The first British Chinese Member of Parliament

The UK have elected their first Member of the House of Commons who is of British Chinese origin. Alan Mak, 31, has been elected to represent the constituency of Havant with a majority of 13,920 for the Conservative Party.

The election of a British Born Chinese MP tops off a huge increase in profile for the organisation Chinese Friends of the Conservatives (CFOC), where there were a record of five British Chinese candidates standing for parliament. The candidates, in a hard fought election, represented the Conservatives and community gallantly, working with a large group of CFOC volunteers across the country.

Director of CFOC and also a Conservative parliamentary candidate for Liverpool Riverside, Jackson Ng said ‘ I have known Alan for almost 6 years now and can say we are all very proud of Alan’s achievements in the Conservative Party over the past 16 years. We look forward to working more closely with him over the next few years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my campaign team in Liverpool for my campaign and also colleagues in the Conservative Party Headquarters for their help with CFOC’s work within British Chinese community. My journey in politics continues and I will continue to serve in my various roles in the Conservative Party and as a political adviser in Parliament. ’

Alan Mak said ‘I am delighted and honoured to represent the people of Havant. As a British- born MP of Chinese heritage, I appreciate that this is significant for the community and look forward to engaging with them when I can. I also encourage more of the British Chinese community to join me in public life. I grew up in the UK, and I am blessed with the opportunities and values this country have given my family and me. I pay special tribute to my parents who instilled in me the values of hard work, enterprise and passion for community, a shared philosophy derived from both my British and Chinese heritage.’

Xingang Wang who stood in Manchester Central said ‘Many thanks for the support from my family, friends, colleagues and supporters during my election campaign. I really enjoyed this experience and I am very happy to share my experience to those whom are interested in politics. I want to see more and more British Chinese get involved in politics, support Conservative, and join me for the next journey.’

Edward He who stood in Aberavon said ‘As a foreign born Candidate at this General Election, the most valuable thing I have witnessed is the openness and inclusiveness our British society has. I thank our campaign team, CFOC, my family, friends, colleagues and everyone who have supported and helped me throughout this journey’.

In addition to a heavy national wide media and social media campaign within the British Chinese community, CFOC volunteers have also been active on the ground in the following seats; Cheadle, Ealing Central & Acton, Garston & Halewood, Hampstead & Kilburn, Harlow, Harrow East, Harrow West, Hazel Grove, Hendon, Islington South & Finsbury, Liverpool Riverside, Liverpool West Derby, Manchester Central, Sutton & Cheam, Westminster North and Wirral West.