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South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Beijing's liaison office ‘angered' by Angel Chong's Miss Hong Kong bid, sources say
Officials from Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong were 'angered' by a young district councillor's brief attempt to compete in a beauty pageant and cautioned her political party over it, according to sources who viewed her move as falling short of the expected conduct of a public officeholder. The Post also learned that the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) and the government chose to downplay the saga while resisting any investigation into whether Angel Chong Nga-ting's actions constituted misconduct so as to avoid 'renewing the public's attention' on the incident. The 24-year-old, the city's youngest district councillor, was spotted attending the first round of interviews for the Miss Hong Kong Pageant organised by broadcaster TVB on Tuesday. She announced her withdrawal a day later, saying she wanted to protect the district council's image. Chong had reportedly brought her assistant in the Sai Kung District Council along to the interview, who distributed cold drinks to reporters on site. The assistant was also seen providing Chong's contact information as a councillor to journalists. Multiple insiders from the DAB said Chong had not informed the party of her decision to join the beauty contest. 'The liaison office was angry at her move and also the party for allowing the incident to happen,' a DAB source said.
HKFP
4 days ago
- Politics
- HKFP
Pro-Beijing district councillor withdraws from Miss Hong Kong Pageant after official reminder of duties
Pro-Beijing District Councillor Angel Chong has decided to quit the Miss Hong Kong Pageant, one day after taking part in the first round of interviews for the beauty contest. Chong made the announcement on Instagram on Wednesday afternoon, saying that she joined the beauty pageant because she believed it was a good platform to promote the work of district councillors, especially among young people. However, after reading news reports and people's comments, she realised the public perception was not as positive as she had thought, she added. The incident 'has affected the public perception of the District Council to some degree, and that was the last thing I wanted to see,' Chong wrote in Chinese. 'Therefore, we think we should follow the public perception and protect the image of the District Council… I've decided not to continue participating in the Miss Hong Kong Pageant.' Chong's participation in the first round of interviews sparked controversy online on Tuesday. Netizens commented on social media, with some asking why a district councillor had so much spare time to join the entertainment industry, and others suggesting Chong should join the contest only after she resigns from the District Council. Chong's announcement comes after Alice Mak, the home and youth affairs chief, reminded district councillors of their duties on Tuesday, local media reported. Mak told journalists that she had learned from media reports that a district councillor was taking part in the pageant. Regardless of their profession, district councillors should follow the Performance Monitoring Guidelines for Members of the District Councils and fulfil their duties, Mak said. Chong, a member of the city's largest pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), was appointed as a Sai Kung district councillor in late 2023 during the 'patriots-only' District Council elections. It was the first time the number of seats chosen by the public was slashed to around 20 per cent, with the rest selected by the city's leader, government-appointed committees, and officials. At that time, Chong was 23 years old – the youngest among 179 government-appointed district councillors, reported RTHK. According to her declaration of interest, Chong previously worked at a subsidiary of Chinese Merchants Group, a state-owned enterprise as of early February 2024, but she quit by September that year. Plans to overhaul the District Council elections were unveiled in May 2023 to ensure only 'patriots' were elected, following a pro-democracy landslide at the last polls in 2019. The number of seats chosen democratically by the public were slashed from 452 to 88 – reducing the power of public votes to a fifth. The rest are to be chosen by the city's leader and government-appointed committees. Constituency boundaries were redrawn, the opposition were shut out, voting hours were slashed by an hour, and each local council is to be chaired by a government official, similar to colonial-era arrangements. All candidates undergo national security vetting to ensure patriotism.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Angel Chong may have to end controversial bid to join Miss Hong Kong Pageant
The youngest district councillor in Hong Kong may pull out of the Miss Hong Kong Pageant after her attempt to enter the competition drew criticism for compromising her duty to residents, with the leader of her political party telling the Post she would be reaching a 'thorough decision' soon. Gary Chan Hak-kan, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), said on Wednesday that the party had called on Sai Kung district councillor Angel Chong Nga-ting, 24, to fulfil her duties. 'DAB has requested Chong to fulfil her duties and not let down the expectations of the residents, the Hong Kong government and everyone. I believe she will make a very carefully considered decision and announce it to everyone soon,' he told the Post. His comments came a day after Chong was spotted at Tseung Kwan O TVB City for the first round of interviews for the beauty contest. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said on Tuesday that every district councillor, regardless of their profession, background or sector, must meet the requirements of the performance monitoring system. Asked if Chong could retain her post if she won the pageant, Mak stressed that district councillors must perform their duties conscientiously regardless of the activities or work they want to participate in.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Angel Chong, youngest district councillor, enters Miss Hong Kong Pageant
The youngest district councillor in Hong Kong is running in the Miss Hong Kong Pageant, with the home affairs minister reminding her to fulfil her public duties and leaving open the question of whether she will need to step down if crowned. The news of Sai Kung district councillor Angel Chong Nga-ting, 24, joining the pageant contest came to light on Tuesday when she appeared at Tseung Kwan O TVB City for the first round of interviews. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said all district councillors needed to fulfil their duties. 'Every district councillor, regardless of their profession, background or sector, must follow all the requirements of the performance monitoring system,' she said. When asked whether Chong could retain her post if she won the pageant, Mak said: 'First, it depends on the result of [the pageant]. But the principle is that no matter what activities or work this district councillor or other district councillors want to participate in ... they must perform their duties conscientiously.' Chong, who is a member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), was appointed as a councillor by the government after the 2023 election, becoming the youngest member in the current term.
Indian Express
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
When will disabled NEET aspirants get their SC-sanctioned rights?
Written by Satendra Singh A NEET aspirant with a disability has been messaging me continually since March. Her only question: 'When will the National Medical Commission (NMC) issue revised disability guidelines for MBBS and MD/MS, as per the Supreme Court's directions?' On 14 June 2025, the NEET-UG results were declared. Over 750 students with disabilities from diverse communities — General, OBC, SC, ST, and EWS — have qualified. However, their joy is short-lived. The silence of the NMC and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has left them paralysed by uncertainty. Which guidelines will apply? Have more disability assessment centres been designated? Which colleges can they safely choose? The promised web portal listing accessibility-compliant colleges — as ordered by the apex court — is still absent. This is not merely a bureaucratic delay. It seems to be a defiance of the Supreme Court's orders, a betrayal of India's constitutional promise of equality, and perhaps even contempt of court. In April 2022, the Delhi High Court in Neha Pudil vs NMC directed that the discriminatory disability guidelines be revised within six months. Two years later, that direction remains unimplemented. Then in October 2024, the Supreme Court in Omkar Ramchandra Gond vs UOI mandated the NMC to revise its guidelines before the NEET 2025 brochure was published and to establish an Appellate Medical Body. The brochure was released, but the guidelines and the body were not. In the same month, in another landmark judgment — Om Rathod vs DGHS — the apex court went further, ordering the establishment of enabling units for reasonable accommodations, accessibility compliance details on the NEET portal, functional support, including assistive technology, modified pedagogy, and trained staff. None of these directives has been followed. By November 2024, the situation was so dire that the Supreme Court had to summon the DGHS in Anmol vs UOI. Only after the embarrassment of public scrutiny did Anmol receive his rightful MBBS seat. Still, the DGHS has ignored directions to establish Disability Assessment Boards (DABs) in every state and to include doctors with disabilities in these boards, as well as provide them with training on disability justice and ableism. Following the SC's lead, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in January also ordered the formation of an Appellate Board. The NMC ignored that, too. In February 2025, the apex court finally struck down the infamous 'both hands intact' clause as ableist and left scope for further compliance review. But in March, the Suyash Patil case exposed the NMC's indifference again: the student lost an entire academic year due to a clerical lapse in DAB records. The NMC's solution? Accommodate next year. Even when the NMC did form a committee, it stuffed it with the same architects of the old discriminatory policy. Tokenism ruled: just one doctor with a disability, from an institution outside the NMC's purview, with no undergraduate programme. Expectedly, this committee missed its 15 April deadline to publish the revised guidelines. Then came May, and the Kabir Paharia case. The Supreme Court gave relief only one day before NEET 2025. Another student was rescued. Another year lost. Another trauma inflicted. As of today, both the NMC and DGHS have violated their affidavit in the Anmol matter, which had promised to release guidelines by 15 April 2025. NEET 2025 results are out. But disabled aspirants are frozen in limbo, deprived of the ability to plan or hope. Worse, the very committee revising the guidelines includes no medical student with a disability. This is a violation not just of principles of participatory justice, but also of international norms. The World Federation for Medical Education — to which NMC is affiliated — mandates in its Basic Medical Standards (2020) under Clauses 4 and 8 that students must be involved in governance. What we are witnessing is institutionalised impunity. The NMC and DGHS have now routinely defied not just one, but multiple High Court and Supreme Court directives. Why then has no contempt proceeding been initiated? Justice delayed is not only justice denied — it becomes injustice institutionalised. Every day of inaction from the NMC and DGHS is a day of stolen dreams, heightened anxiety, and unconstitutional discrimination against India's most marginalised NEET qualifiers. It is now imperative that the Supreme Court's vacation bench takes suo motu cognisance of this deliberate, systemic, and continuing contempt — and that real accountability, not symbolic compliance, is finally enforced. The writer teaches at the University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and is a disability rights activist. Views are personal
