Raymond Wong Yuk Man

Raymond Wong (Wong Yuk-Man; zh-c|c=黃毓民) is the member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Geographical constituency, Kowloon West). He is also a political commentator in Hong Kong. He is a charismatic radio host who worked in Commercial Radio Hong Kong (CRHK) and had hosted many popular "phone-in" programs. He taught journalism in the faculty of Communication and Journalism of Chu Hai College in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong. He is also a radical liberal Christian and the Chairman of the League of Social Democrats. He current hosts <<黃毓民頻道>> on MyRadio, an online radio station based in Hong Kong. Outside of politics and religion, he owns <<毓民私房牛肉麵>> ("Yuk-Man's Beef Noodles") restaurant and several other businesses.

His outspoken views, often critical of the Hong Kong and Chinese administrations, and aggressive style earned him the nickname "Din Gau" (Mad Dog; zh-c|c=癲狗) and could have been a reason for a spree of vandalisms of his restaurants. He was subsequently beaten up by gang members. He then took a sabbatical from his talk show "Close Encounters of a Political Kind" (zh-c|c=《政事有心人》), citing "political pressure" as the reason. However, unpaid debts with loan sharks originated by his multiple business failures (see below) could also be a cause for such attacks.

Following a self-imposed three-month exile in Canada, he returned to Hong Kong where he was sacked from his weeknight political phone-in, but instead given a late Saturday night slot for his political programme (with significantly less listeners). In less than a year, the programme was cancelled and Wong was effectively and controversially put off-air. This event was significant in Hong Kong as it meant that there was no longer any outspoken and critical radio talk show host on any Hong Kong radio stations. During his time off-air, he continued to run, along with his wife, his beef noodle restaurant in Mongkok.

In 2006, he co-founded the League of Social Democrats and is the Chairman of the political organization. In 2007, he made a comeback to talk shows, hosting a weekly political show <<黃毓民頻道>> on MyRadio online. The show quickly gained popularity and some videos of his broadcasts (captured by a studio camera) have become one of the most-watched videos in Hong Kong. The show has subsequently become a twice-weekly show with each show being extend from one hour to 1.5 hours.

In 2008, he has declared his intention to run in the 2008 LegCo election, for a seat in the Kowloon West constituency. On 8th September 2008, he has successfully gained a seat in the Hong Kong Legislative Council with the second highest number of votes in his constituency.

Failures in publishing newspapers

On 18 March 1996, Wong established "Mad Dog Daily", a tabloid of a clear political stance which is "Anti-Communism" and "Anti-Tung". However, suffered from low sales volume, it transformed into a magazine in October 1997 and was suspended shortly afterwards. As the result, Wong had to bear significant amount of debt.

In 2000, following the rise of IT industry, Wong established the "Cyper Post" and became the chairman of this listed company. Again, in the midst of the dot-com bubble, the business failed and Wong bore more liabilities. To settle the debts, Wong concentrated on radio work, writing journals for other newspapers and running his beef noodle restaurant.

Belief in Christianity

During the outbreak of SARS in 2003, he became a Christian. Since then, he started testifying for Christ. He helps the Media Evangelism Limited, a right-wing Christian organization in Hong Kong, to advertise its Christian programmes. However, he also controversially referred the Society For Truth And Light, a far-right Christian organization in Hong Kong, as a "terrorist organization". He also criticized the activities of the Society as "nonsense". [http://www.armbell.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8634&mforum=liberalhk] Although a Christian, Wong is also seen as a radical liberal Christian, he was invited as a guest of the International Day Against Homophobia protest in Hong Kong on May 21 2006. [http://www.inmediahk.net/public/article?item_id=116204&group_id=82]

In 2006, Wong recorded some songs with the Amazing Grace Worship Music Ministry.

Publications

* "Ultimately Arrogant History - The Ten Powerful Courtiers" (歷史幾串都有 - 十大權臣) ISBN 9889910381
* "Ultimately Cruel History - The Ten Emperors" (歷史幾狼都有 - 十大帝王) ISBN 9626782749
* "Yuk-Man Reveals" (毓民踢爆) ISBN 9625771034

External links

* [http://www.facebook.com/people/Raymond_Yukman_Wong/1203352530 Yukman Wong on Facebook]

Videos

* [http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%22%E9%BB%83%E6%AF%93%E6%B0%91%22&so=1 Google video (including YouTube) search of Wong Yuk Man]