‘Words will never hurt me’: Ex-lawmaker Regina Ip discusses public opinion, social media virality at ComplexCon

2026-03-23 - 05:02

Ex-Hong Kong lawmaker Regina Ip has said navigating social media is risky, as making one wrong statement can cause posts to “spread like wildfire,” but negative comments will never bother her. Ex-lawmaker Regina Ip at ComplexCon Hong Kong on March 21, 2026. Photo: Regina Ip, via Facebook. “A lot of people might suddenly scold me, or suddenly praise me,” Ip, chairperson of the pro-establishment New People’s Party, said in response to a fan’s question about how she deals with receiving “love and hate.” The former legislator was speaking at a fan Q&A session at cultural festival ComplexCon on Saturday. She quoted the proverb, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words never hurt me.” “Make sure you are mentally strong... If people scold me, I will not rebut them, and I will not scold them back,” Ip said. “Then it becomes nothing. You just brush it aside.” Fans thronged Ip’s Q&A session, which was followed by a meet-and-greet. Ex-lawmaker Regina Ip with boyband ERROR member Denis Kwok at ComplexCon Hong Kong on March 21, 2026. Photo: Regina Ip, via Facebook. Ip shared photos of fans taking selfies with her, among them Denis Kwok, a singer from popular Cantopop boy band ERROR. “My fan who calls himself 193 gave me a pullover at my fan meet at ComplexCon today,” Ip wrote in a social media post on Saturday, referring to Kwok’s nickname, which references his height. Ip, 75, is one of Hong Kong’s most prominent politicians, having served as a lawmaker from 2008 until last year. She is currently the convener of the government advisory body, the Executive Council, a position she has held since 2022. ‘Have you eaten mooncakes yet?’ Ip’s public image has undergone a dramatic transformation over two decades, from being called “Broomhead” – a reference to her previous hairstyle – to, more recently, “Jie Jie,” or “Big Sister” in Cantonese. She is one of Hong Kong’s most-followed politicians on social media. In 2003, when she was the city’s security chief, she was widely criticised for pushing forward a local security law and ultimately resigned under public pressure. Regina Ip in 2016. Photo: Stanley Leung/HKFP. She took a break from Hong Kong politics after that, pursuing a degree at Stanford University in the United States. “When I came back in 2006, a lot of people... called me ‘Broomhead,'” she said, referring to the unflattering nickname. A holiday wishes photo posted by ex-lawmaker Regina Ip on the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first lunar month, on March 3, 2026. Photo: Regina Ip, via Facebook. “I had to consistently reinvent myself,” she added. In recent years, Ip’s social media posts have earned her a following. In particular, photos marking occasions like Lunar New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival, in which she dresses up and sends good wishes to the public, have become pop culture references. “I think I started in 2018. I held up mooncakes while wearing a cheongsam and [added text], ‘Have you eaten mooncakes yet? and I found people really liked it,” Ip said. She also credited her team with teaching her about social media, including how to film reels. This year marked the third time that ComplexCon, a US festival, was hosted in Hong Kong. K-pop star Jennie, a member of South Korean girl group Blackpink, headlined the concert on Sunday. The event is supported by the government’s Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund, which aims to attract large-scale events to the city. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said during the opening ceremony on Saturday that ComplexCon celebrates Hong Kong’s “unique status as the premier East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.”