Elsie Tu
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Elsie Tu (杜葉錫恩; June 2, 1913-) (also known as Elsie Elliot, nee Hume) is a social activist and former elected member of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. Born in Great Britain, she moved to Hong Kong in 1951. She became known for her strong antipathy toward colonialism and corruption, as well as for her relentless work for the underprivileged.
[edit] Political career
Elliot graduated as a Bachelor of Arts in Durham University. She was elected for the first time to the Urban Council in 1st April 1963 as a member of the Reform Club. Later she left the Reform Club and ran as an independent candidate.
In 1965, Star Ferry's applied for an increase of First Class fare by 5 Hong Kong cents (from 20 cents to 25 cents). This was widely opposed in Hong Kong. Elliot collected over 20,000 signatories opposing the plan, and flew to London in an attempt to arrest the plan. The increase in fare was given its go-ahead in March 1966 by the Transport Advisory Committee, when the only vote opposing was Elliot's. Public outcry to the fare increase sparked the Kowloon riots in April 1966. Elliot was persecuted by the government as a result.
In 1980 it was revealed by Duncan Campbell that she was under surveillance by the Special Branch of the back-then Royal Hong Kong Police. This, however, did not worry Elliot as she stated: I know my telephone was tapped and probably is at this moment but I have done nothing wrong and have no political affiliations. Later, Elsie Tu wrote in her semi-autobiographical work, Colonial Hong Kong in the Eyes of Elsie Tu, that her phone line was already tapped in 1970.
In 1988 she was elected to the Legislative Council as a representative of the Urban Council.
In later years, she became an advocate of gradual democratisation rather than the much faster pace advocated by many democrats in Hong Kong, like Emily Lau and Martin Lee. She lost her Urban Council seat in the 1995 direction to Szeto Wah, whose campaign targeted mainly on Tu's perceived pro-communist stand.
She left politics and closed her surgery (office) in 1999 after having failed in her bid to be elected to the Legislative Council. Since then, she has continued to comment on social issues.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Elsie Tu (2003), Colonial Hong Kong in the Eyes of Elsie Tu (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press) ISBN 978-962-209-606-6
- Urban Council, Urban Council Annual Report, 1974
