Former Hong Kong lawmaker Regina Ip has said that navigating social media is dangerous, as making the wrong statement can cause posts to “spread like wildfire”, but negative comments will never bother her.
“A lot of people can suddenly scold me, or suddenly praise me,” Ip, the head of the pro-establishment New People’s Party, said in response to a fan’s question about how she handles receiving “love and hate.”
The former lawmaker was speaking at a fan question-and-answer session at the ComplexCon cultural festival on Saturday.
She quoted the proverb, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
“Make sure you’re mentally strong… If people scold me, I won’t hold back and scold them,” Ip said. “Then it becomes nothing. Just put it aside.”
Fans flocked to Ip’s Q&A session, which was followed by a meet-and-greet.
Ip shared photos of fans taking selfies with him, including Denis Kwok, a singer from popular Cantopop boy group ERROR.
“My fan who calls himself 193 gave me a sweater at my fan meeting at ComplexCon today,” Ip has written in a social media post on Saturday, referring to Kwok’s nickname, which refers to his height.
Ip, 75, is one of Hong Kong’s most prominent politicians, having served as a lawmaker from 2008 until last year. She is currently convener of the government advisory body, the Executive Council, a post she has held since 2022.
‘Have you eaten the mooncakes yet?’
Ip’s public image has undergone a dramatic transformation over two decades, from being called “Broomhead” — a reference to her former hairstyle — to, more recently, “Jie Jie,” or “Big Sister” in Cantonese. She is one of Hong Kong’s most followed politicians on social media.
In 2003, when she was the city’s security chief, she was widely criticized for pushing a local security law and eventually resigned under public pressure.
She took a break from Hong Kong politics after that, pursuing a degree at Stanford University in the United States.
“When I came back in 2006, a lot of people … called me ‘Broomhead,'” she said, referring to the unflattering nickname.
“I had to constantly reinvent myself,” she added.
In recent years, Ip’s social media posts have earned her a following. In particular, photos marking occasions such as the Lunar New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival, in which she dresses up and sends greetings to the public, have become pop culture references.
“I think I started in 2018. I held moon cakes while wearing a cheongsam and (added text), “Have you eaten moon cakes yet? and I found that people really liked it,” Ip said.
She also credited her team for teaching her about social media, including how to film reels.
This year marked the third time that ComplexCon, an American festival, was hosted in Hong Kong. K-pop star Jennie, a member of South Korean girl group Blackpink, headlined the concert on Sunday.
The event is supported by the government’s Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund, which aims to attract large-scale events to the city.
Secretary for Culture, Sport and Tourism Rosanna Law said during the opening ceremony on Saturday, ComplexCon celebrates Hong Kong’s “unique status as a major East-Meets-West hub for international cultural exchange.”
