Former Hong Kong lawmaker to open restaurant in Taipei

Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) Former Hong Kong lawmaker and pro-democracy activist Tanya Chan (陳淑莊) said that three years after moving to Taiwan, she is opening a new restaurant in Taipei and will serve as its head chef.

In a post Friday on the restaurant's newly launched Facebook page, the 53-year-old Chan described becoming a chef as "a miracle" for her.

The restaurant, called "Red Cotton" (紅棉), will be located in Songshan District and will begin accepting reservations on Oct. 14 for dates after Nov. 14, according to the post.

In her Facebook message, Chan said she rarely had time to cook during her previous life as a lawyer and lawmaker in Hong Kong.

Instead, she frequently had meals at the home of her friend and neighbor "Mrs. Yip" (葉太太), whose husband, Danny Yip (葉一南), owns the one-Michelin-star restaurant The Chairman, she said.

Chan said that after coming to Taiwan three years ago, "what I missed most were the flavors of Hong Kong."

After mentioning her longings for Hong Kong in a phone call at the time, Chan said Mrs. Yip encouraged her to learn to cook for herself, saying that as long as one is passionate about food and willing to work hard, "anyone can be a chef."

Three years later, after culinary training that left her fingers "covered in cuts," she made the decision to open Red Cotton and is now wearing her "first chef's coat," she said.

Chan served as a legislative councilor for Hong Kong Island from 2008 to 2012 and again from 2016 to 2020. She was also a founding member of Hong Kong's Civic Party.

Chan was arrested and later put on trial for inciting a "public nuisance" during Hong Kong's 2014 pro-democracy protests, becoming one of a group of defendants known as the "Umbrella Nine."

After undergoing surgery and treatment for a brain tumor during the trial, Chan received an eight-month sentence, suspended for two years, in 2019.

Chan announced her withdrawal from politics in 2020. In 2021, media outlets reported that she had moved to Taiwan.