Hui Chi-fung

Ted Hui Chi-fung (Chinese: 許智峯; born 1982) is a Democratic Party politician in Hong Kong. He is the Chung Wan constituency member of the Central and Western District Council and the Legislative Councillor for the Hong Kong Island constituency. Hui was born in Hong Kong and raised in Tuen Mun. He received his education in Canada and Hong Kong. In 2006, Hui earned his bachelor's degree in law with honors from the City University of Hong Kong.

The Honourable Hui Chi-fung
許智峯
Member of the Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 October 2016
Preceded by	Sin Chung-kai
Constituency	Hong Kong Island
Member of the Central and Western District Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 January 2012
Preceded by	Yuen Bun-keung
Constituency	Chung Wan
Personal details
Born	1982 (age 37–38) Hong Kong
Political party	Democratic Party
Residence	Kennedy Town, Hong Kong
Alma mater	City University of Hong Kong (LLB)
Occupation	Legislative Councillor

District Council

In the 2011 District Council elections, Hui successfully succeeded veteran Yuen Bun-keung's Central and Western District Council seat in the Chung Wan constituency which covers the Central area.

Hui first caught media attention for his protests in the council. In 2014, he was ejected from a meeting of the council's working group on civic education when protesting the council's decision to grant HK$150,000 (of a HK$250,000 total grant) to pro-Beijing groups. Hui complained that there was a conflict of interest because several of the councillors were members of or advisers to the recipients. In the process of ejection, he was injured by council security personnel, resulting in his party's demand for an apology from the district office.[1]

Hui was considered to be quite radical within the Democratic Party. He opposed the party's meetings with Beijing officials. In 2015, when the party's central committee member Wong Sing-chi publicly called on pan-democrats to back Beijing's restrictive reform model for the 2017 Chief Executive election, Hui led a call for the party to investigate whether Wong had violated any of its internal rules. Wong was expelled from the party.[2]

Legislative Council

Hui ran in the Democratic Party's intra-party primary for candidacy in Hong Kong Island in the 2016 Legislative Council Elections and won against Wilfred Chong Wing-fai and officially assumed office on 1 October 2016.

Hui has been vocal on environmental issues, education, human rights and democracy. He was very much involved in pushing for the banning of ivory trade in Hong Kong.[3] Hui also shows high concerns on the erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong and encourages the international community to speak up for Hong Kong.[4] He was also active during the debate over the controversial Hong Kong Express Rail Link co-location controversy.

In April 2018, Hui was under police investigation for snatching a Security Bureau executive officer's phone and taking it to a Legislative Council Complex toilet on 24 April 2018.[5] The Democratic Party suspended the lawmaker and criticized him for seriously tarnishing the reputation of lawmakers.[6] Hui later apologized to the executive officer and admitted that his action was "not appropriate".[5] Hui, however, claimed that the employee had been "recording the entry and exit time of lawmakers", including himself, into a meeting room and the Legco complex. He alleged that there was a breach of the privacy ordinance.[7] Hui was charged with three offences, including common assault, dishonest access to a computer and obstructing a public officer in the execution of their duties.[8] Hui pleaded not guilty to all three charges.[9] In May 2019, Hui was found guilty of one count of common assault on a senior executive officer.[10] In July 2020, Hui faces a censure motion at the Legislative Council for phone snatching.[11][12]

On 28 May 2020, Hui disrupted the second reading of the National Anthem Bill in the Legislative Council by dropping a container containing rotten plant matter inside the chamber. A fellow lawmaker was taken to hospital after being exposed to the smell.[13] On 4 June 2020, Hui and two other lawmakers, Eddie Chu and Raymond Chan, were alleged with hindering the business of the Legislative Council and violating the Powers and Privileges Ordinance, with Hui having dropped foul smelling liquid during the LegCo session on that day. Hui was subsequently fined HK$52,000 for his misconduct.[14]

Personal life

Hui blogs about his two children and promotes family-friendly policies.[15]

References

1. "Democrat councillor Ted Hui injured by his own council's guards". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
2. Lam, Jeffie (8 April 2015). "Hong Kong's Democratic Party set to probe Nelson Wong over his backing for government reform package". South China Morning Post.
3. "Hong Kong Moves to Ban All Ivory Sales, Closing a Loophole". The New York Times. 31 January 2018. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
4. "2017 shows us that it is time for the international community to speak up for Hong Kong | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 14 January 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
5. "Woman 'in tears' after lawmaker grabs her phone and runs into toilet". South China Morning Post. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
6. "Phone-snatching lawmaker Ted Hui suspended by Democratic Party". South China Morning Post. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
7. "Woman 'in tears' after lawmaker grabs her phone and runs into toilet". South China Morning Post. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
8. "Charges for Hong Kong lawmaker over phone-snatching incident". South China Morning Post. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
9. "Ted Hui pleads not guilty to three charges over phone-snatching incident". South China Morning Post. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
10. "Lawmaker who snatched phone and ran to toilet guilty of assault". South China Morning Post. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
11. "Ted Hui to face censure motion for phone snatching - RTHK". news.rthk.hk. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
12. "Hong Kong lawmaker who snatched civil servant's phone 'should be censured'". South China Morning Post. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
13. Cheung, Tony; Sum, Lok-kei (28 May 2020). "Hong Kong opposition lawmaker drops container of rotten plants in Legislative Council chamber during national anthem bill debate". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
14. Wong, Rachel (16 June 2020). "Hong Kong democrats fined for throwing odorous objects during national anthem bill meetings". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
15. "【許智峯專欄】小孩子學踩單車的方法". 親子頭條 (in Chinese). Retrieved 14 May 2018.

Political offices
Preceded by Yuen Bun-keung	Member of Central and Western District Council Representative for Chung Wan 2012–present	Incumbent
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Preceded by Sin Chung-kai	Member of Legislative Council Representative for Hong Kong Island 2016–present	Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded by Tanya Chan Member of the Legislative Council	Hong Kong order of precedence Member of the Legislative Council	Succeeded by Luk Chung-hung Member of the Legislative Council