Check us out. The BBC’s “100 Women” list features not one, but two Hong Kong laureates this year!
Singer Denise Ho and football coach Chan Yuen-ting have both been chosen to feature in the annual series, which focuses on the issues and achievements of women who are defying stereotypes all over the world.
Ho was described as a pop icon and respected pro-democracy campaigner “whose outspokenness has earned her the adoration of fans and has angered China’s communist rulers”.
The 39-year-old singer made headlines earlier this year after French cosmetics company Lancome cancelled a free promotional event she was due to perform at, a decision many Hongkongers believed to be caused by Ho’s vocal support for democracy.
As the first mainstream Cantopop singer in Hong Kong to publicly come out as a lesbian, Ho is also a prominent figure in the local LGBTQ+ community.
Also being honoured is Chan Yuen-ting, 28, another groundbreaking Hong Kong woman. The young coach is being celebrated after leading a men’s team (the Eastern Football Club) to win a domestic top-flight league title (the Hong Kong Premier League), making her the “first female football manager in the world” to manage such a feat.
Chan, Ho, and 98 other influential and inspirational women will see their stories shared with the BBC’s massive audience over the upcoming weeks, in the form of interviews, documentaries, and a live festival in Mexico City.
This year’s honorees include Grammy Award-winning singer Alicia Keys, Olympic medallist Simone Biles, and acclaimed novelist Jeanette Winterson.
Click here to see the full list of honorees.
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