Ng Ming-yum

Ng Ming-yum (

On 11 October 1985, while going to greet residents in Tuen Mun, he was savagely attacked with knives and metal pipes, hospitalising him for eight days. Of the assailants - thought to have been hired thugs, five were arrested and two went to prison. It was the first time a pro-democracy district councillor had been assaulted and generated widespread concern in Hong Kong. It also led to Ng gaining 70 percent of the votes in his district against the pro-Beijingers in the Regional Council Election in 1986.^[1][2][3]

Legislative Councillor

He united many students and teachers to support the

Ng was elected as a member of the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 1991, and was noted for his hard work during his short term. He strongly opposed proposed cuts in education expenditure and the number of classes in schools. In this cause he helped bring together the Education functional constituency for a candlelit vigil around the LegCo to pressure on the government. Although pro-Beijing members and some pro-London members voted in favour of the proposal, this plan was finally cancelled in 1993.

Illness and death

Ng was diagnosed with

A few weeks later, during a fundraising campaign on 22 June 1992, he fainted and died. LegCo members observed a moment of silence before the legislature sat in his memory two days later. He was the only LegCo member ever to receive this honour. He was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

In the LegCo by-election that followed Ng's death, his colleague Albert Ho, later chairman of the Democratic Party, stood but failed to win, later recognising that he lacked Ng's close ties to the area. He nevertheless took on the office and staff that Ng had run, and went to represent the area in Legco and on Tuen Mun District Council.^[4]

Publications

• 燃點此生 (1992), published by Breakthrough
• 昨天的努力，明天的見證 (1992), published by Breakthrough

References