British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1981, who Handbag Party was said to be modelled on

Handbag Party (Chinese: 手袋黨)[1] was a group of Hong Kong female senior officials in the late British colonial government and early Chinese administration, led by then-Chief Secretary Anson Chan. The clique was named after they dressed like then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with handbags in hand,[2] and sang for the departing Governor Sir Murray MacLehose in a 1982 farewell dinner. Media described them as "with small handbags but strong audacity and in high-ranking positions".[3]

Soon after the handover, rumoured disagreement between Chan and the inaugural Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa diminished the power of the Handbag Party. Following the introduction of the Principal Officials Accountability System, most of the members were not promoted to appointed minister-level principal officials and remained as permanent secretary only.[4] As Chan retired early in 2001, others either followed suit or remained in the government of Tung and later of Donald Tsang.

List of members

Anson Chan
Margaret Chan
Rita Lau

The clique was led by Anson Chan and with Lily Yam as the number two. Members include:[5]

Position in 1982 Highest position After retirement
Anson Chan Deputy Director of Social Welfare Chief Secretary (1993–2001) Member of Legislative Council (2007–2008)
Margaret Chan Government-employed doctor Director of Health (1994–2003) Director-General of World Health Organization (2006–2017), member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Cheung Man-yee Radio Television Hong Kong Controller (Broadcasting Services - Radio) Director of Broadcasting (1986–1999) Representative to Tokyo (1999–2002)
Katherine Fok Secretary of Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service Health Secretary (1994–1999) Retired
Rita Lau Administrative Officer at Government Secretariat Commerce Secretary (2008–2011) Chairman of Public Service Commission (2014–2023)
Sandra Birch Lee Administrative Officer at Government Secretariat Permanent Secretary for Food and Health (2007–2011) Retired
Shelley Lee Administrative Officer at Government Secretariat Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs (2002–2005) Retired
Lily Yam Deputy Commissioner of Independent Commission Against Corruption Environment Secretary (2000–2002) Retired
Carrie Yau Administrative Officer at Government Secretariat Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs (2007–2010) Executive Director of Vocational Training Council (2013–2021)
Irene Yau (丘李賜恩) Information Officer Director of Information Services (1987–1997) Retired
Helen Yu (余黎青萍) Deputy Hong Kong Commissioner in London Director of Regional Services (1998–2000) Member of Independent Police Complaints Council
Denise Yue Administrative Officer at Government Secretariat Civil Service Secretary (2006–2012) Retired

Other members said to be part of the Handbag Party include Elizabeth Margaret Bosher, former minister, Elizabeth Wong, former Health Secretary, and Baroness Dunn, former Senior Member of Executive Council and Legislative Council.[6]

Carrie Lam, who would become Chief Executive, was also claimed to be a part of the group, but it was denied by Lam herself and Chan, who described her successor as "unaligned".[7]

Aftermath

With CY Leung selected as the new Chief Executive, the last prominent member of the Handbag Party left the administration in 2012. Some of the members leaned towards liberal in 2019, with Yue and Chan calling for an independent enquiry over the large-scale protests, which was rejected by the Lam ministry.[8] According to media reports, the group still met often despite their retirement.[9]

References

  1. ↑ 陳, 芳葆 (2007). "From colony to SAR: the rise and decline of "handbag party" in Hong Kong". Hong Kong Shue Yan University.
  2. ↑ "【Power to the Ladies】古典手袋黨". LifeStyle Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  3. ↑ "手袋黨｜食衛局前常秘李淑儀沽薄扶林豪宅賺逾3,700萬". Finance730 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  4. ↑ "手袋黨成員全為女高官". Apple Daily. 2005-12-06. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  5. ↑ 黃, 海 (2017). 香港社會階層分析. 商務印書館(香港)有限公司. pp. 271–2. ISBN 9789620772184.
  6. ↑ "【非凡人物】除了能力還有氣質！緬懷香港「手袋黨」的優雅！". BusinessFocus (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  7. ↑ "回顧公僕生涯 林鄭月娥：無「馬房」也不是「手袋黨」". RTHK (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 2020-08-18. Archived from the original on 2021-03-17.
  8. ↑ 沙半山 (2019-07-23). "【元朗黑夜】任關佩英等36前高官再發聯署信 促設獨立委員會". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  9. ↑ "手袋黨怒罵《毒舌大狀》". Bastille Post. 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
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