Aron Kwok Wai-keung (Chinese: 郭偉强) is a current member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, representing the Labour, which he was elected to in the 2012 LegCo election and 2021 LegCo election. Kwok is a member of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, the largest pro-Beijing labour union in the territory. He previously held the Hong Kong Island constituency, which he won in the 2016 LegCo election.
Kwok Wai-keung | |
|---|---|
郭偉强 | |
.jpg) Kwok in 2016 | |
| Member of the Legislative Council | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2022 Serving with Chau Siu-chung, Leung Tsz-wing | |
| Preceded by | Luk Chung-hung |
| Constituency | Labour |
| In office 1 October 2016 – 31 December 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Wong Kwok-hing |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Constituency | Hong Kong Island |
| In office 1 October 2012 – 30 September 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Ip Wai-ming |
| Succeeded by | Ho Kai-ming |
| Constituency | Labour |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 April 1978 Hong Kong |
| Political party | Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions |
| Residence(s) | Tin Wan, Hong Kong |
| Education | Wah Yan College, Hong Kong Hong Kong Polytechnic University City University of Hong Kong |
| Occupation | Legislative councillor Social worker |
He is also a former district councillor for the Eastern District Council (Provident constituency).
On 27 March 2015, Kwok was appointed one of Housing Authority members for a two-year term, starting on 1 April.[1]
Early career
editAccording to his Legislative Council biography, Kwok holds a diploma in social work and a Bachelor of Arts degree in social policy and administration, and is also a licensed social worker.[2]
Elections
editWong Tai Sin District Council
editDuring the 2003 District Council elections, Kwok ran in Ching On constituency of Wong Tai Sin District Council, but was not elected.[3]
Eastern District Council
editKwok ran for election in Provident constituency of the Eastern District Council during the 2007 District Council elections. He was elected with 2,527 votes.[4] He ran uncontested during the 2011 election and 2015 election, retaining his seat by default.[5][6]
He was reelected in the 2019 election with 3,229 votes, narrowly beating second-place candidate Duncann Chan by 48 votes.[7]
Legislative Council
editThe pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) selects members for two Legislative Council seats comprising the Labour functional constituency. Kwok, holding one of the FTU seats, was elected uncontested during the 2012 election.[8]
During the 2016 LegCo election, he ran for a seat in the Hong Kong Island geographic constituency and was elected with 45,925 votes, or 12.2 per cent of the total votes cast.[9]
Political career
editDisqualification of localist lawmakers
editKwok has advocated removing localist legislators from office. In November 2016, he urged the government to challenge the seat of Lau Siu-lai, who was elected during that year's election, on the basis that she read her swearing-in oath very slowly as a form of protest.[10][11] The government later launched legal action against Lau and other democratically elected legislators, successfully removing them from office.
Attitude toward homeless people
editIn November 2017, Kwok was criticised by netizens and anti-poverty activists after expressing a callous attitude toward street sleepers. He made a post on his Facebook page boasting that a footbridge in his district (Provident constituency), on Tong Shui Road, had been cleared of homeless people (and their belongings) on 23 November 2017. The Facebook post included an animated GIF, displaying the clean-up, with the words "all clean". The footbridge was popular with street sleepers as it is redundant to a crosswalk at street level and therefore sees little foot traffic. An anti-poverty activist said that Kwok's post was reminiscent of the concurrent purge of Beijing's so-called "low-end population" that has drawn international attention.[12]
In response to the controversy, Kwok responded that the street sleepers posed a health and safety issue, and that he had received complaints about the footbridge from his constituents. He stated that homeless people should stay in shelters or apply for public housing. In response to this, some social workers responded that shelters had time limits and did not constitute a long-term housing solution, and the process for acquiring a public housing unit is not easy.[13]
Legislative Council assault allegation
editOn 8 May 2020, a meeting of the House Committee of the Legislative Council became chaotic due to controversy between the pro-democracy and pro-Beijing camps over the election of the new committee chair. Live footage filmed during the meeting by Radio Television Hong Kong showed Kwok grabbing Raymond Chan Chi-chuen by the collar and dragging him to the floor. Chan was sent to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a spinal disc herniation.[14]
On 11 May, Chan announced that he had filed a report to the police, accusing Kwok of assault. Chan said he would also launch a crowdfunding campaign to fund private prosecution against Kwok, as he stated that he had little faith in the police nor the Department of Justice.[15][16] Chan launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay for the prosecution, which exceeded its HK$1 million goal within hours. Kwok defended his actions, stating that he was trying to protect LegCo security guards.[17] Chan launched a private prosecution against Kwok around three weeks after the encounter. On 6 November, Secretary for Justice intervened and halted the case in the hearing 3 days later.[18]
Attitude toward LGBT community
editOn 22 November 2018, Kwok voted against a legislative motion that called for the government to explore legal unions for same-sex couples in Hong Kong. He was among the 27 lawmakers to oppose the motion, and this majority overruled the 24 favourable votes.[19]
On 27 July 2020, Kwok faced criticism for ridiculing lawmaker Raymond Chan based on his sexual orientation.[20] In a Facebook live broadcast, Kwok referred to Chan as "Mr. Chrysanthemum" and his advocates as "chrysanthemum groupies". The chrysanthemum flower is considered a common euphemism for anus in Cantonese lexicon.[21] Chan condemned the derogatory terminology used to mock and discriminate against the gay community.[22][23] LGBT singer Anthony Wong Yiu-ming stated that Kwok's stance represented outdated views on homosexuality from the pro-Beijing faction.[21] Politician Tiffany Yuen was critical of Kwok's homophobic language and demanded an immediate apology.[24] On the next day, Kwok continued his usage of "Mr. Chrysanthemum" in his live broadcast.[22]
Driving while participating in LegCo video conference
editOn 14 January 2021, Kwok participated in a video conference of the Legislative Council's Panel on Housing, where he was suspected to have been driving while in the meeting, potentially violating the Road Traffic Ordinance.[25][26]
Falsely claimed The Guardian is a paper for WHO
editDuring the debate on the Motion of Thanks for Chief Executive's 2020 Policy Address on 21 January 2021, Kwok falsely claimed The Guardian (衛報) is a paper for WHO (世衛).[27]
Birthday party
editOn 5 January 2022, Carrie Lam announced new warnings and restrictions against social gathering due to potential COVID-19 outbreaks.[28] One day later, it was discovered that Kwok attended a birthday party hosted by Witman Hung Wai-man, with 222 guests.[29][30][31] At least one guest tested positive with COVID-19, causing all guests to be quarantined.[31] Kwok later claimed that the real issue was not the party, but the government's policy of allowing aircrew from Cathay Pacific to quarantine at home, saying "I wonder if society should be spending time chasing this party while ignoring the whole anti-epidemic loophole".[32]
COVID-19
editIn December 2022, Kwok was tested positive for COVID-19.[33][34]
District Councils
editIn May 2023, after District Councils had a reduction in democratically elected seats, Kwok said that public opinion suggested "we do not trust in the public," and argued against the public opinion, saying "of course, we know this is a misleading and wrong concept."[35]
References
edit- ^ Housing Authority members appointed.
- ^ "Hon KWOK Wai-keung, JP". Members' Biographies. Legislative Council. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Appendix IV: Results of the 2003 District Council Election" (PDF). Report on the 2003 District Council Election. Electoral Affairs Commission. 21 February 2004.
- ^ "Results of the 2007 District Council Election" (PDF). Report on the 2007 District Council Election. Electoral Affairs Commission. 15 February 2008.
- ^ "Election Results, Eastern". 2011 District Councils Election. Electoral Affairs Commission. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Election Results, Eastern". 2015 District Councils Election. Electoral Affairs Commission. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Election Results, Eastern". 2019 District Councils Election. Electoral Affairs Commission. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Election Results". 2012 Legislative Council Election. Electoral Affairs Commission.
- ^ "Election Results, Hong Kong Island". 2016 Legislative Council Election. Electoral Affairs Commission. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ Ng, Ellie (9 November 2016). "Pro-Beijing lawmaker urges gov't to file judicial review against localist Lau Siu-lai". Hong Kong Free Press.
- ^ Cheng, Kris (15 November 2016). "'Great happiness': Pro-Beijing lawmakers welcome court judgement disqualifying localist legislators". Hong Kong Free Press.
- ^ Cheung, Karen (30 November 2017). "Pro-Beijing lawmaker draws backlash for boasting of 'clean sidewalks' after homeless people cleared". Hong Kong Free Press.
- ^ Yue, Ngo-chi (29 November 2017). "【低端人口】北角天橋露宿者被清理 工聯會郭偉強FB曬清場成果" ["Low-end population": North Point footbridge street sleepers driven away, FTU's Kwok Wai-keung shows off the results]. HK01.
- ^ "Ejected lawmaker seeks medical attention". The Standard. 8 May 2020.
- ^ "Ray Chan files complaint against Kwok Wai-keung". The Standard. 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Ray Chan files police report against Kwok Wai-keung". RTHK. 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Donations pour in for Ray Chan to sue Kwok Wai-keung". RTHK. 13 May 2020.
- ^ "Hong Kong justice sec. intervenes to halt democrat's 'assault' case against pro-Beijing rival". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ "Hong Kong legislature votes down motion urging gov't to study same-sex unions". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "社畜 | 中產平民". 眾新聞 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Beijing loyalist mocks sexual identity of pan-democratic rival". Apple Daily 蘋果日報 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ a b "郭偉強 FB 拍片 以「菊花先生」暗嘲陳志全 慢必：不會令我難堪羞恥 | 立場報道 | 立場新聞". 立場新聞 Stand News. Archived from the original on 26 August 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "郭偉強FB直播「菊花先生」暗稱陳志全 批對方支持者阻入法院噴口水｜852郵報". 852郵報 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 28 July 2020. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "【抗暴之戰】郭偉強暗嘲慢必為「菊花先生」 袁嘉蔚促「暴徒先生」道歉". Apple Daily 蘋果日報 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "Lawmaker zooms in the fast lane during Legco meeting". RTHK. 14 January 2021.
- ^ Cheung, Tony (15 January 2021). "Pro-establishment Hong Kong lawmaker sorry for calling into Legislative Council Zoom meeting while driving". South China Morning Post.
- ^ "施政報告致謝辯論 郭偉强：香港充斥假資訊 《衞報》是世衞報章 | 立場報道 | 立場新聞". 立場新聞 Stand News. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ "Bars, gyms to close, 6pm restaurant curfew as Hong Kong ramps up Omicron battle". South China Morning Post. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ "衞生防護中心最新發現洪為民宴會人數為222人 - RTHK".
- ^ Hong Kong Finds New Suspected Covid Case at Official’s Scandal-Hit Birthday Party
- ^ a b "All 170 guests of Covid-19 scandal-hit birthday party sent to quarantine". South China Morning Post. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ "Pro-Beijing camp closes ranks over birthday party scandal, blames Cathay". South China Morning Post. 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ 鄭寶生 (2 December 2022). "郭偉强新冠快測陽性 料無法出席二十大宣講會及江澤民默哀儀式". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ Kong, Dimsumdaily Hong (2 December 2022). "Legislative Councillor Kwok Wai-keung tests positive for COVID-19". Dimsum Daily. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ Lee, Peter (12 May 2023). "Claims that District Councils are linked to Hong Kong's democratic progression 'misinterpret' Basic Law, official says". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
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