Lee Cheuk-yan (Chinese: 李卓人; born 12[citation needed] February 1957 in Shanghai[1]) is a Hong Kong politician and social activist.[2] He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1995 to 2016, when he lost his seat. He represented the Kowloon West and the Manufacturing constituencies briefly in 1995 and had been representing the New Territories West constituency from 1998 to 2016. He is a former trade union leader, former General Secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, as well as former chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. He has been jailed since April 2021 for his role in the Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests, having been sentenced for organizing two unauthorized assemblies; for an alleged offence of subversion of the state, no trial date has been set as of February 2024[update].[1]
Lee Cheuk-yan | |
|---|---|
李卓人 | |
.jpg) Lee in 2018 | |
| Chairman of the Labour Party | |
| In office 18 December 2011 – 13 December 2015 | |
| Succeeded by | Suzanne Wu |
| Chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China | |
| In office 2 January 2011 – 15 December 2014 | |
| Deputy | Richard Tsoi Mak Hoi-wah |
| Preceded by | Szeto Wah |
| Succeeded by | Albert Ho |
| In office 8 December 2019 – 25 September 2021 | |
| Deputy | Chow Hang-tung |
| Preceded by | Albert Ho |
| Succeeded by | Organization dissolved |
| General Secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions | |
| In office 1990 – 3 October 2021 | |
| Member of the Legislative Council | |
| In office 1 July 1998 – 30 September 2016 | |
| Preceded by | New parliament |
| Succeeded by | Cheng Chung-tai |
| Constituency | New Territories West |
| In office 11 October 1995 – 30 June 1997 | |
| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Succeeded by | Replaced by Provisional Legislative Council |
| Constituency | Manufacturing |
| In office 10 February 1995 – 31 July 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Lau Chin-shek |
| Succeeded by | Lau Chin-shek |
| Constituency | Kowloon Central |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 February 1957 Shanghai, China |
| Political party | Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions Labour Party |
| Other political affiliations | Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Tang |
| Alma mater | University of Hong Kong |
| Occupation | Legislative Councillor Trade unionist |
| Lee Cheuk-yan | |||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 李卓人 | ||||||||||||
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Background
editLee's ancestral home is Chaoyang, Guangdong.[3] Lee emigrated from Mainland China to Hong Kong in 1959. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1978.[4] His labour activism began with his first job after graduation, when he came in contact with workers with occupational injuries and diseases.[5]
During the student-led Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, he collected donations from the Concert for Democracy in China in Hong Kong and travelled to Beijing to hand over the funds to student protesters in Tiananmen Square. He was detained by the authorities there and made to sign a confession letter before being allowed to return to Hong Kong.[5][6] Since the events of 1989, Lee has remained a standing committee member of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China which promotes democratic reform in China.
Legislative Councillor
editIn 1995, Lee was elected unopposed in a by-election of the Legislative Council, replacing Lau Chin-shek, who had resigned. He was re-elected four times, continuously serving as a lawmaker, except for a brief period during 1997 and 1998, when the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to the People's Republic of China, and the Legislative Council temporarily became a Provisional Legislative Council, composed of Beijing nominees.
He received an unexpected loss in the 2016 Legislative Council election, departing the legislature after more than 20 years of service.
Labour Party
editIn December 2011, he and three other Legislative Councillors Fernando Cheung, Cyd Ho and Cheung Kwok-che co-founded the Labour Party, which became the third largest pan-democratic party in the legislature. He served as chairman until December 2015 when he stepped down to give way to the younger party members and took the vice-chairmanship.[7]
Family
editHe is married to Elizabeth Tang, who in 2005 was the chairperson of the Hong Kong People's Alliance on WTO,[4][8] and who as of March 2023[update] is the general secretary of the International Domestic Workers Federation.[9] They have one daughter.[4][10]
Arrests
editOn 28 February 2020, Lee was arrested for his involvement in a pro-democracy march on 31 August 2019, which was part of the protests sparked by the extradition bill and had been classified by police as illegal assembly. A few hours later, he was released on bail, as were the other arrestees Jimmy Lai and Yeung Sum. The cases were scheduled to be heard at Eastern Law Court on 5 May 2020.[11][12]
On 18 April 2020, Lee was one of the 15 Hong Kong high-profile democracy figures arrested on suspicion of organizing, publicizing or taking part in several unauthorized assemblies between August and October 2019 during the anti-extradition bill protests.[13][14] On 1 April 2021, Lee, along with six other pro-democracy advocates, was found guilty of organizing an unauthorised rally on 18 August 2019.[15] On 16 April, Lee was sentenced to 14 months in jail for his role in this and another August 2019 rally.[16][17]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "原香港支联会主席李卓人在狱中度过67岁生日" [Former chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance, Li Cheuk-yan, celebrates his 67th birthday in prison]. Radio Free Asia (in Simplified Chinese). 13 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- ^ Lo, Sonny Shiu-hing (2006). "The Politics of Policing the Anti-WTO Protests in Hong Kong". Asian Journal of Political Science. 14 (2): 140–162. doi:10.1080/02185370601063175. S2CID 218623836.
- ^ "遭判刑的原香港支联会主席、前香港立法会议员李卓人先生的简历". Boxun (in Traditional Chinese). 9 February 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ a b c "Hon LEE Cheuk-yan". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
- ^ a b "Legislative Councilor, Lee Cheuk-yan". South China Morning Post. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ Criveller, Gianni (18 October 2022). "Democracy is a disposable ornament for new Chinese empire". UCA News. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "工黨換班 女將胡穗珊任主席". Ming Pao (in Traditional Chinese). 13 December 2015.
- ^ Lee, Sherry (13 December 2005). "Action woman". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ Leung, Hillary (9 March 2023). "Hong Kong activist arrested by nat. security police after visiting ex-lawmaker husband in prison – reports". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ Chau, Candice (13 March 2023). "2 arrested after allegedly removing evidence from home of Hong Kong activist accused under security law". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ Zhang, Karen; Lum, Alvin (28 February 2020). "Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai charged over August 31 march, intimidation case". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ Wong, Rachel; Grundy, Tom (28 February 2020). "Hong Kong police arrest pro-democracy newspaper tycoon Jimmy Lai and Labour Party vice-chair Lee Cheuk-yan". HKFP. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ Yu, Elaine; Ramzy, Austin (18 April 2020). "Amid Pandemic, Hong Kong Arrests Major Pro-Democracy Figures". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ^ Wong, Rachel (18 April 2020). "15 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures arrested in latest police round up". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ^ Neuman, Scott (1 April 2021). "Hong Kong's Jimmy Lai, 6 Others, Found Guilty For Roles In Pro-Democracy Protests". NPR. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ Davidson, Helen (16 April 2021). "Hong Kong pro-democracy figures given jail terms of up to 18 months". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ Soo, Zen (16 April 2021). "Hong Kong Democracy Leaders Given Jail Terms Amid Crackdown". courthousenews.com. AP. Retrieved 11 July 2021.