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Audrey Eu Yuet-mee is a former member of the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Ko ...
and was founding leader of the
Civic Party The Civic Party (CP) is a pro-democracy liberal political party in Hong Kong. It is currently chaired by barrister Alan Leong. The party was formed in 2006 on the basis of the Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group, which was derived from t ...
. She was a member of the Executive Committee of the Civic Party, focusing on party development. In politics, Eu has focused on matters relating to the Basic Law.


Early life and legal career

Audrey Eu was born on 11 September 1953 in Hong Kong. She studied at St. Francis' Canossian College from 1960 to 1970, and matriculated from
St. Paul's Co-educational College St. Paul's Co-educational College (), (often abbreviated as St. Paul's, St. Paul's Co-ed., Co-ed. or SPCC) is an Anglican secondary school located at 33 MacDonnell Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong. Founded in 1915, it was a girls-only college unti ...
in 1972.Sites offer overview of political parties, ''South China Morning Post'', by Jacky Wong, 9 January 2001 She earned her
Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
from the
University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...
and her
Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
from the London School of Economics. She was called to the Bar in England in 1977 and the Bar in Hong Kong in 1978 and was appointed as a
Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister ...
in 1993 (known as
Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictio ...
since 1997). She continues to practice and specialises in civil law. Notable pupils included
Andrew Cheung Andrew Cheung Kui-nung (; born 24 September 1961) is a Hong Kong judge who serves as the 3rd Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal. He previously served as a Permanent Judge of the same court. He was the 4th and longest-serving Chief J ...
, Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal. Before entering politics, Eu was the chair of the Hong Kong Bar Association. She shot to prominence on the right of abode issue, at the time of the transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China in 1997, she held a firm stance against the interpretation of the
Hong Kong Basic Law The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 a ...
by the
National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...
. In 2011, she was awarded an honorary fellowship by the
London School of Economics and Political Science , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...
.


Political career

Eu decided to enter into politics in 2000. She contested the Hong Kong by-election that year and successfully gained a seat at the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Ko ...
, replacing Gary Cheng, who resigned from his seat amid controversy. She then became a founding member of the Basic Law Article 23 Concern Group, which later became the Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group, then the
Civic Party The Civic Party (CP) is a pro-democracy liberal political party in Hong Kong. It is currently chaired by barrister Alan Leong. The party was formed in 2006 on the basis of the Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group, which was derived from t ...
in 2005.


Article 23 Concern Group

In 2002, when the Hong Kong Government wanted to alter the existing Article 23 concerning treason and sedition, Eu, with some other notable members of the Bar, including
Alan Leong Alan Leong Kah-kit (; born 22 February 1958), SC is a former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, representing the Kowloon East geographical constituency, and the sitting-Chairman of the Civic Party. He was also vice-chairperson of t ...
,
Margaret Ng Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee (; born 25 January 1948) is a politician, barrister, writer and columnist in Hong Kong. She was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1995 to 2012. Biography Before entering the legal profession, Margaret ...
,
Ronny Tong Ronny Tong Ka-wah, SC KC (; born 28 August 1950 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong Senior Counsel and politician. He is a current non-official member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. He co-founded the Civic Party and was a member of the Legis ...
, formed the Basic Law Article 23 Concern Group. Before the draft Bill became public, Eu put forward strong opinions and statements opposing certain measures of the Article 23 legislation. Her campaigning helped her significantly raise her public profile after 1 July 2003, demonstrations.


Article 45 Concern group

Concern started to grow among Hong Kong residents later about Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law in 2004. There were also uncertainties concerning the future of the next 2007 Chief Executive election and the next 4th LegCo elections in 2008. In response, Eu, along with other barristers including
Margaret Ng Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee (; born 25 January 1948) is a politician, barrister, writer and columnist in Hong Kong. She was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1995 to 2012. Biography Before entering the legal profession, Margaret ...
and
Ronny Tong Ronny Tong Ka-wah, SC KC (; born 28 August 1950 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong Senior Counsel and politician. He is a current non-official member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. He co-founded the Civic Party and was a member of the Legis ...
, formed the Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group that advocated fully democratic processes in the form of
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stan ...
in both elections. She found most support with the middle-class. Eu ran for the 2004 LegCo election for the
Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km2, . The island had a population of a ...
constituency in the same ballot as Cyd Ho from The Frontier. The "Eu-Ho" pair obtained 73,844 votes which resulted in Eu obtaining a seat at the expense of Ho, who lost out to her nearest
DAB DAB, dab, dabs, or dabbing may refer to: Dictionaries * ''Dictionary of American Biography'', published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies * ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published since 1949 Places * Dąb ...
rival Choy So Yuk by a mere 815 votes. This was seen as a blunder by the pan-democratic camp, as Hong Kong Democratic Party LegCo candidate
Martin Lee Martin Lee Chu-ming, SC, JP (; born 8 June 1938) is a Hong Kong politician and barrister. He is the founding chairman of the United Democrats of Hong Kong and its successor, the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's flagship pro-democracy party. H ...
had more than enough votes to be elected, directly impacting Cyd Ho's election chances.


Civic Party

Eu was the founding leader of the party, and held the office from 19 March 2006 to 8 January 2011. She stood for and was returned in the Hong Kong Island geographical constituency for the 2008 Hong Kong legislative election. She was placed second on the Civic Party ticket, behind newcomer Tanya Chan, who was also elected. After deducting the quotient required for the first seat, the remainder to Eu was only 30,362, enable Eu to win a seat in the constituency with the lowest number of vote. She got 525 votes less than her former running mate in the 2004 election Cyd Ho. However, Eu lost her seat in the Legislative Council in September 2012 after gave up her safe seat in Hong Kong Island geographical constituency to Kenneth Chan Ka-lok.


2009 Reform package

In the debate over the Hong Kong government's 2009 reform package (referred to by government as the '2012 constitutional reform package') she was among the firmer voices in the pan-democratic camp, supporting the January 2010 resignation by five pan-democrat Legislative Councillors to force a
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
in which they re-stood (and were re-elected), intended as referendum on democracy. In the run-up to 23 June 2010 Legco vote on the reform package she refused support, saying that it did not go far enough towards democratic expectations, even if it included the Democratic Party's compromise proposal to have the five new district council functional constituency seats returned by popular election.Divisions remain over DP compromise
, The Standard, 20 June 2010


Other positions

Eu is a patron of St John's Cathedral HIV Education Centre and was formerly a member of the Consumer Council's Management Committee of its Consumer Legal Action Fund.


References


External links


Audrey Eu's Personal Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eu, Audrey 1953 births Leaders of political parties Living people Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Alumni of the University of London 20th-century King's Counsel Hong Kong Senior Counsel Charter 08 signatories Civic Party politicians HK LegCo Members 2000–2004 HK LegCo Members 2004–2008 HK LegCo Members 2008–2012 Hong Kong women lawyers Alumni of St. Paul's Co-educational College Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics Women opposition leaders 20th-century women lawyers Hong Kong Queen's Counsel 21st-century Hong Kong women politicians