Ng Ming-yam

Ng Ming-yam (Chinese: 吳明欽; 13 April 1955 – 22 June 1992) was a Hong Kong politician and writer. He was a key founder of the United Democrats of Hong Kong (forerunner of the Democratic Party), a member of the Tuen Mun District Council, an elected member of the Regional Council and the youngest member of the Legislative Council to die in office. He supported the Tiananmen Square protesters in 1989, and is remembered for carrying a flag, leading a supporting crowd during the related protest in Hong Kong.

Ng Ming-yam
吳明欽
Member of the Legislative Council
In office 9 October 1991 – 22 June 1992
Succeeded by	Tang Siu-tong
Constituency	New Territories West
Member of the Regional Council
In office 1 April 1986 – 22 June 1992
Succeeded by	Yim Tin-sang
Member of the Tuen Mun District Board
In office 1 April 1985 – 22 June 1992
Succeeded by	Ho Hang-mui
Personal details
Born	13 April 1955 Hong Kong
Died	22 June 1992 (aged 37) Hong Kong
Political party	Meeting Point United Democrats
Occupation	Politician

A writer for Breakthrough Magazine (Chinese: 突破; a Christian magazine published in Hong Kong from 1973 to 1999), Lee Wing-Tat was an ally of Ng inside the party and carried his portrait at his funeral. He would later become Democratic Party chairman.

Political career

Ng was a secondary school teacher and took an active role in community affairs. In 1971, he joined a demonstration asserting China's territorial rights over the Diaoyutai Islands. He was also active in the "Anti-corruption, Arrest Godber" movement in 1973. In the 1980s, he was deeply involved in the Meeting Point pressure group, and represented the group to win a seat on Tuen Mun District Council in 1985, securing the most votes in the territory. He went on to be re-elected with high votes in 1988 and 1991. In 1991, he won a seat onthe Legislative Council.

1985 attack incident

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 Tiananmen Square protesters in Beijing and was part of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, becoming a central committee member of the United Democrats of Hong Kong when it was formed in 1991.

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 blood cancer in February 1992, but continued to work long hours, even making policy proposals from his hospital bed. Despite his deteriorating health, on 4 June 1992 he attended a candlelight vigil in memory of the people who was killed during the Tiananmen massacre three years earlier.

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

1. Sing Tao news site
2. 過渡期暗湧：新西第一滴血，票王吳明欽遇襲 (trans: Undercurrent during the transition period: Xinxi’s first drop of blood, King of Votes Ng Ming-yam attacked), Medium.com
3. 拚命三郎, 民主派早殞「明日之星」, Apple Daily, 3 January, 2012
4. Albert Ho exits, urging his party to face future, South China Morning Post, 24 Nov, 2015