central part of the economy.

Well the first runners have declared and the signs are ... not good.

Retired judge Woo Kwok-hing is reckoned to have no chance of getting anywhere near the top seat, probably because he seems quite a decent fellow, but in the interests of balance, let’s look at his plans.

His manifesto is Chinese-only, and though it has several good ideas, sport, fitness, exercise, etc are not mentioned. At least he doesn’t pretend to know or care about the subject.

Which brings us on to the other candidate so far, the much-loved Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee.

She does have an English version of her plan to “Win Back Hong Kong” (from who?). It is riddled with typos and grammatical errors (obviously standards at Glasgow University’s English department were not as high when she did her Masters as when I did mine there), but still.