Lee Faulkner | Expat and 2020 LegCo candidate - Supporting those who have allowed you to build a new life
Lee Faulkner, 50s, is a British-born actuary who moved to Hong Kong in 2011 after having previously lived in several other countries. In 2020, he joined a number of opposition candidates to run against incumbent legislators of several functional constituencies in the 2020 Legislative Council election, which has since been postponed until 2021.
“I always try to immerse myself in the local community to better understand where I am and the people around me as well as to gain new perspectives on things. ”
While I am originally from London, I came to Hong Kong as a tourist in 1993 and since then I have always loved the city. I decided to return to Hong Kong after securing a job and moved here permanently in 2011.
I initially worked for a British insurance firm. After a year, I decided to teach English and took a different direction in my career for a while.
Although I currently live on Lamma Island, Sheung Wan remains my favourite part of Hong Kong. When I was teaching, my office was on Des Voeux Road West, also known as the ‘Dried Fish District’, where lots of stores stock up on seafood. While the area did smell of fish a lot of the time, I found it full of character and very unique to Hong Kong, earning it a place in my heart.
Breaking the expat mould
I’ve tried to avoid settling into the ‘expat lifestyle’ too much during my time here. I always try to immerse myself in the local community to better understand where I am and the people around me as well as to gain new perspectives on things.
I know some expats who barely venture outside of Central or eat more than 100 yards from the Mid-Levels escalator[*1]. They have never tried dim sum[*2], never travelled around Kowloon or the New Territories and have never been on the hiking trails. It makes me feel sorry for them that they are missing out on so many amazing parts of the city.
First experiences with Hong Kong politics
I’ve always been something of a political animal. I usually find myself getting involved in local politics to some extent. I’m not the sort of person that will just sit back and complain. I have to do something to improve the state of affairs.
Anyone who can read and write should try and use those skills for the betterment of others. While I was not particularly engaged with UK politics, I became much more involved during my time living in Argentina, where my experience of the country’s corruption, the chaos caused by the currency’s devaluation and the national bailout brought me to join protests in the country. I also began writing letters to local newspapers, a practice I continue to this day about events in Hong Kong.
I was very aware of the recent history of Hong Kong even before I moved here. However, it wasn’t until the tenure of CY Leung[*3], the debate over the Moral and National Education legislation[*4] and the rise to prominence of activists such as Joshua Wong that I became more acutely aware of the issues in Hong Kong society.
My first direct experience was watching a demonstration by Scholarism[*5] outside LegCo, and I was struck by how these young students seemed to be on the verge of bringing down the government. The government seemed to have been completely outclassed by these activists. It is a reputational slight I do not think Leung would ever forget, which may explain his ongoing hostility to the more recent cohort of young protestors.
I also got caught up in the Occupy Movement in 2014[*6] and was on the receiving end of teargas during some of the clashes with police. I will never forget seeing all those people camped out for what seemed like an eternity in the Central district, as well as the thorough feeling of sadness that came over me when the movement finally ended and the camps were cleared. It was a moment I consider incredibly heartbreaking even to this day. Obviously, things have continued to deteriorate since then, with the extradition bill protests and now the implementation of the National Security Law (NSL)[*7].
For me, the desire to engage in local politics comes not just from personal interests but also a sense of responsibility for a city that has given me a home. I simply cannot stand by and watch things happen. I need to get involved.
The 2020 election campaign
This is why I decided to run as a potential candidate for the insurance functional constituency (FC)[*8] in the (now postponed) 2020 LegCo election.
I began my campaign running for what many considered to be one of the safest FC seats in LegCo (the incumbent Chan Kin-por has held it since 2008), however, the reaction to my candidacy was much more positive than I had initially expected.
When I received my first nomination, I was actually rather shocked. One nominator said she was glad to see someone make an effort to take a stand and offer voters a choice. This was very uplifting but also very humbling as I realised many people were depending on me to raise issues and challenge the status quo. It is always good to give people hope for the future, and I still feel an enormous responsibility for those who supported me.
Besides the emotional roller-coaster of expecting no support and receiving much more than expected, the one event during my campaigning days that sticks out in my mind was when I found myself at a press conference among four other opposition FC candidates. It was rather surreal to realise, at the moment, that just nine years ago I had stepped off a flight and made Hong Kong my home, and now I was facing the press who all wanted to know what I will try and do for the city. It was a very emotional experience.
I don’t know if I will be allowed to stand as a candidate again, but it is an effort I do not regret.
The future of Hong Kong
While I do not desire to break the law or end up in prison, I will continue to hold politicians and the government to their word. If they say the NSL does not violate free speech, then I will continue to speak my mind and they will need to justify their response if I am arrested or charged.
I think that the days of throwing petrol bombs and trashing MTR stations may be over and instead, we will have to pick our battles and be laser-focused on exposing the hypocrisy and corruption of individuals to push for change.
I believe there is now a groundswell of disgust at the corruption of vested interests and the political class in this city. These people are the enablers of the current system which is pushing Hong Kong towards collapse. However, many of these individuals now know that people are aware of their activities, and these sentiments need to be used as a foundation to achieve constructive reform.
While the people may not be able to vote out Carrie Lam and the rest of her enablers, we can still expose the cartel-like nature and rot at the heart of the economic and political system, and by combining our expertise across all walks of life, we can rebuild. There’s a lot we can do and as Hongkongers, we can all use our own talents to achieve change together.
“I am Lee Faulkner, I am a HKer.”
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This article was featured on Apply Daily English Version. See the article @ https://hk.appledaily.com/feature/20201031/EH6SXJ2OWNB5FPX72SWUYWNTXY/
[*1] The Central-Mid-Levels escalator is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world and connects the two districts.
[*2] Dim sum is a large range of appetiser-sized dishes that Cantonese people traditionally enjoy in restaurants for breakfast and lunch.
[*3] Leung Chun-ying (CY Leung) was chief executive of Hong Kong from 2012 to 2017.
[*4] The Moral and National Education protests in 2012 were in response to new Hong Kong school curriculum materials which were criticised for being biased towards the Chinese Communist Party.
[*5] Scholarism was a Hong Kong pro-democracy group formed in 2011 by Joshua Wong and other student activists.
[*6] Occupy Central, also known as the Umbrella Revolution, was a period of extended protests in 2014 against proposed reforms to Hong Kong’s electoral system.
[*7] The National Security Law was passed in June 2020 and has been criticised for suppressing freedom of speech and leaving pro-democracy activists vulnerable to arrest.
[*8] Functional Constituencies in Hong Kong are non-geographical constituencies which elect representatives for special interest groups or professions.