Olympic fencing champion Vivian Kong faces scrutiny over tourism ties in LegCo race
發佈日期: 2025-11-06 22:26
TVB News
All functional constituencies in the Legislative Council election will be contested this year.
Olympic gold medalist Vivian Kong, who has entered the race for the tourism functional constituency, has been asked by election officials to clarify her connection to the industry.
Vivian Kong, Team Hong Kong's fencing champion, has filed her nomination, garnering 14 corporate electors' endorsements.
As she is not a registered voter in the tourism sector, she was required to declare her "close connection" with the industry.
According to her nomination form, she has been serving since August 2024 as External Affairs Manager at the Jockey Club.
She also listed her background as a fencer and a standing committee member of the All-China Youth Federation.
Election officers sent Kong an email on Monday, requesting her to explain how her experience or qualification is relevant to the tourism industry, and how they would enable her to represent and contribute to the sector.
In her written reply, Kong says as an Olympic gold medallist, she believes sports and tourism are increasingly interconnected.
She notes that her role at the Jockey Club has allowed her to participate in projects under the racing tourism ecosystem, which has been included in the government's tourism industry development blueprint 2.0 as a core strategy.
Kong's rival in the constituency, Ma Yat-chiu, a tourism practitioner, secured 17 corporate nominations.
Ma declared himself as a member of the Travel Industry Council's Public Relations Committee.
He holds tour guide accreditations from the Council.
Overall, 30 Legislative Council seats will be decided through the functional constituencies -- all seeing contested races this year.
The social welfare sector is expected to be among the most competitive, with three candidates vying for one seat, while the labour sector, which has three seats, sees five candidates in the running.
There are 40 seats in the Election Committee constituency, and 50 nominations already submitted.
