Officials switch to hometown dialects in new video urging Hongkongers to vote on Dec 7

With the Legislative Council election less than a month away, senior government officials have taken an unconventional approach to encourage voter turnout — by speaking directly to the public in their hometown dialects.

Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan released a promotional video on Thursday featuring several officials addressing residents in languages ranging from Hakka and Minnan to Shandong and Chiu Chow, each appealing to their “laoxiang” - their fellow countryman to cast their ballots on December 7.

The video opens with Deputy Secretary for Justice Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan, who identifies as Hakka, calling on citizens in his mother tongue. Education Secretary Christine Choi Yuk-lin, whose ancestral roots are in Fujian, appears next alongside Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary Christopher Hui Ching-yu, with both delivering their message in Minnan.

Labor and Welfare Secretary Chris Sun Yuk-han, a native of Shandong, follows with an appeal specifically aimed at his “Shandong townsfolk,” while Director of the Chief Executive’s Office Carol Yip Man-kuen rounds out the segment with a Chiu Chow message — including the line “only by voting will we win.”

Yeung, whose family is from Panyu, delivers her part of the message in Cantonese and Putonghua. She stresses that regardless of one’s origin, “everyone loves Hong Kong,” and expresses hope that residents will head to the polls together for the good of the city.

The government has been ramping up efforts in recent weeks to boost participation in the upcoming election, rolling out a series of online clips and community outreach messages as part of its citywide appeal.