Regina Ip

From Free net encyclopedia

Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee (葉劉淑儀) is a formerly prominent government official of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). She was the first woman appointed as Secretary for Security who headed disciplinary service. She was also the first principal official to resign from Tung Chee-hwa, former Chief Executive of Hong Kong designed ministrial government - only after one year into its operation.

Biography

Image:Broomhead.jpg Educated in the University of Hong Kong, Ip joined the government in 1975 and started as an administrative officer. She took various bureaucratic positions before she was appointed as Director of Industry Department in September 1995.

In August 1996, she was appointed Director of Immigration, a post usually filled by officials within the service. She held the same position after the handover. In July 1998, she was promoted as the Secretary of Security.

As Tung's ministrial government started operation in July 1, 2002, she stayed on the position and became one of the 14 principal officials and a member of Executive Council. Under her leadership were 63,000 civil servants, which account for one third of the total population of the civil service body.

The most notable work during her office was that she piloted the controversial bill of Article 23, which, if passed, will establish the laws of treason and other national-security offence. Critics claimed that the bill would restrict the liberty of the people in Hong Kong. Well known for her sharp-tongue, Ip rebuffed critics at every turn and rejected calls for more consultation. Faced with the imminent passage of the bill, half a million people marched in the streets of Hong Kong on July 1, 2003 to denounce the law and the government was finally forced to postpone it.

Ip submitted her resignation letter on June 25, 2003, citing personal reasons. She officially left her office on July 25, 2003, ending her 28 years government service. The chief executive tried to persuade Ip to stay but she did not change her mind.

The controversal Regina Ip

Ip, one of the highest-ranking women in the Hong Kong government, said in a statement she deeply regretted that the legislative work to protect national security had not been completed as scheduled. Ip was at one time the most popular government official. She was highly praised for her industriousness and her accountability to Tung's government, but her blunt manner was behind her downfall. She has gone through many thorny issues, including prosecuting protesting students using the Public Order Ordinance and the right of abode saga. Ip has strongly defended the government's position in denying the rights of abode of the children of Hong Kong people born in mainland China since the 1997 handover. Her character was underlined by her open admission that she disliked the nickname "Broomhead" but would not change her hairstyle just to please her critics. Her popularity took a plunge she took on the task to promote Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23, the state security bill, in September 2002. Her popularity began to drop when one remark after another contradicted public sentiment. Her popularity ratings reached an all time low, being one of the lowest rated figures at the peak of the Article 23 incident. Her responses to public bordered on insults and many viewed them as arrogant and condescending.

She earned the esteem of many colleagues and even praise from Beijing's leaders. Since 2002, she has become such a controversial figure that detractors have resorted to taking shots at her bushy hairstyle, nicknaming her "Broomhead"(掃把頭). However, she has dismissed her pundits, saying: "If I can't even defend my hairstyle, how can I defend Hong Kong?"

Personal life

Regina Ip is a single mother after her husband passing away. She was also involved in the dispute between the Ip family members regarding the estate of her father in-law.

She is currently a Ph.D. student in East Asian Languages at Stanford University.

See also

• Politics of Hong Kong

Template:Start box |width=25% align=center|Preceded by:
Peter Lai |width=25% align=center|Secretary for Security
1998-2003 |width=25% align=center|Succeeded by:
Ambrose Lee Template:End box Template:Wikiquotezh:葉劉淑儀