Andrew Wong Wang-fat (; born 11 December 1943) is a Hong-Kong politician who was the last president of the Legislative Council during

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. He was the only person of Chinese ethnicity to have served in the position during British rule, supported by the

pan-democracy camp The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Chief Executive and the Legislative Cou ...

. Andrew Wong was born in Shanghai, Republic of China. He attended Wah Yan College, an all-male

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

secondary school in Hong Kong, after which studied at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in the United States and completed an MPhil at the

London School of Economics and Political Science , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

(LSE) in the United Kingdom. Wong is often referred to by the nickname "Uncle Fat" (). First elected into the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...

in 1985, Wong was elected by his fellow members of the Council to the position of its president in 1995. He held the position until 30 June 1997, when the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China. He served in the

Provisional Legislative Council The Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) was the interim legislature of Hong Kong that operated from 1997 to 1998. The legislature was founded in Guangzhou and sat in Shenzhen from 1996 (with offices in Hong Kong) until the handover in 1997 an ...

from 1997 to 1998, and was re-elected to the Legislative Council in 1998, and in 2000, after the transfer of sovereignty. He lost his seat at the 2004 Legislative Council elections. Wong served in the

Sha Tin District Board The Sha Tin District Council is the district council for the Sha Tin District in Hong Kong. It is one of 18 such councils. The Sha Tin District Council currently consists of 42 members, of which the district is divided into 41 constituencies, ...

from 1981 to 1991. He was also a lecturer in the Department of Government and Public Administration of the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university an ...

. In 2021, Wong published ''60 Chinese Poems in English Verse.'' The book is a collection of 60 quatrain poems from the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

which Wong translated from ancient Chinese into English. In his translation Wong focuses on translating into accentual verse to make the poems melodious to the English ear.

References

External links

Profile on the LegCo websiteWong's poetry translation website
Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong 1943 births Living people Chinese University of Hong Kong faculty Politicians from Shanghai Hong Kong pan-democrats HKFS people Alumni of Wah Yan District councillors of Sha Tin District Members of the Provisional Legislative Council HK LegCo Members 1985–1988 HK LegCo Members 1988–1991 HK LegCo Members 1991–1995 HK LegCo Members 1995–1997 HK LegCo Members 1998–2000 HK LegCo Members 2000–2004 Educators from Shanghai {{HongKong-politician-stub, Wong, Andrew