Leung Yiu-chung

Leung Yiu-chung (, born 19 May 1953) is a Hong Kong politician. He is a member of the pro-labour Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre, part of the pan-democracy camp, and a former long-time member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. He represented the New Territories West geographical constituency between 1998 and 2016, and the District Council (Second) functional constituency between 2016 and 2020. Leung has also been a member of the Kwai Tsing District Council since 1985.

Early career

Leung received his Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from the University of Essex and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from the University of Hong Kong. Upon his return from the United Kingdom in 1978, Leung joined the New Youth Study Society, a labour school founded by activist Lau Shan-ching in Tsuen Wan, as a lecturer.

In the early 1980s, Leung led an investigation on 26 blocks of public housing that were discovered to be structurally dangerous, with Kwai Fong Estate in Kwai Chung being the worst affected. His investigation forced the Housing Authority to agree to dismantle and reconstruct the jerry-built buildings, and assisted the residents throughout the reconstruction process.

Political career

Political membership

Leung's political party is represented by Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre (NWSC) since 1985. Leung transformed the New Youth Study Society into the Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre after his first District Council win, as the public schools established by the government gradually replaced the labour schools.

In 2010, Leung was invited to participate in the establishment of a pro-labour party, along with ex-Civic legislator Fernando Cheung, Confederation of Trade Unions' Lee Cheuk-yan and Civic Act-up's Cyd Ho. The NWSC rejected the proposed membership in the newly founded Labour Party, and it also rejected Leung to join the party as an individual.

District Council

In 1985, Leung contested in the District Board election, representing the Kwai Chung Central constituency in the newly established Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi District Board, and he was elected. He continued to hold the Kwai Chung Central seat until 1994, when the constituency was split into multiple constituencies, including Kwai Fong where Leung had since held the seat. He was known as one of the "Kwai Tsing septet", along with Lee Wing-tat, Sin Chung-kai and four others.

On 25 November 2019, Leung won his seat in the district council election with 59.1% of the vote, marking his sixth consecutive election win within this constituency.

Legislative Council

Leung had a long 25-year tenure in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, having served as a legislator since 1995, except briefly between 1997 and 1998. His first legislative council bid was in the 1991 legislative election for the New Territories South constituency, where Leung was not elected. In 1995, he was elected to the Legislative Council representing the new Textiles and Garment constituency created by the 1994 electoral reform.

During a 1996 Legislative Council meeting, he criticised the process of the election of the post-1997 chief executive by the communist-handpicked Selection Committee as "foul grass grows out of a foul ditch", which was deemed insulting to some of the legislators who were concurrently members of the Selection Committee. As a result, he was asked to withdraw from the chamber by the president of the Legislative Council Andrew Wong pursuant to Standing Order 34(2), becoming the first Hong Kong legislator to be expelled from a legislative sitting.

Leung left the legislature in June 1997, when the council was abolished and replaced by the Provisional Legislative Council. He returned to the Legislative Council at the 1998 legislative election to represent New Territories West. Leung held the seat in this constituency for subsequent elections until he won a seat for the District Council (Second) functional constituency in 2016.

On 12 October 2016, Leung was granted the authority to chair a Legislative Council meeting for the election of the new president, due to having the second highest seniority after presidential candidate James To. As the meeting progressed, Leung gave up his role, which was passed down to Abraham Shek. His decision to quit was met with controversy, as critics derided him for passing the position of power to the pro-establishment camp. The meeting concluded with pro-establishment candidate Andrew Leung elected as President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in a 38–0 vote.

On 19 June 2020, Leung announced his plans to contest the 2020 Hong Kong legislative election as the second candidate behind NWSC chairman Lo Ngai-yin. He stated that the party planned to run in the general election regardless of the outcome in the pro-democracy primaries. On 28 June, Leung declared that he and the NWSC would no longer be in contention, following criticism to his earlier statement.

Political activities

In the 1990s, Leung advocated for a group of young offenders who were held in indefinite imprisonment. He sought for definite sentencing terms, citing their young ages and the prospect of rehabilitation. Among the 60 politicians who were contacted for help, Leung was the only one who had followed up with assistance. A fictional retelling of his contributions was depicted in a Hong Kong movie, titled ''From the Queen to the Chief Executive'', released in 2001.

In 2010, Leung published a memoir that documented the experiences in his political career. In the memoir, solicitor and former actress Mary Jean Reimer described Leung's advocacy towards the disadvantaged and socially vulnerable groups.

On 18 April 2020, Leung was one of the 15 high-profile pro-democracy figures arrested in Hong Kong. Leung's arrest was made on the claim that he participated in an unauthorized assembly on 18 August 2019 amid the anti-extradition bill protests.

In December 2021, Leung was sentenced, together with seven fellow activists, for illegal assembly over his participation in the 2020 Tiananmen vigil in Hong Kong, and for having "incited" the public to join them. Leung received a sentence of nine months. His release, initially scheduled for 13 June 2022, was delayed due to a jail sentence of two weeks imposed that month for "assaulting, obstructing or molesting" a pro-Beijing LegCo member during clashes at the LegCo Complex in May 2019.

Publications

*我固執而持久地，過這種生活 (2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leung, Yiu-Chung
1953 births
Living people
District councillors of Kwai Tsing District
Hong Kong educators
Alumni of the University of Hong Kong
Alumni of the University of Essex
Hong Kong trade unionists
Charter 08 signatories
The Frontier (Hong Kong) politicians
HK LegCo Members 1995–1997
HK LegCo Members 1998–2000
HK LegCo Members 2000–2004
HK LegCo Members 2004–2008
HK LegCo Members 2008–2012
HK LegCo Members 2012–2016
HK LegCo Members 2016–2021
Hong Kong political prisoners