Alice Ishigami Lee Fung-king, once an elected councilor in Hong Kong, never thought that picking up garbage would lead her to reenter politics. Just two years after seeking refugee status and resettling in the UK, she was elected as a Scottish councilor.
Turning Garbage Duty Into a Different Life
Ms. Lee recounted the story of an intense election in Hong Kong. She secured victory and received almost 4,000 votes, winning her district council seat by 439 votes over her key rival in 2019. She vividly recalls the tense final half-hour of vote counting, each encouraging slogan echoed in her ears. She was a member of the Power for Democracy party and formerly served as a district councilor for the Yan Lam constituency in the Eastern District Council of Hong Kong.Despite the initial success of the Democratic camp, the National Security Law imposed later required elected public servants to take a “patriotic” oath of allegiance to the Hong Kong authority under the Chinese Communist Party, posing difficulties to councilors with political dissent and giving her a life choice.
