Paul Tse Wai-chun, JP (, born 1959) is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

solicitor, who claims himself as the "Superman of Law". He also owns a small travel agency and was elected to 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 Kong ...

for the tourism

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 ...

in the 2008 legislative election. He is known for his relationship with celebrity and radio host

Pamela Peck Pamela Peck Wan-kam (, born on September 1, 1944) was a Hong Kong radio agony aunt and celebrity and is a former member of Wan Chai District Council. Since 1989 she has been the partner of 'celebrity' lawyer and legislator Paul Tse. Early life ...

. Tse is of

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 ...

ancestry.

Career

Tse practised law as a barrister in Australia for seven years after graduating from

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

. Tse then finished his pupillage in Hong Kong under Justice Peter Nguyen. Tse was called to the bar in 1992 and set up his own firm in 1997. His media stunts and quest for self-publicity have caused controversy. From 1997 to 1999, Paul posed in his underpants only for magazines to spread the message that "laws are inherent to every people". After disciplinary hearings which lasted for nearly a decade, 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 ...

suspended his solicitor's license for 12 months for this stunt, but his firm could continue because there were other partners. In 2010, Tse was the sole legislator to vote against the introduction of a

minimum wage in Hong Kong The Minimum Wage Ordinance is an ordinance enacted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong to introduce a minimum wage in Hong Kong in July 2010. The executive branch proposed a minimum wage of HK$28 (~US$3.61) per hour in November 2010, which ...

. In February 2021, Tse said that Sinopharm vaccines should be administered in Hong Kong, despite the fact that the trial data has not been released. Also in February 2021, Tse announced potential reductions of power held by Legislative Council members, claiming that the reductions would create a "balance between the effective operation of the council and the right of speech of legislators." In response,

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 ...

said that such changes would serve only to minimize any antigovernmental opposition within the legislature. Tse also said that lawmakers could be banned for a week if they violated any of the new rules, and that the new rules could take effect as soon as 24 March 2021. In April 2021, Tse said that people who urge others to cast blank ballots may commit the crime of "inciting subversion" under the National Security Law. In January 2022, Tse said that he would try to introduce legislation to block the "yellow economic circle", where pro-democracy supporters boycott shopping at pro-government businesses.

Personal life

Tse was born in

Shap Pat Heung Shap Pat Heung is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Located south of Yuen Long and northeast of Tai Tong, the area occupies the plain north of hills of Tai Lam. The Cantonese name 'Shap Pat Heung' means 'eighteen villages'Antiq ...

Yuen Long Yuen Long is a town in the western New Territories, Hong Kong. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu (), Tin Shui Wai, Lau Fau Shan and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin (), and to the north Nam Sang W ...

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

, Hong Kong, into a working-class family. His family lives in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Property

Out of all 90 legislative council members in the 2022-2025 term, Tse owned the most properties, with 15 residential units in Hong Kong and 1 in Beijing.

References

External links

Paul Tse Solicitor FirmOfficial site of Paul Tse
1959 births Alumni of the City University of Hong Kong HK LegCo Members 2008–2012 HK LegCo Members 2012–2016 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 Hong Kong television presenters Indigenous inhabitants of the New Territories in Hong Kong Living people Solicitors of Hong Kong University of New South Wales alumni Hong Kong people of Hakka descent District councillors of Wan Chai District {{HK-bio-stub