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To be a politician or an educationist? The DAB Leader just accepts what comes to him

The Young Reporter (2001, October), 34(01), pp. 10.
Author: Catherine Ma. Editor: Estelle Cheung.
Permanent URL - https://sys01.lib.hkbu.edu.hk/bujspa/purl.php?&did=bujspa0014923

Catherine Ma catherine@tyronline.com

“WORK for your dream, but never be the slave of your dream,” said Mr Tsang Yok-sing, the chairman of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) .

Mr Tsang took his first step into Hong Kong politics and established the DAB in 1992. Since then, he tried his best to be a responsible politician by advising the Government and helping Hong Kong people through his party.

But Mr Tsang never intended to be a politician before he graduated. He wanted to be a physics teacher instead.

“I would like to be an academic researcher. I like science. I. like daydreaming. I like to know how the world is created and how it will be changed,” Mr Tsang said.

Out of the active promotion of the local and overseas student associations, Mr Tsang began totake an interest on the social and political situation in Hong Kong and mainland China after he finished his arts degree in 1968.

To strengthen his contact with China, Mr Tsang started to teach in a pro-China secondary school in 1969.

Though being a teacher was not easy, it gave him satisfaction. Mr Tsang found teaching difficult at first as he did not understand his students. Sometimes he got angry with himself because he found it difficult to explain the concepts to his students.

Mr Tsang said being a teacher gave him greater satisfaction than being a politician. When he was teaching, he was confident to deliver the messages to the students effectively.

However, Mr Tsang lost his confidence when he worked with politics. Very often, the situations went beyond his control.

Handling the relationship with the journalists was a great challenge for him.

Mr Tsang admitted that he was a bad-tempered person. Some journalists complained he was a cool and unhelpful politician. It was because he refused to give comments sometimes. But he believed the journalists were to blame. According to Mr Tsang, some of the journalists were simply asking without thinking. It made him angry.

Besides dealing with the journalists, Mr Tsang had to face the pressure from family as his family preferred him to be a school principal rather than a politician.

His wife and daughter faced great pressure when Mr Tsang became a celebrity. The family lost its privacy. As most people held a negative attitude towards pro-China organisations, some of the relatives tended to avoid contact with his family.

The Tsang family had to endure the criticism towards the DAB.

“I remembered once my daughter told me her teacher disliked the DAB and kept criticising the party for more than ten minutes. It was really embarrassing when she finally discovered that my daughter was in the classroom,”Mr Tsang laughed.

Facing all those pressures and difficulties, the DAB leader believed an optimistic attitude was highly important.

“Just jump to the next question if you don't know what to do. Remember it's just a test,” he said.

According to Mr Tsang, his motivation to continue working in politics came from the understanding of his family and his friends. Without their support, his life became meaningless.

The increasing popularity and acceptance of the DAB seemed to recognise Mr Tsang’s effort in politics. The situation encouraged him to go ahead.

But the leader cannot deny leaving the political scene one day.

When the job became meaningless, he would leave the stage. He hoped to return to education if one day he withdrew from politics. He also wished to teach the students by sharing with them his valuable experience gained from working in politics.

Edited by Estelle Cheung

Mr Tsang's academic profile

1957-65 St. Paul's College, HK

1968 B. A. (Hons), The University of Hong Kong

1969-81 Teacher, Piu Kiu Middle School

1983 Master Degree of Education, The University of Hong Kong

1985-97 Principal of Piu Kiu Middle School

Mr Tsang as a politician:

1988-93 Guangdong Committee Member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Council

1991-93 Chairman, Hong Kong Association of Chinese Middle School

1992 Chairman, the DAB

1993-97 Hong Kong Affairs Advisor to China

1996-97 Preparatory Committee of the HKSAR

(source:www.Jycoos.com)

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