Kenneth Leung

Kenneth Leung Kai-cheong (; born 17 October 1962) is a democratic Hong Kong politician formerly serving as a member of the Legislative Council for the Accountancy functional constituency. Professionally, he is a tax adviser and accountant. On 11 November 2020, he was disqualified from the Legislative Council, along with three other lawmakers of the pan-democratic camp, by the central government in Beijing on request of the Hong Kong government. A mass resignation of pan-democrats the same day left the Legislative Council without a substantial opposition.

Education and background

Leung was born in Hong Kong and attended Queen's College. After taking a diploma in accountancy at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, he went on to study at the London School of Economics and Political Science, from where he obtained a bachelor's degree in economics and an LL.M. degree. He has been working as a senior tax consultant.

Political career

Leung is considered a moderate in the pan-democratic camp. His first electoral successes were in the accountancy sub-sector of the Election Committee for the Chief Executive. In a 2005 by-election he secured a seat, which he defended the following year.

In the 2012 LegCo election he won in the Accountancy constituency, securing 47% of the vote, and held the seat for two terms until 2020.
He was a member of the Professionals Guild, a group of pro-democratic lawmakers in the Legislative Council, at the time of his disqualification in 2020.

2019–20 Hong Kong protests

On 23 August 2019, during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, Leung led a protest of accountants against the extradition bill. Leung stated that a particular concern of the bill to accountants came from their need to frequently cross the border to the Chinese mainland. He called for the protests in the central business district to be "civilized and calm".

In November 2019, Leung requested the government to disclose the composition of the tear gas used by police in the protests, and to issue more guidelines regarding tear gas residue. Health Secretary Sophia Chan refused the first of these requests, citing operational concerns, and said that there was no evidence of tear gas leading to contamination by dioxines or dioxin poisoning.

Disqualification in 2020 election

Five weeks ahead of the later postponed 2020 Hong Kong Legislative Council Election, on 30 July, the government stated that Leung was among a dozen pro-democracy candidates whose nominations were 'invalid', under an opaque process in which, nominally, civil servants – returning officers – assess whether, for instance, a candidate had objected to the enactment of the national security law, or was sincere in statements made disavowing separatism. The election officials' main justification for the disqualification of Leung had been his participation in a March 2020 visit to the United States to discuss Hong Kong-United States relations. Leung's appeal against the decision was unsuccessful, even though the discussion had included politicians from the pro-Beijing DAB; the government argued that by not having opposed sanctions during the trip or at a conference that was held afterwards, he had played a "supportive" role in the call for sanctions. In a December 2020 interview, Leung said he disagreed with the sanctions that the United States had imposed on the city.

On 11 November 2020, following a decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress he was disqualified from Legislative Council along with three other lawmakers; this resulted in the resignation of a further 15 pro-democracy lawmakers.

Controversies

In 2013, Leung was one of eight legislators treated by Cathay Pacific to a six-day trip to France to tour Airbus factories. In response to the public outcry and the perception of a conflict of interest, Leung stated that he would donate HK$100,000 to UNICEF, but refused to apologise.

In March 2017, Kenneth Leung was sued by CY Leung, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, for alleged defamation. Kenneth Leung has made remarks about the $50 million payment that CY Leung received from an Australian firm in 2011 for signing a non-compete agreement, claiming that CY Leung was under investigation by overseas tax authorities for that payment, which CY Leung denied. According to the SCMP, Kenneth Leung said that the lawsuit "would not stop him from continuing with a Legislative Council investigation into the payment controversy".Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying sues lawmaker for defamation
SCMP, 6 Mar, 2017

Personal life

Leung is married.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leung, Kenneth
Living people
Hong Kong accountants
Hong Kong financial businesspeople
Solicitors of Hong Kong
Alumni of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Alumni of the London School of Economics
HK LegCo Members 2012–2016
HK LegCo Members 2016–2021
Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2000–2005
Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2007–2012
Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2012–2017
1962 births
British expatriates in Hong Kong
Alumni of Queen's College, Hong Kong
People expelled from public office