In 1991, she was appointed to the Executive Council, the top advisory board in the government, by Governor David Wilson. She resigned the following year after the arrival of the last Governor Chris Patten who wanted to reshuffle the council. Chow was also a member of the Co-operative Resources Centre (CRC) headed by Senior Member of the Legislative Council Allen Lee consisting of the appointed members who aimed to counter the rise of the United Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK) in the legislature after their landslide victory in the first ever direct election in 1991.