Valerie Wong helps people from Hong Kong to adapt and settle down in Wales, what has she been through and how is she helping them?
Valerie Wong recalls the moment when a delivery man rang her doorbell, to which her dad asked her not to open the door. “At that time I realised that my job was actually affecting my family’s mental health. That triggered me to leave Hong Kong because they were worried about me that I would be arrested someday,” says Valerie.
Last November, Valerie Wong escaped from her hometown to the UK. The decision to leave was so sudden that Valerie couldn’t apply for a visa before her arrival in the UK. At the time when she was at the airport, she couldn’t have imagined that in the future she would end up working to help others settle down. It took an extra three months for her visa application to get approved.
For a month, Valerie has now been working at Hongkongers for Britain, which is a Hongkonger support group in the UK. It is not an easy job for her. “My main difficulty when I’m doing my job is actually that I’m also new in Wales. I have to work and learn at the same time. It’s quite challenging for me but I really like the challenge actually,” says Valerie. “It’s quite meaningful to me because I was a District Councillor in Hong Kong.”
Valerie recently organised a meeting between Hong Kong immigrants and a Cardiff Councillor in a community centre. Councillor Peter Wong along with Valerie addressed immigrants to help them understand how the UK legislative system works. They were answering questions about everything from Westminster and Cardiff Council to education and taxation. Peter sat across the immigrants and answered the questions one by one.
In October 2019, Valerie was elected as a District Councillor in Hong Kong, however, this position does not have any legislative power. They regularly hold meetings with government officials to give suggestions. Handling complaints from the community is also in a district councillor’s daily routine.
In October 2021, the Hong Kong government disqualified Valerie as a District Councillor. A few months before that, there already were rumours that the authority would disqualify pro-democracy District Councillors and ask them to return the expense of the office, along with their salary.
Because of the pressure, Valerie developed Alopecia Areata, a disease that causes a person to lose hair, since last June.
As the outreach coordinator at Hongkongers in Britain, Valerie receives enquiries from Hongkongers who are new to Wales.
From January 2021, the UK government has introduced a special visa scheme for Hongkongers to reside in the UK. The visa scheme was a response to the political situation in Hong Kong, which was once a British colony. The Home Office estimated around 150,000 Hongkongers had arrived in the first year of the scheme.
Peter Wong feels that there is an increase in the population of Hongkongers in Cardiff. He says, “it’s refreshing to see Hong Kong people want to be involved and understand how things work in Cardiff.”
Marie Ho, who arrived in Cardiff two months ago, came to the meeting with her family. She says, “we’re really new to this environment and also the system, and everything. We have to learn something to merge us into society.”
Marie describes the political environment in Hong Kong as unhealthy which led her to leave the city. She said that the government, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) makes them feel like their freedom is gradually taken away. “We come here to sort for a new life,” says Marie.
Peter thinks that the increase in the number of Hongkongers in the UK is due to the growing political influence of the Chinese government in Hong Kong. “It’s a question whether you as a Hong Kong person are comfortable living with the increasing influence from the Chinese government or to experience a different way of bringing up your children,” says Peter.
After the meeting, Valerie has a chat with the participants as to what she did every day when she was a district councillor.
With more Hongkongers arriving in Wales, the workload is foreseeable to increase for Valerie and she seems to be ready. She is planning to organise more in-person events for the newcomers. She says, “hopefully more Hong Kong people can know about our association. Then they can take part in our activities and get to know each other.”