Kenneth Lau Ip-keung (, born 1966) is a

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 ...

rural leader in Hong Kong. He is the current 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 repre ...

and 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 ...

for the Heung Yee Kuk functional constituency, succeeding his father

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 Territ ...

in 2015 and 2016 respectively. He has been an unofficial member of the

Executive Council of Hong Kong The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the cabinet of the Government of Hong Kong, acting as a formal body of advisers to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong that serves as a core policy-making organ assisting the Chief Executive. It is ...

since 2017. He was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star by the

Hong Kong SAR Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino-B ...

in 2017.

Biography

Lau was born in 1966 to

, the powerful rural leader and the chairman of the

for 35 years. He graduated from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

in 1989 with a degree in mathematics and statistics. In May 2015, he was elected unchallenged to the Kuk chairmanship upon his father's retirement. Lau was an appointed member of

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 2000 to 2011. He was also a member of the government's Environmental Campaign Committee (2010–13). Since 2006, he has been 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 Ho ...

, under the New Territories District Council Subsector from 2006 to 2011 and through Heung Yee Kuk since 2011. Lau is a director of the Community Chest of Hong Kong. He and his wife, Judy Lau Yap Ai-ai, are members of 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 ...

and horse owners. Lau was revealed to be a

British citizen British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...

by documents in the Panama Papers. In the

2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * '' Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film d ...

, he succeeded his father to become a member of the Legislative Council in the Heung Yee Kuk functional constituency unopposed.

Property

According to his July 2020 declaration of interest, he owns more than 400 pieces of land throughout Hong Kong. In addition to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the declaration lists him as a member of other organisations such as the Mission Hills Golf Club, Gold Coast Yacht and Country Club, and the

Hong Kong Golf Club The Hong Kong Golf Club is a private golf club. It is home to the Hong Kong Open, a tournament co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours. Founded in 1889 as the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club, the Club originally played in Happy Valley, a l ...

. In 2021, police in

Lung Kwu Tan Lung Kwu Tan () is an area located in the western part of the Tuen Mun District in Hong Kong. Geography The area is located to the southwest of Castle Peak and consists of Lung Kwu Tan and Lung Kwu Sheung Tan. Lung Kwu Tan is a beach with b ...

seized 10 speedboats and a record 57 engines, both used for illegal smuggling, in a 100,000 sqft warehouse belonging to a company owned by Lau and his family. According to Lau's January 2022 declaration of assets, he owns properties and land in Hong Kong, as well as land in Wuhan and Huizhou. He also declared shares in 105 companies, ranging from moneylending businesses to catering businesses. In August 2022, his latest declaration of assets specified that he owns 456 plots of land in New Territories and 7 residential units in Tuen Mun for "self-use". He owns an additional 8 residential units in Hong Kong, for a total of 15 residential units, along with 5 commercial properties.

Housing

Small House Policy

Lau is a supporter of the

Small House Policy The Small House Policy (SHP, ) was introduced in 1972 in Hong Kong. The objective was to improve the then prevailing low standard of housing in the rural areas of the New Territories. The Policy allows an indigenous male villager who is 18 ye ...

, and in January 2021, after the judiciary reinstated building rights for the Small House Policy, claimed "I heard some describe this as a 'big win' for us ... but the judgment is actually good for the whole of Hong Kong." Critics of the Small House Policy have said that the policy is "wasteful of land" that could instead be used for high rise developments. In February 2021, Lau said that the government hadn't fixed the housing supply issue in Hong Kong, and that "They can talk the talk, but they haven’t walked the talk," despite Lau's fighting for the Small House Policy, which takes up around 5,000 hectares of land in Hong Kong. Lau has also said that overseas male descendants of indigenous villagers should be entitled to the small house policy even if they are not Hong Kong residents, and that "Despite them being overseas, we should not strip them of their rights."

Land reclamation

In October 2021, Lau said that villagers in

in Tuen Mun would object to the government's land reclamation project near their homes, meant to create more land for the housing shortfall in Hong Kong.

Personal life

Lau is a member of the

and in August 2022, was in a election to get seats on the board of stewards. According to an editorial by ''The Standard'', Lau broke a tradition by participating in the election despite not being invited to do so. The editorial also mentioned that Lau winning or losing the election would reflect on if he had the "blessing of the government" and if the political clout of the Heung Yee Kuk was good enough. In September 2022, Lau placed dead last in the election, the only loser in a contest that saw 8 people on the ballot for 7 seats.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lau, Kenneth 1966 births Living people Hong Kong people of Hakka descent People from Huiyang District councillors of Tuen Mun District Indigenous inhabitants of the New Territories in Hong Kong Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2007–2012 Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2012–2017 Hong Kong racehorse owners and breeders Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong politicians Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong HK LegCo Members 2016–2021 HK LegCo Members 2022–2025 Recipients of the Bronze Bauhinia Star