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In a departure from her usual straight-talking style, Hong Kong’s “Iron Lady” Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee kept the public hanging for over a week before finally announcing on Saturday that she will not run in December’s Legislative Council election, ending a 17-year tenure in the legislature. The 75-year-old founder of the New People’s Party also said it was time to pass the baton, having completed her “historic mission”, and that she would focus on nurturing new talent in the future. Openly ambitious, Ip had demonstrated perseverance over the years, making her a more colourful and confrontational figure than many other politicians. But life appeared to deal Ip more than her fair share of challenges. She went from being a popular government minister to one of the city’s most reviled figures, and left Hong Kong for the United States after a row over the controversial anti-subversion legislation drove half a million people to the streets. She then returned to the city to lose, and later win, elections to become a lawmaker. The daughter of a tradesman father and actress mother, Ip attended St Stephen’s Girls’ College after which she enrolled at the University of Hong Kong, studying English literature and graduating with first-class honours. “I wanted to be an academic,” Ip said in a 2016 interview, “but jobs in that area were very hard to come by.” Ip joined the Hong Kong civil service in 1975 and worked in a wide range of policy areas, including home affairs, security, trade and industry. After the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, Ip became the secretary for security from 1998 to 2003, during which she spearheaded the government’s push to enact the Article 23 anti-subversion law that brought her widespread notoriety. She raised eyebrows in 2002 when she argued against the need for a wider public consultation on the controversial bill, saying: “Are you seriously telling me that taxi drivers, restaurant waiters and workers at McDonald’s will want to discuss these proposals with me? A draft bill is for the experts.” She also once described Adolf Hitler as proof that universal suffrage would not solve all problems, saying: “Don’t believe democracy will be a panacea. Hitler was returned by universal suffrage and he killed seven million Jews.” At the peak of the controversy, she became the object of mean-spirited jokes – most notably the nickname ‘Broomhead’, which mocked her hairstyle. Ip maintained the criticism was sexist, and once said: “How can I safeguard Hong Kong’s security if I cannot defend my hairstyle?” But as the saying goes, image-making is like mixing cement – once a politician’s public persona hardens into shape, little can be done to alter it. Senior officials at the time privately expressed both sympathy and admiration towards Ip for her firm stance and style in handling controversial issues. She eventually chose to step down in 2003 after the controversial bill prompted half a million people to take to the streets. The government also subsequently shelved the bill. Ip took her daughter to the United States for education and to pursue higher studies herself. In 2006, she returned to Hong Kong and founded the policy think tank Savantas Policy Institute after completing her studies at Stanford University, where renowned political scientist Professor Larry Diamond served as her mentor. She ran in the high-profile Legco by-election in 2007 head-to-head with former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang, but was defeated. However, she was elected to the Legco in the general election the next year and has since been a legislator. She founded the New People’s Party in 2011 and became its chairwoman. Over the years as a lawmaker, Ip has rebranded herself as a pragmatic, approachable politician. In a 2011 interview, Ip said: “When you become a senior government official, you are easily boxed in your office … Bureaucratic structure emphasises delegation and the more senior you become, the more likely it is you will be disconnected from ordinary people.” “Election changes a person. The baptism by fire through the electoral route changes one’s mindset significantly. When I was a policy secretary, I did not know wearing dark sunglasses and a red jacket offended people. “During my election campaign, my image consultant told me red is too bold and a pair of sunglasses provocative, and he said: ‘You have to change your wardrobe and hairstyle.’ “To win public support, I had to change my hairstyle.” Today, her Facebook page has around 150,000 followers, while her Instagram account attracts about 48,000. Some youngsters became followers as Ip regularly posted studio portraits of herself in qipao, a traditional Chinese dress, or even the Indian sari, while sharing her greetings for the Mid-Autumn Festival or Diwali, which ended up becoming internet memes. Two months ago, her supporters celebrated her 75th birthday in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay. Participants displayed banners and gave out 500 glass cloths with her face printed on them. The organisers claimed the free souvenirs were snapped up in about 40 minutes. Ip was never shy about her ambition to become the city’s leader. She made bids for the chief executive role in 2012 and 2017 but on both occasions, she failed to receive enough nominations. She was later appointed, by incumbent leader John Lee Ka-chiu, as convenor of the Executive Council, the government’s top decision-making body. She is also the first woman to hold the top post since the handover. Ip was awarded the city’s highest honour, Grand Bauhinia Medal, in 2021. Despite her departure from the Legco, political observer Professor Lau Siu-kai, a consultant at Beijing’s semi-official think tank the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said Ip was far from becoming irrelevant in the power game. “It is not the end of the world, only that she will not be a lawmaker. She is still the Exco convenor. Even if one day she leaves Exco, she can still speak out for or against government policies. “Given her rich experience in public policy, Ip can also teach in universities which would help train new talent for Hong Kong.”
