WONG FOR-KAM has long ceased to make her living only from catching grouper and snapper, but she still fishes and is proud of her profession. She is chairwoman of the Aberdeen Fisherwomen Association, whose 230 members work from a harbour crowded with sampans and trawlers. That obscure post gives her unexpected influence. Unlike most residents, the association has voting rights in the choice of Hong Kong’s chief executive, as the city’s leader is known.
The group is one of about 160 farming and fishing organisations which fill 60 of the 1,200 seats in the committee that selects the chief executive. The same farming and fishing groups also elect one of the 70 members of Hong Kong’s legislative council, or Legco. Granting special voting rights to businesses and professions is a practice dating to Hong Kong’s days as a British colony. Pro-democracy politicians want to end the system, but neither China’s ruling Communist Party, nor the interest groups themselves, are keen. “Our contributions, if you ask me, are very big,” says the 58-year-old Ms Wong, surrounded by piles of baskets, boxes and bamboo...Continue reading
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