32 Facts About Rita Fan

Rita Fan was the first President of the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council from 1998 to 2008 and a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Rita Fan developed a close relationship with the Beijing authorities subsequently, assuming the office of the President of the Beijing-installed Provisional Legislative Council on the eve of the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong.

Rita Fan continued her position as the President of the SAR Legislative Council and first contested in the geographical constituency direct election in Hong Kong Island in 2004.

Shortly before retiring from the Legislative Council in 2008, Fan became the member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 2008, where she had been the Hong Kong deputy of the national legislature from 1997.

Rita Fan served in the Standing Committee until her retirement in 2018.

The Hsu family followed Du to move to Hong Kong before the fall of Shanghai to the Chinese Communist Party during the Chinese Civil War when Rita Fan was only four.

Rita Fan studied at the St Stephen's Girls' College before she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Physics from the University of Hong Kong.

Rita Fan later joined Hong Kong Polytechnic as head of their Student Affairs Unit and, later, as associate director.

Rita Fan first stepped into politics when she was appointed to the Legislative Council by Governor Edward Youde in 1983.

Rita Fan persuaded the Mainland authorities to require all cars driven on the Mainland to have left hand drives which meant the Hong Kong right hand drive car could no longer be smuggled into the Mainland before the mechanical overhaul.

Rita Fan was appointed chairman of the Board of Education from 1986 to 1989 and chairman of the Education Commission from 1990 to 1992.

Rita Fan strongly espoused the case for mother tongue education and suggested that the government should increase the university graduates ratio of primary teachers.

Rita Fan insisted that the British Hong Kong government repatriate Vietnamese boat people who took refuge in Hong Kong, a major issue at the time, to protect the interests of the Hong Kong residents.

Rita Fan was later appointed to the Executive Council by Governor David Wilson in 1989.

Rita Fan held the position in the Executive and Legislative Councils, until she was told to resign from the Executive Council by the newly arrived Governor Chris Patten so he could reform the council.

Rita Fan was later elected by the 400-strong Selection Committee to the Provisional Legislative Council, a provisional legislature installed by Beijing which the pro-democracy camp deemed as unconstitutional.

Rita Fan was elected the President of the Provisional Legislative Council.

Rita Fan was severely attacked for her switching side and was called "chameleon" and "Jiang Qing of Hong Kong", wife of Chairman Mao Zedong and the head of the Gang of Four.

Rita Fan ran in the Election Committee electoral college in the first SAR Legislative Council election in 1998.

Rita Fan continued to serve three consecutive terms as elected President of the Legislative Council from 1998.

Rita Fan demonstrated a largely acclaimed and respected firm but fair manner of presiding at meetings, and dealing with the radical members such as Leung Kwok-hung who she ejected from the Legislative Council chamber in November 2004.

Rita Fan received more than 65,000 votes, 18.5 per cent of the total vote share.

Rita Fan continued to serve in the Legislative Council for one more term until her retirement in 2008.

Rita Fan was first elected to the National People's Congress in 1997.

Shortly before her retirement from the Legislative Council in 2008, Rita Fan was promoted to the Standing Committee.

Rita Fan believed her criticism toward Leung had cost her votes which plunged from 2,896 to 2,790 in her 2013 re-election to the Standing Committee.

Rita Fan did not seek for re-election in the 2017 National People's Congress election due to the unofficial 70-year-old age limit.

In February 2021, Rita Fan said that those who want to run in the Legislative Council should be nominated by the election committee, and that district councillors should be banned from selecting the Chief Executive.

In March 2021, Rita Fan claimed that electoral changes by the NPCSC to only allow "patriots" to serve in the government might lead to earlier universal suffrage for the Chief Executive position.

Rita Fan married businessman Stephen Fan Sheung-tak in 1974 until his death from liver cancer in 2004.

Rita Fan was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001 and underwent a mastectomy.

Rita Fan is Honorary President of the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation.