Kenneth Fok, vice-president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, is on the show this week, to look back on how the Hong Kong team performed, and what's next for our athletes and the future of the Games.

Check out the full transcript of TVB’s Straight Talk host Dr Eugene Chan’s interview with Kenneth Fok:

Chan: Good evening, and welcome to Straight Talk. I'm Eugene Chan, and our guest this evening is the Vice President of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong Kenneth Fok. As one of the leading figures in Hong Kong sports administration, Fok is a legislative councilor representing the Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication Functional Constituency. He is president of several different sports associations in Hong Kong, and was vice chair of the Elite Sports Committee, as well as the director of the Sports Institute. Fok is also a deputy to the National People's Congress and vice chairman of the All China Youth Federation with Hong Kong achieving a historic milestone at the recent Olympics, bringing home two gold and two bronze medals, we will be discussing how we support and celebrate our Olympians. Welcome, Kenneth!

Fok: Welcome, welcome!

Chan: Ken, I mean, firstly, congratulations on what a fantastic performance of our Olympic team. This has been without a doubt one of our best performances. I'm sure all of us were glued to the TV, and I've actually messaged you. I saw you on TV jumping for joy. You've been to many Olympics. Will you say this is one of your most special, I guess this time?

Fok: Well, Eugene, I'm no stranger to this show. Thank you for having me again, and I'm very happy to be here, because every time we come here, I bring good news, right?

Chan: Yes, right.

Fok: If I remember correctly, I was here three years ago. We're about to leave for the Tokyo Olympics, and back in 2021, we didn't expect but we came back with amazing results: one gold, two silvers and three bronze, right? The whole of Hong Kong was ecstatic. And then remember, I said to you that, you know, there's an unspoken rule before that we've never broken, right? Hong Kong always seems to get medals every other Olympics, right? Every other Olympics. But I'm glad today we're sitting here. We've broken that so called unspoken rule, and we, as you say, we came back with the best results ever – two golds and two bronze. And for a city of 7 million people, I think that's amazing feat. It's an amazing result, and it's something that all of Hong Kong should be proud about.

Chan: Were you at all those winning moments when we got the gold medals?

Fok: Yes, most of them. Back to your question, Eugene, you mentioned about whether it's one of the most memorable Olympics. I think my most memorable has to be Beijing. I think, 2008. Time flies but as host country, I was not just participating, you know, I had the sense of responsibility that we had to show everyone around the world a good time. But you know, in terms of Olympics, I think Paris has a very interesting model. I think model. Why I like to say this? I mean, today we just dig a bit deeper, rather than just the side you see on the TV.

Chan: Please do.

Fok: … because in the whole Olympic movement, I think we are facing challenges. Because, as you see a lot of Olympics now, there's concerns, and there's actually people who think about the cost of hosting such large and elaborate Games, right? So, we see now, actually, since Beijing Olympics until now, actually, countries and cities are finding it harder, harder to really host the Olympics because of cost issues. So, this time Paris, what struck me, of course, first of all, of course, there are beautiful venues. For example, the gold medal match was held in Grand Palais, right? The fencing, you know, by itself, is very majestic. Equestrian was also in the Versailles. You know, this is something that is unique to Paris. But actually, a lot of venues are temporary venues. You know, the mode of the operation is slightly different. Of course, they stress about being green and being, you know, cost-cutting. We say cost cutting, but I think that's a very important trial for Olympics. I'm actually very interested and looking forward to seeing what the numbers are like. So, how much it cost Paris to host it, and whether actually they make money or even financially sustainable? Because there was something that struck me very strongly. It's no matter what day I went, no matter what time it was, all venues were full.

Chan: Right.

Fok: And I noticed, you know, this might not be a, you know, good thing, but tickets are relatively quite, quite dear, quite expensive. Okay, you see where you which angle you look at it from. But in the end, I think maybe, maybe Paris Olympics might be financially quite successful. So, I think this is something that the Olympic movement needs, I think, it’s a message that is sent to the world that, you know, in potential bidding cities, that actually Olympics can be a quite a good model to move forward in terms of promoting tourism and the operation as well.

Chan: Kenneth, before you go any deeper, let's stay at a very shallow level, because a lot of viewers will be wondering what happened after our gold medalist received the TV interviews, and after all that, where did you go for celebrations? Did you go at all?

Fok: Continued. No, I think the first medal, of course, we got was Vivian. I had expectations before, you know, I think Vivian has the ability and would be quite probable that she wins, but it was just too overwhelming. I think it was late at night. We did all the interviews and we celebrated with her. But I think that was just the beginning of the Games. There was still many competitions to go. I think Vivian's gold set the kind of, you know, pace for the Hong Kong team, and eventually it was Cheung Ka-long, right, and Siobhan in the swimming. So, I think it set a good pace at the beginning to get the momentum going.

Chan: Just a matter of interest, like in Hong Kong, like after 12 o'clock, it's not easy to find a place for celebration. How was it in Paris?

Fok: I thought Paris was quite lively. Quite lively. First of all, I think the Olympics really drew a lot of tourists from at least around Europe and also from America, and a lot of Chinese fans too. I was very happy to see a lot of, you know, Chinese flags, Hong Kong SAR flags within a lot of the venues, especially table tennis, especially table tennis. But what I found was actually at nighttime, even after 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock streets in Paris, cafes, a lot of these tourist areas, there’re full of people. So, it's just a sense of vibrancy around the town. A lot of people just celebrating the Olympic spirit, are celebrating the athletes, and it's quite amazing. This is new thing that they did was to do the champions march in front of the Eiffel Tower. I think that's a new thing that's never been done before. So, the champions, after they win the medals, the next day, they invited to this champions parade in front of iconic tower. So, I think it's a, you know, it's a recognition, it's an opportunity for any athletes to celebrate.

Chan: Before, in Hong Kong, we sort of watched different news. And there was kind of an arson attack on the high speed railway network. Were you concerned at all?

Fok: Yes, of course. I mean, you know, Eugene, you see the world's becoming quite complicated.

Chan: That’s exactly what I want to ask you.

Fok: You know, we say sports, actually, it's quite funny. I mean, the original idea of the Olympics is that, you know, you stop world conflicts in terms of, you know, in the old days, and then you allow safe passage for the athlete to compete in the Olympic Games. But of course, that's always in the back of everyone's mind. You know, it's a pity that it happened. Unfortunately, it did cause a little bit of chaos for people coming into Paris to join the Games. But overall, Paris, I think, they did a good job in terms of security.

Chan: And also, there was another incident on the social media that we’ve been watching. There was a, I think was a German photographer actually bumped into one of our Wang Chuqin, after his gold medal win, was it? I mean, it's quite disgraceful. It was intentional, because I think the reporter was barred from doing other interviews. I mean, was it an isolated incident, or do you see sort of a sense of hostilities against our teams?

Fok: No, I don't think so. I think, I hopefully, of course, I can't speak on behalf of the incident or the person, but I hope this is isolated incident, right? At the end of the day when we go to the Olympic Games. I still believe, and I firmly believe, that the overwhelming majority of our athletes and people involved with the Olympics really uphold the Olympic spirit of mutual respect, of friendship and fair competition. So, obviously, as you know, incidents like this make the social media and it becomes so. But I think it's important to remind our viewers that the Olympic Games is about mutual respect, and the way I see it, we see a lot of even our … a lot of Chinese athletes, remember? Because one of our female Chinese athletes held the pin of this Spanish flag because her competitor was injured or ... So, we all see these incidents. But it's important to remind me, us of the importance of solidarity.

Chan: We spoke earlier that we had a very good result, with two gold medals in fencing and then two bronze medals in swimming. So was this result a kind of an expected result? Was it by chance? Or do you think it was sheer hard work, or as the teamwork, how would we put to that?

Fok: Expected? Of course, I think we expected medals. Okay, because after the success of the Tokyo, I think we had the preparation that fencing and swimming, we had a very high chance. Of course, there was difficulties as well after the pandemic, Tokyo was delayed, so the athlete had less time to prepare. Only had three years. But of course, there's both sides of the coin, right? So, in terms of fencing, as I said earlier, actually we all ... well at least, I believe that Vivian had a really good chance of getting a medal, a medal at least, and we're so happy that she persevered and got gold in the end. Cheung Ka-long, of course, Ka long, he is world class, but Eugene you’ve got to understand fencing. It's unpredictable. Fencing is a very unpredictable sport, especially Ka-Long's event. And as you have seen, you know, news reports, actually it has been decades, decades since anyone has defended a gold medal at the Olympics

Chan: Yes, we heard that.

Fok: You know, so statistics wise, it's difficult, and we had, you know, all faith in Ka-long. But it's not an easy competition. In the end, we saw the result, nail-biting event. And Siobhan, you know, she's great. She had an amazing runs. She, you know, in terms of swimming, you know, the differences are milliseconds. And we're all very proud of Siobhan and, and our team results.

Chan: Right, Ken, let's take a short break now. But viewers, stay tuned. We will be right back.

Chan: Thank you for staying with us. Kenneth Fok, the Vice President of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, is with us this evening, and has been sharing with us how we can support and celebrate our Olympians. Ken, in the first half you talked about how we had such great results with two golds and two bronzes.

Fok: Yep.

Chan: But let’s look at the lessons that we learned from other athletes because not everybody had the honour or the result of getting a medal. So, how does this lesson help to improve their future performances?

Fok: No, first of all, I think it's important to note, Eugene, that we sent 35 athletes there, we sent 35 athletes there, and 20 are there the first time.

Chan: Right.

Fok: As you know any athlete, any professional athlete, they need time to grow, they need time to learn on the world stage. No matter how much you prepare in the Sports Institute, behind closed doors, real life competition is different. So actually most of our athletes are there to gain experience. I remember I took the Olympic Team in 2016, 8 years ago. That was the first time Cheung Ka-long went, and he didn’t get a medal then. He did well, but he didn’t get a medal. And he stepped up, you know, step by step. So, I think it’s important to note that our Hong Kong team, there is, you know, a very good, a team, a young team coming up. So, it’s important to know now, I always say to athletes, the experience and the enjoying the process is almost more important than actually just getting a medal itself. Of course, everyone wants to get a medal. But just enjoy the Olympics, enjoy going there. I think for them, like our young cyclists, for example, you know, hopefully for the next edition of the Olympics, we'll get medals in other sports too.

Chan: Right. We saw that there is a welcome reception for the Hong Kong delegation. There was a bus parade, and I saw many happy faces on athletes.

Fok: Yeah.

Chan: Even if they don’t get medals. So, you think all these recognition actually will be a good motivation for them to keep going?

Fok: I think so. When you talk about recognition, I really feel it very strongly. I think the, you know, Hong Kong people's enthusiasm for sports has really been elevated, especially after the pandemic, especially after the pandemic. You know, we all support our athletes before, but this time you see it with people queuing up on the sides of the road, seeing our athletes, everyone gathering at malls, supporting them on live TV. Even these past few days, right, with the Chinese athletes coming to Hong Kong? Honestly I've never seen so many fans, so much craze, and joy, and jubilation, all over town. They are all standing in front of the hotel just to glimpse the athletes and the stars. So, I think this is a great start for sports in Hong Kong. You know the government is talking about having sports events as an engine of growth for the economy. I think, back to basic, what do you need? Fans, right?

Chan: Indeed.

Fok: You need fans, people excited, interested about sports, to be able to kick-start this. I think this is a good start. And for athletes, I'm sure that's also an engine for their motivation too.

Chan: Right. Do you think the Hong Kong government has the proper plans to sort of engage more people to be involved in sports, especially with such great results?

Fok: I think so. Eugene, I think we have limited time, I can't get too much into the policy. But of course, our previously, when you talk about government policy, it’s based on the three pillars of sports, right? Elite sports, community sports, and you know, xing shi, which is events. But actually with John Lee's new initiative, it’s from three pillars to five pillars, to professionalism and sports economy as well, so-called commercialization in sports. So, I look forward to the government really reviewing and evaluating the support the government can give, in terms of really taking sports into a new professional level, and really supporting, actually linking sports and tourism. Because we talk about the economy a lot now.

Chan: Yes.

Fok: How can we translate these mega events and sports into really economic policy, economic driver. I think we are not, you know, there yet, we have a long way to go. And it's important for people like us in the community to get together and really think what the government should do. Because if we look at it, actually now if you think about government support, actually in terms of sports, government now spends about HK$7.9 billion a year in sports. But it’s based on the three pillars. Actually community sports is the most, about HK$6 billion. And then elite sports is HK$1.5 billion. But actually direct government subsidization and supporting for eventing is relatively small.

Chan: Right.

Fok: It’s only HK$388 million. So, you can see the discrepancy. Also when you look at the prize money, I mean we saw that our gold medalists get a handsome payout of HK$6 million from the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Chan: Yeah. I think it’s one of the highest in the world. Can this be sustainable? I mean with the economy not going to be very bright … with a very bright outlook at the moment, do you see that there will be a shortage of funds, keep on supporting such good moves that we had so far?

Fok: No, I think we should be grateful first for the support we've gotten from society, especially this time from Jockey Club. Jockey Club is very supportive of the sports sector, so we see news headlines saying that Hong Kong athletes get the most bonus. But if you look at it, I think it's important for us to be prepared on both ways, right? I can’t guarantee or I can't say that, you know, it'll be smooth sailing for the rest of the years. But it is important to also, as we say, the commercialization. Being a sports athlete actually should be able to have access to other means of support, such as commercialization. And actually this is what America has been doing, right? If you look at the different model, America doesn’t actually use government funding, they don't have bonuses, so to speak. But actually because of the commercial model of US sports market, athletes can have a very distinguished career being an athlete. So, I'm not saying that today we can turn into the US market led driven model, but I think Hong Kong being an open economy, we should think of ways we could support the athletes to be able to have access and to have a better career if you choose to become a full time athlete. So, this is something that, you know, the government can really take a lead, take a lead. I think this is … it's not just all about government funding or securing bonuses, but I think how to work with athletes so that they can have a well-rounded career, and they are actually have opportunities when they win medals or they have great results, and they are recognized by the community.

Chan: Right. Ken, you know Hong Kong ranked 37th in the medal standings, I think one of the best results we had.

Fok: Yeah.

Chan: As we said, one of the highest in the city’s Olympic history. But Siobhan said that she may not compete next year, and Vivian is already saying that she is taking a break. So, how do you envision our future trajectory for Hong Kong athletes in the global arena? As you said, it takes time. Do you see successes in line that can still carry the flag? But mind you, we had 35 athletes, when you get 4 medals out of 35, I think the result is fantastic.

Fok: Yeah.

Chan: Do you still see that happening?

Fok: I see it happening. As I say, out of 35 athletes, 20 are their first time appearances. So, we definitely have a stock or we still have a very strong team of young athletes, who are willing, who are driven, who wants to go, right? I mentioned cycling, we have very optimistic results from Lee Sze-wing, our cyclist. And she is, I think, destined for great work. And also we see a lot of young fencers, this time we saw a lot of young fencers, also going for the first time, who did great results, even for their first time appearance in such a world stage. And secondly, I think it's worth noting as well, I think sports is a little changing a little bit because traditionally Olympics is 28 sports, right? I think it was Dr Jacques Rogge put a cap on the Olympic sports because of cost considerations. But now we're seeing new sports coming up, right? You see the first edition for breakdancing, for example. Breaking, skateboarding, sports climbing. So, a lot of young sports are coming up. So, Olympics mode, they are actually trying to actually move towards a younger scheduling to capture younger audience. This reflects back onto our funding system. Hong Kong funding system is more kind of you get results, and then you get more funding from the government, so that you can great trainers or get better resources.

Chan: Yes. But we should allow for better flexibility because there are new sports coming up. Can we actually capture these opportunities when the opportunities present themselves?

Fok: Like skateboarding, right? It might … if you take years to train up skateboarding or even other events, like breaking, it may take a long time. But if we have the funding or the government support flexibility, then maybe we can quickly identify talents, quickly train up, quickly get the best coaches, and be able to fight for these new events.

Chan: Right because this is something that, I would say, new strategies or changes in the approach that you will do for the next Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles.

Fok: Yes, yes, I think so. I think Los Angeles they have a lot of new sports. And actually, Eugene, also a new development, I think IOC, International Olympic Committee, signed a 12 year deal with Saudi Arabia National Olympic committee to do a few additions of e-sports Olympics.

Chan: Right, e-sports as well?

Fok: So, I think that's a different topic, that’s a different topic, but we see IOC is changing.

Chan: Right. Ken, the last question I am going to ask you: as the legislative councilor for the sports constituency, what changes do you think that we should do for Hong Kong sports policy, so that we will enhance our athletic programs and overall sports development? Very simple. Are we in the right direction?

Fok: I think we are in the right direction. First of all, the next year we have the National Games, it’s a first National Games that leverages both the hosting Hong Kong, Macao, and Guangdong.

Chan: Yes.

Fok: When we talk about big sport events, we need the market size, we need to capture audience. And I think that we are going in the right direction. Hong Kong only has 7 million people, but if you have the GBA concept, if it works, actually we can use GBA to bid for a lot of different international large events to be held in Hong Kong.

Chan: Right.

Fok: So, this is something that I am looking forward to.

Chan: Ken, I am afraid we have to leave it there for now. And thank you for coming. Certainly Hong Kong has much to be proud of with our achievements at both Olympics and the Paralympics. We hope this will inspire the next generation, and look forward to see more of our athletes making us proud on the world stage. Thank you for joining us and have good evening!

Fok: Thank you!