Selina Chow
Selina Chow | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 25, 1945 Hong Kong |
| Occupation(s) | Television executive, politician |
| Years active | 1967–2014 |
| Known for | First female weather presenter in Hong Kong; member of the Legislative Council and Executive Council; chairwoman of the Liberal Party |
Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee (; born 25 January 1945) is a former television executive and politician from Hong Kong. She dedicated almost thirty years to serving in the Legislative Council and held membership in the Executive Council. Currently, she holds the title of honorary chairwoman of the Liberal Party, having previously occupied the role of chairwoman.
Following her graduation from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), Chow embarked on her career at Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) as Hong Kong’s inaugural weather presenter. Her executive career spanned all three leading Hong Kong broadcasters: TVB (1967–1977), general manager at Commercial Television (CTV) (1977–1978), and chief executive officer of Asia Television (ATV) (1988–1991).
Chow was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1981 and joined the Executive Council in 1991. As a founding figure of the pro-business Liberal Party, she held the position of vice-chairwoman from 1998 until 2008 and was reappointed to the Executive Council in 2003. In 2004, she secured a directly elected seat representing New Territories West, but was defeated in the 2008 election. Between 2012 and 2014, she served as chairwoman of the Liberal Party.
Education and television career
Born Liang Shuk-yee on 25 January 1945 in Hong Kong, Selina attended St. Paul's Co-educational College before earning a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Hong Kong in 1965. She further pursued studies in the United Kingdom, obtaining a postgraduate diploma from the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama and a Licentiateship in Drama (Teacher and Performer) from the Royal Academy of Music.
Her television career commenced at Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) in 1967, where she became Hong Kong’s first female weather presenter. Progressing through roles, she worked as assistant producer for both English and Chinese channels under general manager Colin Bednall, eventually rising to Assistant General Manager responsible for programming.
Feeling limited in her advancement opportunities at TVB, Chow resigned in 1977 to take on the role of general manager at Commercial Television (CTV). She aimed to revive the struggling broadcaster alongside around 200 former TVB employees, including prominent figures such as Tsui Hark, Patrick Tam, and Ringo Lam. Despite an investment totaling HK$50 million over three years, CTV was unable to sustain operations and closed down in 1978. Subsequently, Chow co-directed her sole feature film, No Big Deal (1979), a teen comedy made with Po-Chih Leong.
In August 1988, following the acquisition of Asia Television (ATV) by Lai Sun Group founder Lim Por-yen, Chow was appointed as chief executive officer. She initiated a $233 million investment plan spread over six years aimed at strengthening ATV’s position against TVB. This increased ATV’s annual budget to approximately $300–350 million—still $100–150 million less than TVB’s—and attracted leading talents such as comedians Lydia Shum and Eric Tsang, along with key producers and staff members. However, persistent financial losses undermined her leadership, resulting in her removal from the post in March 1991 and replacement by Lim Por-yen himself.
Colonial period
Chow began her political career in 1980 when she was appointed to the Urban Council, followed by her 1981 appointment to the Legislative Council by Governor Murray MacLehose. Throughout this time, she served in multiple public capacities, including as a member of the Law Reform Commission, Housing Authority, and Education Commission, and also led the Consumer Council as its chairperson.
In 1991, Governor David Wilson selected her for the Executive Council, the highest advisory body to the government. She stepped down in 1992 after Governor Chris Patten reorganized the council. Chow was involved with the Co-operative Resources Centre (CRC), headed by Legislative Council senior member Allen Lee, which was established to counterbalance the growing influence of the pro-democracy United Democrats of Hong Kong following their success in the 1991 elections.
The CRC later transformed into the Liberal Party, which opposed Patten’s 1994 constitutional reform plan, fearing it could jeopardize Hong Kong’s sovereignty handover due to Beijing’s disapproval. In the 1995 Legislative Council election, Chow secured victory in the Wholesale and Retail functional constituency, defeating pro-Beijing DAB candidate Wong Kwok-hing. After the colonial council was dissolved, she was elected to the Beijing-sanctioned Provisional Legislative Council.
SAR period
During Hong Kong’s inaugural SAR Legislative Council election in 1998, following Allen Lee’s resignation as Liberal Party chairman and loss of his seat, leadership passed to James Tien as chairman and Chow as vice-chairwoman. The Liberal Party joined Tung Chee-hwa’s governing coalition, which led to Chow’s appointments on the boards of the Hong Kong Tourist Association, later restructured into the Hong Kong Tourism Board in 2001.
Chow additionally held positions on the board of the Hong Kong Airport Authority, served as an advisor to Against Child Abuse, and directed the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Society. As the longest-serving member of the Legislative Council, she chaired its House Committee from 2000 to 2003 and was part of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) between 2003 and 2008.
Following widespread public resistance to national security legislation under Basic Law Article 23 and the large-scale July 1, 2003 protest, Liberal Party chairman James Tien resigned from the Executive Council. Without support from the Liberals, the government withdrew the bill. In September 2003, Chow was appointed to fill Tien’s vacated Executive Council position.
Building on this momentum, both Chow and Tien transitioned from functional constituencies to geographical constituencies in the 2004 election; Chow won a seat representing New Territories West with over 50,000 votes, approximately a 10% vote share.
In the 2008 Legislative Council election, Chow lost her New Territories West seat after receiving around 21,000 votes, concluding her legislative career spanning 27 years. She partially attributed her defeat to Heung Yee Kuk chairman and fellow Liberal member Lau Wong-fat supporting DAB candidate Cheung Hok-ming. Following this outcome, both Chow and Tien resigned from their leadership roles within the party, with Chow also stepping down from her Executive Council post.
After Legislative Council
Following a rift within the party involving James Tien's brother, Michael Tien, and Tommy Cheung concerning the Minimum Wage Bill, which ultimately resulted in Michael's exit, Selina Chow and James Tien reassumed leadership roles. In January 2011, Chow once again took over the vice-chairwoman position from Tommy Cheung. During the 2012 Chief Executive election, the Liberals initially endorsed former member and Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang, but withdrew their support after Tang became embroiled in the illegal basement scandal. The party also declined to back Beijing’s favored candidate Leung Chun-ying, with Chow and chairwoman Miriam Lau justifying their decision to cast blank votes as a "responsible choice," referencing an internal survey that indicated 30% of voters intended to submit blank ballots.
After Miriam Lau lost her seat representing Hong Kong Island in the 2012 Legislative Council election and stepped down as chairwoman, Selina Chow was elected unopposed as chairwoman on 15 December 2012. During her tenure, the party established a new role of party leader, which was filled by James Tien. Chow led the party for two years before passing the chairmanship to Felix Chung, subsequently taking on the title of honorary chairwoman.
In the course of the 2017 Chief Executive election, Chow distinguished herself from other party leaders by supporting former Financial Secretary John Tsang, alongside James Tien, Miriam Lau, and Felix Chung, opposing Beijing’s preferred candidate, former Chief Secretary Carrie Lam.
Personal life
Liang is married to engineer Joseph Chow Ming-kuen, having accepted his marriage proposal made via phone in 1968 while he was in the United Kingdom. The couple has two daughters, Chee-may and Chee-kay, as well as five grandchildren.