Junius Ho Kwan-yiu (; born 4 June 1962) is a Hong Kong lawyer and politician who currently serves as a member in the
Hong Kong Legislative Council
The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" constitutional arrange ...
. a prominent pro Beijing figure in Hong Kong’s political landscape, he formerly served as president of the
Law Society of Hong Kong
The Law Society of Hong Kong is the professional association and law society for solicitors in Hong Kong, established in 1907. The Hong Kong Bar Association is the equivalent association for barristers in Hong Kong.
The Law Society is current ...
, chairman of the
Tuen Mun Rural Committee
The Tuen Mun Rural Committee (, TMRC) is a rural committee in Hong Kong. It was founded by rural leader Chan Yat-sen in 1953 with representatives from 29 villages in Tuen Mun. Today the rural committee consisted of 36 villages and 69 village r ...
and as an elected member of the
Tuen Mun District Council
The Tuen Mun District Council () is the District Council of Tuen Mun District, in the New Territories. It is one of 18 such councils. The Council consists of 32 members with 31 of those elected through first past the post system every four year ...
from 2015 to 2019.
Early life
Ho came from a family of village leaders. He grew up in the old site of
Leung Tin Village () in Tuen Mun. He is a 32nd-generation descendant of his
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
clan, which can be traced back to the 10th century.
Ho attended
Queen's College Hong Kong from 1975 to 1979, after which he went to the United Kingdom, where he enrolled at
Chelmer Institute of Higher Education and obtained his bachelor of laws degree in 1984. Ho joined a post-graduate programme at 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 ...
in 1984 and obtained his mandatory practising qualification, the
postgraduate certificate in laws
The Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL; 法學專業證書) is an intensive one-year full-time (or two-year part-time) professional legal qualification programme in Hong Kong. It allows graduates to proceed to legal training before qualifyi ...
(PCLL) in 1986.
Legal career
After gaining his qualifications he was admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong in 1988 and similarly admitted in Singapore, and
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
in 1995 and 1997.
[Law List]
– The Law Society of Hong Kong He is the senior partner of a law firm in Hong Kong and a principal representative of a law firm in Guangzhou. His major practice field is civil litigation, specialising in shareholders' disputes and family disputes. He was appointed a
China-Appointed Attesting Officer in 2003.
He became the vice-president of the Law Society of Hong Kong in June 2005 and was elected president for a one-year term in May 2011, after which he has served as a council member.
In 2017, his legal qualifications in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
, and Singapore was disputed, and the
Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales.
It is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of more than 125,000 solicitors and other authorised individuals at more than 11,000 f ...
(SRA) was contacted regarding this matter.
It was reported that the individual by the name of "Junius Kwan-Yiu Ho" does not appear to be on the SRA's records. The dispute, however, was later clarified, for a member by the name of "Kwan Yiu Ho" does appear to be on SRA's records.
Honorary awards
Anglia Ruskin University
In 2011, Junius Ho was bestowed with an Honorary Doctor of Laws by
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...
, with the university describing him as an "outstanding ambassador". After the
2019 Yuen Long attack, an online petition via
Change.org
Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...
was launched urging Anglia Ruskin University to reconsider the honorary award, and the university was notified after the petition reached 500 signatures on 25 July 2019. On 26 October,
Lord Alton of Liverpool
David Patrick Paul Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool, (born 15 March 1951) is a British politician.
He is a former Liberal Party and later Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament who has sat as a crossbench member of the House of Lords since 1997 ...
published a letter addressed to the vice-chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University, requesting the university to consider removing Ho's honorary doctorate, citing alleged examples of "misogyny", "extremism" and "racism".
On 28 October 2019, at the urging of activist
Luke de Pulford
Luke John de Pulford () is a human rights campaigner, particularly in the areas of modern slavery and human rights abuses in China. De Pulford is director and co-Founder of the London-based anti-slavery charityArise He coordinates the Inter-Parl ...
Anglia Ruskin University withdrew Ho's honorary degree following an investigation, with a statement from the university noting, "Mr Ho's conduct since he was honoured has caused increasing concern."
China University of Political Science and Law
On 6 December 2019, Ho received an honorary law doctorate at the
China University of Political Science and Law
China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 中国政法大学; Traditional Chinese characters, traditional Chinese: 中國政法大學; pinyin: ''Zhōngguó Zhèngfǎ Dàxué'', abbr. ...
for his "outstanding contribution and achievements in the legal sector".
Political career
Ho first contested a
Legislative Council election in 2008, running against
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 the B ...
's
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 ...
in the
Legal
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
functional constituency
A functional constituency is an electoral device (a non-geographical constituency) used within the political systems of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China:
* Functional constituency (Hong Kong)
* Functional cons ...
. He was defeated, receiving 1,286 votes, about 34 percent of the vote.
Ho was elected as Chairman of
Tuen Mun Rural Committee
The Tuen Mun Rural Committee (, TMRC) is a rural committee in Hong Kong. It was founded by rural leader Chan Yat-sen in 1953 with representatives from 29 villages in Tuen Mun. Today the rural committee consisted of 36 villages and 69 village r ...
in 2011, ousting the long-time chairman and most powerful rural leader
Lau Wong-fat
Lau Wong-fat, GBM, GBS, OBE, JP (; 15 October 1936 – 23 July 2017) was a Hong Kong businessman and politician. He had been the long-time chairman of the Rural Council, the most powerful organ representing the interests of the New Territo ...
, chairman of the
Heung Yee Kuk
The Heung Yee Kuk, officially the Heung Yee Kuk N.T., is a statutory advisory body representing establishment interests in the New Territories, Hong Kong. The council is a powerful organisation comprising heads of rural committees which repres ...
. In that capacity, he became an
ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
member of the
Tuen Mun District Council
The Tuen Mun District Council () is the District Council of Tuen Mun District, in the New Territories. It is one of 18 such councils. The Council consists of 32 members with 31 of those elected through first past the post system every four year ...
. He served as the rural committee chairman until 2015. He was a candidate in the
Legislative Council election in
New Territories West
New Territories West (NTW) is the western part of Hong Kong's New Territories, covering Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing and the Islands District.
History
Settlements in the area, except the Islands District, have been connected by the ...
in September 2012, where he received 10,805 votes, about two per cent of total vote share and was not elected.
Ho was appointed to
Lingnan University
Lingnan University (LN/LU), formerly called Lingnan College, is a public liberal arts university in Hong Kong. It aims to provide students with an education in the liberal arts tradition and has joined the Global Liberal Arts Alliance since ...
council by Chief Executive of Hong Kong
Leung Chun-ying
Leung Chun-ying (; born 12 August 1954), also known as CY Leung, is a Hong Kong politician and chartered surveyor, who has served as vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference since Mar ...
in October 2015.
Students staged a protest against the appointment over fears of political interference in university governance.
In the
2015 District Council elections, Junius Ho defeated
Albert Ho
Albert Ho Chun-yan (; born 1 December 1951) is a solicitor and politician in Hong Kong. He is the former chairman (2014–2019) and vice-chair (2019–2021) of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, and f ...
of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
in the latter's long-held
Lok Tsui seat in a six-way contest by a narrow margin of 277 votes, as the pro-democracy votes were split between Albert Ho and
Cheng Chung-tai
Cheng Chung-tai (; born 5 November 1983) is a Hong Kong academic, social activist, and politician. After winning a seat in the New Territories West constituency in the 2016 legislative election, he took over from Wong Yeung-tat as chairman of ...
of
Civic Passion
Civic Passion was a radical, populist, localist, and nativist political party in Hong Kong. Founded by Wong Yeung-tat as an activist group in 2012, it held strong localist views and opposed the involvement of the Chinese government in the gov ...
.
Ho ran again in the
2016 Legislative Council election for the New Territories West. During the election, Ho's supporters were allegedly involved in the withdrawal of candidacy of
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
candidate Ken Chow Wing-kan. Chow claimed he had been intimidated after receiving threats made against him.
On the following day, Ho identified that some of the threats were made by one of his volunteers that had helped him for about one or two months; but Ho defended him by stating that the volunteer only wanted to be angry for him.
Ho was elected with 35,657 votes, winning the last of nine seats in the constituency.
In May 2017, pro-democracy lawyer Kevin Yam published an article urging solicitors not to vote for Junius Ho in the election for the governing council of the Law Society of Hong Kong. Ho sued for defamation but failed to be re-elected, securing only 572 of 8,148 votes, coming last.
In the
2019 District Council elections, Ho with 2,626 votes lost his seat to his rival Lo Chun-yu who had 1,213 more votes.
In December 2021,
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) is a free, non-profit news website based in Hong Kong. It was co-founded in 2015 by Tom Grundy, who believed that the territory's press freedom was in decline, to provide an alternative to the dominant English-languag ...
reported that Ho's voting power in the
2021 Hong Kong legislative election
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
was approximately 7,215 times more than that of an ordinary citizen, as he was a member of the
Election Committee
The Election Committee is a Hong Kong electoral college, the function of which is to select the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, to elect 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong ...
and thus could vote for the 40 Legislative Council members elected by the
Election Committee constituency; an individual voter in the
Heung Yee Kuk
The Heung Yee Kuk, officially the Heung Yee Kuk N.T., is a statutory advisory body representing establishment interests in the New Territories, Hong Kong. The council is a powerful organisation comprising heads of rural committees which repres ...
functional constituency; a representative of Ho K.C. & Fong Solicitors & Notaries which was a corporate voter in the
Commercial (First)
The Commercial (First) functional constituency () is a functional constituency in the elections for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong first created in 1985. The constituency is composed of corporate members of the Hong Kong General Chamber o ...
functional constituency; as well as being a regular voter in his geographical constituency,
New Territories North.
Victim of Tuen Mun knife attack
On 6 November 2019, in preparation for the
2019 Hong Kong local elections
The 2019 Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 24 November 2019 for all 18 District Councils of Hong Kong. 452 seats from all directly elected constituencies, out of the 479 seats in total, were contested. Nearly three million people ...
, Junius Ho ran a campaign event in
Tuen Mun
Tuen Mun or Castle Peak is an area near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Hong Kong and can be dated to the Neolithic period. In the more re ...
. He was approached by a man posing as a supporter, who attacked him with a 33-centimetre-long knife that left him bleeding in the chest.
The attacker was shortly subdued. Ho was briefly hospitalized.
Political views
Opposition to same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+
Ho has made several controversial statements regarding issues related to the
LGBT community
The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...
. In late April 2017, following a lawsuit on government benefits for civil workers who are in a same-sex relationship, Ho said that the legalization of
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
in Hong Kong would lead to the acceptance of
bestiality and
incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...
.
Ho's remarks were criticized by other
LegCo members.
For instance,
Raymond Chan
Raymond Chan (; born 1951) is the first Chinese Canadian to be appointed to the Cabinet of Canada. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Chan was elected to Parliament in the 1993 federal election, defeating then Defence Minister Tom Si ...
, an openly gay then-member of LegCo, strongly condemned Ho's comments.
In May 2017, Ho said that a ruling granting marriage benefits to a gay civil servant could lead to "chaos in society" and co-signed a petition asking the government to appeal the decision.
In April 2018, Ho became the only legislator to vote against the appointments of foreign judges
Brenda Hale and
Beverley McLachlin
Beverley Marian McLachlin (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the p ...
to the
Court of Final Appeal over their support of same-sex rights, claiming the two opposed traditional family values.
In June 2021, commenting of Hong Kong's hosting of the
Gay Games
The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals.
Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was starte ...
, Ho said that that people 'should not let gays sideline '"natural people"'. He also called the Games “disgraceful”, saying any revenue generated from the event would be “dirty money”. He followed up with further homophobic remarks, saying: “It is your business what you do in your own room, but if you go out and do it in public, it’s disgraceful”.
In February 2022, Ho again criticized same-sex marriage, this time saying it could breach the national security law. Ho, in January 2022, similarly brought up the national security law to attack those advocating the "living with Covid" strategy.
Tiananmen Square memorialization motion
In June 2017, Junius Ho became the only pro-establishment lawmaker to vote in favour of a motion to memorialize the 4 June 1989 massacre of
Tiananmen Square protestors at the Legislative Council. He expressed sympathy for the Chinese students before the People's Liberation Army crackdown.
However, Ho also criticized pro-democracy legislators for describing the
government of mainland China as 'cold-blooded'.
Eddie Chu
Eddie Chu Hoi-dick (; born 29 September 1977) is a Hong Kong social activist and politician. He is a member of the Local Action and founder of the Land Justice League which are involved in conservation and environmental movements. He is kno ...
criticized Ho's position as unclear and absurd, and compared him to
Yuan Mu
Yuan Mu (; January 1928 – December 13, 2018) was a Chinese politician and journalist. During his tenure at the State Council, he acted as its spokesperson and headed the State Council Research Office.
Early life
Yuan was born in January 192 ...
, a Chinese politician who in an interview with
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...
in 1989 claimed that there were no casualties during the crackdown in Tiananmen Square.
Opposition to Occupy Central with Love and Peace
Ho was a leading critic of legal scholar
Benny Tai
Benny Tai Yiu-ting (; born 12 July 1964) is a Hong Kong legal scholar, political figure, and democracy activist. He was an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong.
From 2013, Tai launched and is known for his initiation of ...
's
Occupy Central with Love and Peace
Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) was a single-purpose Hong Kong civil disobedience campaign initiated by Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man on 27 March 2013. The campaign was launched on 24 September 2014, partially le ...
which suggested a full-scale occupation protest in the form of civil disobedience to press the Beijing government to make concessions on
electoral reform
Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of:
* Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant-ru ...
. He set up an anti-Occupy group called "Protect Central" which he said would resist the Occupy campaign.
In August 2017, Ho called for the removal of Tai, who was then facing charges of inciting others to incite public nuisance, from working at 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 ...
(HKU). Vice-Chancellor Peter Mathieson and council chairman Arthur Li rejected the call. Ho submitted a petition, appearing to have the support of over 80,000, urging the university to investigate Tai and organised a rally on 17 September calling for his removal. Ho acknowledged that the number of people digitally signing the petition was unverifiable. As to the legality of the rally,
Ronny Tong Ka-wah
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 Legisl ...
pointed out that the
Public Order Ordinance
The Public Order Ordinance () () (’POO’) is a piece of primary legislation in Hong Kong. It codifies a number of old common law public order offences. It imposes notification requirements for public processions and meetings which resemble a ...
may have been violated.
In September 2017, Ho said supporters of
Hong Kong independence
Hong Kong independence is a political movement that advocates the establishment of Hong Kong as an independent sovereign state. Hong Kong is one of two Special administrative regions of China (SAR) which enjoys a certain degree of autonomy ...
ought to be "killed mercilessly". He made the comment at a rally which he organised to demand that 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 ...
fire Benny Tai. He stated that it was "not a big deal to kill pigs or dogs", and also appeared on a
Commercial Radio
Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (an ...
programme, where he said of pro-independence activists, "Why shouldn't these people be killed?" In response to backlash over these remarks, Ho said "If we’re talking about Hong Kong independence, that means war. What's wrong with killing enemies in a war?"
Ho's remarks were condemned by figures on all sides of the political spectrum.
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 jurisdicti ...
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 ...
said that Ho's comments may have violated the
Public Order Ordinance
The Public Order Ordinance () () (’POO’) is a piece of primary legislation in Hong Kong. It codifies a number of old common law public order offences. It imposes notification requirements for public processions and meetings which resemble a ...
. Chief executive
Carrie Lam
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Secr ...
alluded to Ho's comments when she stated on 19 September that "unacceptably cruel, insulting and intimidating comments" had no place in a civilised society.
Executive Council member
Regina Ip
Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee (; ' Lau; born 24 August 1950) is a Chinese politician. She is currently the Convenor of the Executive Council (ExCo) and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), as well as the founder and current chair ...
called Ho's remarks "stupid", and continued, "It will do our country no good to have stupid 'patriots', including possibly quite a few hired to become 'patriots'."
The 22 lawmakers from the
pro-democracy camp
The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic L ...
issued a joint statement condemning Ho's remarks, which read in part: "Ho, as a legislator and lawyer, expressed hate speech involving murder at a public event, crossing the bottom lines of free speech and morality and severely breaching professional conduct."
Ho maintained that he was expressing his contempt at the pro-independence movement, and said that the journalists should not take his words out of context.
Sanctions
In February 2021, Ho asked the Hong Kong government to order banks to re-open bank accounts of those sanctioned under United States
Executive Order 13936
Executive Order 13936, entitled "The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization", is an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on July 14, 2020. On the same day Trump had signed into law Hong Kong Autonomy Act, one ...
, even though doing so would cause banks to risk losing their licenses and ability to process US Dollars.
COVID-19
In January 2022, Ho claimed that people advocating "living with Covid" could be in breach of the National Security Law.
One day later, the government shortly responded that Ho's statement was not true.
Glory to Hong Kong
In November 2022, after
Glory to Hong Kong
"Glory to Hong Kong" ( zh, t=願榮光歸香港) is a march that was composed and written by a musician under the pseudonym "Thomas dgx yhl", with the contribution of a group of Hongkonger netizens from the online forum LIHKG during the 201 ...
was played after a rugby match, Ho said that the Hong Kong Rubgy team "let their country be insulted" and should be disbanded.
Controversies
conflicts of interest accusations
On 25 April 2018, it was reported that Ho's family business holds the ownership of 120,000 square feet of farmland southwest of the Fanling Golf Course. Ho had previously voted against a motion to request the government to seize the golf course for housing redevelopment, but did not declare any potential conflict of interests. Ho responded that the motion did not impact his family business and therefore reporting his interests was not required.
On 2 May 2018, lawmaker,
Andrew Wan
Andrew Wan Siu-kin (; born 7 June 1969) is the former vice-chairman of the Democratic Party and a former member of the Kwai Tsing District Council for Shek Yam constituency. He was elected in the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election th ...
, filed a complaint to the legislative committee accusing Ho of failing to declare two properties that is associated to his family's company, Profit Trade Investment Ltd and other subsidiaries. One of which was an apartment located at Sham Shui Po that was allegedly sold at four times its estimated value. Wan alleged that there could potentially be a conflict of interest if related issues come up in the legislative council.
On 5 May 2018, Ho admitted that Profit Trade had ownership of his family assets, but maintained that the company does not involve any conflict of interest in the Legislative Council and therefore such interests need not to be disclosed.
Involvement in Yuen Long attack
Prior to the 2019 Yuen Long attack, Ho was filmed supporting and congratulating a group of white-clad men.
When confronted about his alleged involvement in the Yuen Long Attack, Ho claimed that he was simply there greeting some of his supporters, and said it was normal because he lives in Yuen Long.
After the incident, Ho said that the white-clad men were only "defending their home and people".
On 22 July 2019 Ho's constituency shopfront in
Tsuen Wan
Tsuen Wan (formerly also spelled Tsun Wan) is a town built on a bay in the western New Territories of Hong Kong, opposite of Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged from the surrounding villages and flee ...
was turned into a
Lennon Wall
The Lennon Wall or John Lennon Wall is a wall in Prague, Czech Republic. Since the 1980s, this once-typical wall has been filled with John Lennon–inspired graffiti, lyrics from Beatles' songs, and designs relating to local and global cau ...
before being ransacked later in the day.
Ho's Tuen Mun office also attracted protests on the following day.
In response to Ho's alleged involvement, over 2,300 teachers, alumni and students from Ho's alma mater
Queen's College participated in a signature campaign condemning Ho. They urged LegCo members to impeach Ho, and requested Queen's College Old Boys' Association to suspend his membership.
Similarly,
Lingnan University
Lingnan University (LN/LU), formerly called Lingnan College, is a public liberal arts university in Hong Kong. It aims to provide students with an education in the liberal arts tradition and has joined the Global Liberal Arts Alliance since ...
students have started a petition calling for Ho to be removed from the institution's governing council. An online petition requesting that the United States bar Ho and his family from entering the U.S. or acquiring U.S. citizenship achieved over 100,000 signatures.
On 23 July 2019, Ho appeared on an
RTHK
Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...
televised forum alongside fellow
New Territories West
New Territories West (NTW) is the western part of Hong Kong's New Territories, covering Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing and the Islands District.
History
Settlements in the area, except the Islands District, have been connected by the ...
constituency representative
Eddie Chu
Eddie Chu Hoi-dick (; born 29 September 1977) is a Hong Kong social activist and politician. He is a member of the Local Action and founder of the Land Justice League which are involved in conservation and environmental movements. He is kno ...
. Ho said he did not regret shaking hands with the attackers. He called the victims of the Yuen Long attacks "rioters" and claimed they had instigated the violence. He said the mobs were mere "Yuen Long residents" seeking to "protect their homeland". After Chu stated that protesters could not remain calm if the government continued to ignore their requests (e.g. to formally withdraw the extradition bill), Ho called Chu a "scum" who "did not deserve to be a lawmaker" while storming off stage, ending the interview.
Later, when Ho's parents' graves were vandalized, Ho accused Chu and his supporters for the damage. In one of Ho's video postings on social media, it was reported that Ho warned Chu in Cantonese that he has two paths to choose from. One of which is "a path of being alive, (and the other) is a path of not being alive."
Chu dismissed the threat and stated that it was merely Ho's style of talking. Chu, however, added that it was also a way for Ho to lead his supporters into believing that he was culpable for the damage to Ho's parents' tomb.
Insults
During a 2019 Legislative Council meeting, Ho made a remark directed toward fellow Legislative Council member
Claudia Mo
Claudia Mo (born Mo Man-ching on 18 January 1957), also known as Claudia Bowring, is a Hong Kong journalist and politician, a member of the pan-democracy camp. She represented the Kowloon West geographical constituency, until November 2020 wh ...
, stating that she is used to "eating foreign sausage". Mo, who is married to English journalist
Philip Bowring
Philip Arthur Bowring (born 22 November 1942) is an English journalist and historian who was business editor, deputy editor and editor of the Asian news magazine the ''Far Eastern Economic Review'' for 17 years between 1973 and 1992.
Early life
Bo ...
, later told the council that the comment amounts to racism and sexual harassment.
Ho refused to apologise and was expelled from the meeting.
Attacks on CUHK
In January 2021, Ho blamed the
2019–2020 Hong Kong protests
The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, also known as the 2019 Hong Kong protests, or the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, were a series of demonstrations from 15 March 2019 in response to the introduction by the Hong Kong government ...
on
CUHK
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university an ...
and likened its students to
Al-Queda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...
members, stating "What I see from this picture - I thought Al-Qaeda changed its registered office to CUHK."
Birthday party
On 5 January 2022,
Carrie Lam
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Secr ...
announced new warnings and restrictions against social gathering due to potential
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
outbreaks.
One day later, it was discovered that Ho attended a birthday party hosted by Witman Hung Wai-man, with 222 guests.
At least one guest tested positive with COVID-19, causing all guests to be quarantined.
Ho 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.
Ho also claimed that he was a victim of the incident, saying "We are the victims of the policy", and also said that nobody could have predicted the risk of coronavirus exposure from the event, despite earlier warnings from the government to not gather in large groups.
Ho also said he was "illegally detained" at the quarantine center, and that Carrie Lam should resign.
Current positions
* Advisory board member of Yan Oi Tong (1997 to present)
* Indigenous Inhabitant Representative of Leung Tin Tsuen
Honours and awards
*
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
(1 July 2016)
* Honorary
LLD
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...
from the
China University of Political Science and Law
China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 中国政法大学; Traditional Chinese characters, traditional Chinese: 中國政法大學; pinyin: ''Zhōngguó Zhèngfǎ Dàxué'', abbr. ...
(2019)
Personal life
He owns two horses, ''Alex Flyer'' (天祿) and ''Hong Kong Bet'' (青山之寶) that race at
The Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...
. The graves of Ho's parents were vandalized during the
2019–20 Hong Kong protests, which is believed to be due to his
association with the Yuen Long attacks,
though the identity of the perpetrators remains unknown.
On 31 August 2022, Ho tested positive for COVID-19.
See also
*
Chinese nationalism
Chinese nationalism () is a form of nationalism in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China on Taiwan which asserts that the Chinese people are a nation and promotes the cultural and national unity of all Chi ...
*
Hong Kong Liaison Office
The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (; abbr. LOCPG or 香港中聯辦) is the agency that represents the Chinese Central People's Government in Hong Kong. It replaced the New Chi ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ho, Junius
1962 births
Living people
Hong Kong legal professionals
District councillors of Tuen Mun District
Indigenous inhabitants of the New Territories in Hong Kong
Hong Kong people of Hakka descent
People from Boluo
HK LegCo Members 2016–2021
HK LegCo Members 2022–2025
Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2021–2026
Hong Kong pro-Beijing politicians
Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University
Alumni of Queen's College, Hong Kong
Hong Kong racehorse owners and breeders