Maria Tam Wai-chu (; born 2 November 1945) is a senior Hong Kong politician and lawyer. She is a member of the Committee for the Basic Law of the
National People's Congress Standing Committee
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
(NPCSC) since 1997 and the chairman of the Operations Review Committee of the
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) since 2015.
As a successful politician early on, Tam was a member of the four different levels of representative councils,
Executive Council,
Legislative Council,
Urban Council
The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...
and
Central and Western District Board
The Central and Western District Council is the district council for the Central and Western District in Hong Kong. It is one of 18 such councils. The Central and Western District Council currently consists of 15 members, of which the district ...
in colonial Hong Kong in the 1980s. She was also a member of the
Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law Drafting Committee (BLDC) was formed in June 1985 for the drafts of the Hong Kong Basic Law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) after 1997. It was formed as a working group ...
and took up various appointments from the Beijing government after she departed from the colonial government over the conflict of interest scandal in 1991.
Since 1997, she has become one of the most recognisable spokespersons and "most loyal mouthpieces" for the Beijing authorities on constitutional matters such as the interpretations of the
Basic Law and constitutional reforms, in which she has always firmly stood and defended all of Beijing's decisions.
Early colonial career
Tam was born on 2 November 1945 in Hong Kong to Tam Chung, a senior police officer. She graduated from the
St. Paul's Co-educational College before she obtained a Bachelor of Laws from the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
and her admission as a barrister at the
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
.
She first stepped into politics when she ran in the
1979 Urban Council election as an advocate for women's rights. She was elected with more than 5,000 votes, the third ranked in the election behind veteran Urban Councillors
Elsie Elliott
Elsie Tu (; ; 2 June 1913 – 8 December 2015), known as Elsie Elliott in her earlier life, was an English-born Hong Kong social activist, elected member of the Urban Council of Hong Kong from 1963 to 1995, and member of the Legislative Counc ...
and
Denny Huang
Dr. Denny Mong-hwa Huang OBE (; 24 July 1920 – 1 August 2007) was a Hong Kong doctor and politician. He was elected member of the Urban Council of Hong Kong from 1967 to 1986 and Hong Kong member to the Chinese People's Political Consultati ...
. She was soon be appointed to sit on the
Legislative Council in 1981.
She was one of the recipients of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award and was appointed
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 ...
in 1982. She became the appointed member of the
Central and Western District Board
The Central and Western District Council is the district council for the Central and Western District in Hong Kong. It is one of 18 such councils. The Central and Western District Council currently consists of 15 members, of which the district ...
when the board was first created in 1982 under the district administration reform by
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Murray MacLehose
Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, (; 16 October 1917 – 27 May 2000), was a British politician, diplomat and the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. He was the longest-serving governor of the colony, with four ...
. She became a member of four different levels of representative councils in Hong Kong when she was appointed to the
Executive Council, the top advisory body in the colonial government in 1983.
Transition period
During her era the Sino-British negotiations over the Hong Kong sovereignty after 1997 took place. She was one of the members of the delegation of the unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative Councils (UMELC) led by Sir
Chung Sze-yuen
Sir Sze-yuen Chung, (; 3 November 1917 – 14 November 2018), often known as Sir S.Y. Chung, was a Hong Kong politician and businessman who served as a Senior Member of the Executive and Legislative Councils during the 1970s and 1980s in ...
to London and Beijing to lobby for the interests of the Hong Kong people. In December 1984 when she met with
British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
, she raised the question of the proposed
Sino-British Joint Declaration
The Sino-British Joint Declaration is a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after ...
and the "possible incompatibility between the Chinese constitution and the basic law", especially the protection of human rights.
She was appointed by the Beijing government to sit on the
Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law Drafting Committee (BLDC) was formed in June 1985 for the drafts of the Hong Kong Basic Law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) after 1997. It was formed as a working group ...
in 1985 which was responsible for the drafting of the
Basic Law of Hong Kong
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 ar ...
, the mini-constitution of the post-1997 Hong Kong. She was also awarded an Officer of the
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1985, and a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1988.
Chinese University of Hong Kong Citation
She founded both the
Federation of Women Lawyers and the
Junior Police Officers' Association. As the colonial government intended to introduce greater representative democracy in the transition period, Tam also founded the
Progressive Hong Kong Society
The Progressive Hong Kong Society (; PHKS) was a political group in Hong Kong. It was established on 14 February 1985 by the then Executive and Legislative Council member Maria Tam. The party is considered conservative and pro-Beijing, in contr ...
(PHKS) in 1985 to participate in the elections. The Progressive Hong Kong Society became the backbone of the
Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong
The Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong (, abbreviated 自民聯; LDF) was a pro-Beijing pro-business and conservative political party in Hong Kong. It was established in 1990, and was composed of mainly conservative businessmen and prof ...
(LDF) set by a group of conservative business and professional elites in 1990 for the preparation of the
first direct election of the Legislative Council in 1991, of which she became the vice-chairman of the new party.
However, Tam's political career seemed to come to an end when she was found to be in a potential conflict of interest as she was involved in her family's taxi company while also being a member and former chairman of the Transport Advisory Committee.
Although she eventually abandoned her shares in the company under pressure, she was not re-appointed by Governor
David Wilson in the Executive and Legislative Councils after the incident. A new set of guidelines was also introduced requiring members of the councils to declare their business interests.
Pro-Beijing career
After her departure from the colonial government, she found favour from the Beijing authorities. She accepted various appointments in the run up to 1997, including to the
Preparatory Committee for the HKSAR The Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was a body established by the People's Republic of China government on 26 January 1996 for the Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, transition of the Hong Kong sovereignty ...
, and as a
Hong Kong Affairs Advisor
Hong Kong Affairs Advisers () were appointed by the Chinese government after the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten carried out his electoral reform in the British Hong Kong, in the eve of the handover of the sovereignty of the city-state fr ...
and member of the
Selection Committee. She was elected to the
Provisional Legislative Council
The Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) was the interim legislature of Hong Kong that operated from 1997 to 1998. The legislature was founded in Guangzhou and sat in Shenzhen from 1996 (with offices in Hong Kong) until the handover in 1997 an ...
(PLC) installed by Beijing. She subsequently resigned from the PLC to take a seat on the Basic Law Committee of the
National People's Congress Standing Committee
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
(NPCSC) in 1997. In that capacity, Tam became one of the most loyal mouthpieces of the Beijing authorities on legal matters, especially in defence of controversial interpretations of the Basic Law and in the constitutional reform debate after 1997.
In 1997, she led the Liberal Democratic Federation to merge with the
Hong Kong Progressive Alliance
The Hong Kong Progressive Alliance (HKPA) was a Pro-Beijing camp, pro-Beijing, pro-business political party in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1994 and was merged into the Demo ...
(HKPA), another pro-business pro-Beijing party. In 2005 when the Progressive Alliance was merged into the
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is a pro-Beijing conservative political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Starry Lee and holding 13 Legislative Council seats, it is currently the largest party in the l ...
(DAB), Tam became the party vice-chairman from 2005 to 2007. She also held various public positions at the time, such as member of the
Urban Renewal Authority
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) is a quasi-governmental, profit-making statutory body in Hong Kong responsible for accelerating urban redevelopment.
History
The authority's predecessor, the Land Development Corporation (土地發展 ...
and the
Airport Authority Hong Kong
The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA or AAHK) is the statutory body (governed by the Airport Authority Ordinance (Cap. 483)) of the government of Hong Kong that is responsible for the operations of the Hong Kong International Airport.
History
...
.
During the highly controversial
national security legislation of the
Basic Law Article 23
Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 () is an article in the Hong Kong Basic Law, Basic Law, the organic law, constitution of Hong Kong. It states that Hong Kong "shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subvers ...
which later caused a record number of more than
500,000 people demonstration on 1 July 2003, Tam supported the government's decision to pass the bill. She even said that anyone who did not support the Article 23 legislation was not fit to be Chinese. In the constitutional reform debates in 2005 and 2010, Tam led the opposition against the
pro-democrats
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 ...
' demand for the universal suffrage of
Chief Executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
and Legislative Council and defended the government's proposals.
In February 2006, Tam joined the board of subsequently Hong Kong-listed mainland
Nine Dragons Paper Holdings Limited, one of the world's largest paperboard manufacturers, whose conditions for workers at its plants were sharply criticised in the 2008 human rights report by the US
Congressional-Executive Commission on China
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) is an independent agency of the U.S. government which monitors human rights and rule of law developments in the People's Republic of China. It was created in October 2001 under Title III of ...
and by Hong Kong's
Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM).
Recent career
Tam became the convenor of National People's Congress Hong Kong delegation from March 2013. On the matter of the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive, Tam said the United Nations'
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedo ...
indicated that the right to be elected is not universal. She also suggested that an interpretation of the Basic Law by Beijing could be the last option for determining how universal suffrage could be implemented for the
2017 Chief Executive election. In the
2014 constitutional reform debate, Tam actively opposed the pro-democrats' campaign for the "public nomination" of the Chief Executive, saying that was against the Basic Law, which states that candidates shall be put forward by a nominating committee. She received the
Grand Bauhinia Medal
The Grand Bauhinia Medal () is the highest award under the Hong Kong honours and awards system; it is to recognise the selected person's lifelong and highly significant contribution to the well-being of Hong Kong. The awardee is entitled to the ...
(GBM), the highest award under the HKSAR honours and awards system, on 1 July 2013.
In 2015, Tam was appointed chairman of the Operations Review Committee of the
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) by Chief Executive
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 ...
. Under her spell, high-flying head of investigations Rebecca Li Bo-lan was controversially sacked. The sudden dismissal came during Li's enquiry into possible impropriety relating to a
$50 million payment made to Leung Chun-ying.
In 2017, Tam was the founding president of the Junior Police Officers’ Association fund which raised over HK$10 million for the families of the seven police officers who were convicted and jailed for two years for
beating activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu at the height of the
Occupy protests in 2014.
In November 2020, following the expulsion of 4 pro-democracy lawmakers from the Legislative Council, Tam said that
NPCSC
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
decisions are not challengeable, and that any judicial review would almost certainly fail.
Tam supported the arrests of 53 pro-democracy figures in January 2021, and when asked about whether they were doing something illegal, she responded "All I can tell is that it is not 'nothing.' There is something. It is only a matter of whether more evidence is there."
In February 2021, following the
2020 Hong Kong Legislative Council mass resignations
On 11 November 2020, 15 Hong Kong pro-democracy members of the Legislative Council announced their resignations in protest against the decision of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) which bars Legislative Council members fr ...
, Tam claimed that there were not enough members of the Legislative Council to decide on reforms of the electoral system, and therefore the
NPCSC
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
would take charge of such reforms.
In December 2021, during 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 ...
, Tam played down the record-low voter turnout. Tam said that the 30% voter turnout was "quite good" and within her expectations.
See also
*
Rita Fan
Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai (; ' Hsu; ''born'' Hsu Ching-li; born 20 September 1945) is a senior Hong Kong politician. She was the first President of the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council from 1998 to 2008 and a member of the Standing Committee of ...
References
External links
Maria Tam interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tam, Maria
1945 births
Living people
Recipients of the Grand Bauhinia Medal
Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Delegates to the 8th National People's Congress from Hong Kong
Delegates to the 9th National People's Congress from Hong Kong
Delegates to the 10th National People's Congress from Hong Kong
Delegates to the 11th National People's Congress from Hong Kong
Delegates to the 12th National People's Congress from Hong Kong
Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong
Members of the Urban Council of Hong Kong
District councillors of Central and Western District
District councillors of Eastern District
Members of the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong politicians
Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong politicians
Progressive Hong Kong Society politicians
New Hong Kong Alliance politicians
Barristers of Hong Kong
Members of the Provisional Legislative Council
HK LegCo Members 1985–1988
HK LegCo Members 1988–1991
Women members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong
Alumni of University of London Worldwide
Alumni of the University of London
Members of Gray's Inn
Members of the Selection Committee of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee members
Hong Kong Affairs Advisors
Hong Kong women lawyers
Alumni of St. Paul's Co-educational College
Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2021–2026
20th-century Hong Kong women politicians
21st-century Hong Kong women politicians