Starry Lee | |
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李慧琼 | |
.jpg) Lee in October 2023 | |
| Member of theStanding Committee of the National People's Congress | |
| Assumed office 11 March 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Tam Yiu-chung |
| Chairwoman of theDemocratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong | |
| In office 17 April 2015 – 25 September 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Tam Yiu-chung |
| Succeeded by | Gary Chan |
| Member of theExecutive Council | |
| In office 1 July 2012 – 17 March 2016 | |
| Appointed by | Leung Chun-ying |
| Preceded by | Lau Kong-wah |
| Succeeded by | Ip Kwok-him |
| Member of theLegislative Council | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2022 | |
| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Constituency | Kowloon Central |
| In office 1 October 2012 – 31 December 2021 | |
| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Constituency | District Council (Second) |
| In office 1 October 2008 – 30 September 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Tsang Yok-sing |
| Succeeded by | Ann Chiang |
| Constituency | Kowloon West |
| Member of theKowloon City District Council | |
| In office 1 January 2000 – 31 December 2023 | |
| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Constituency | To Kwa Wan North |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1974-03-13)13 March 1974 (age 51) |
| Political party | Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (BBA) University of Manchester (MBA) |
| Occupation | Councillor |
| Profession | Accountant |
| Signature |  |
| Starry Lee | |||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 李慧琼 | ||||||||||||
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Starry Lee Wai-king,SBS,JP (Chinese:李慧琼, born 13 March 1974) is a Hong Kong politician and former chairperson of the largestpro-establishment Beijing-loyalist party, theDemocratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB). She is a member of theStanding Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC),Legislative Councillor for theKowloon Centralgeographical constituency, and a formerKowloon City District Councillor. From 2012 to 2016, she was a member of theExecutive Council.
Born in 1974 in Hong Kong into a working-class family and brought up on a public housing estate,[1] Lee obtained herBachelor of Business Administration from theHong Kong University of Science and Technology andMaster of Business Administration from theUniversity of Manchester. She became a professional accountant, working forKPMG in Hong Kong and is currently the principal at CCIF CPA Ltd.
Lee first stood in theDistrict Council elections in 1999 for theKowloon City District Council, the neighbourhood where she lived. She was elected aged 26, the youngest district councillor at that time.[2] She joined the pro-BeijingDemocratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong when she was approached by the former party chairmanTsang Yok-sing around 2004. She was asked to become the part of Tsang's team in the followingLegislative Council election in September 2004.[3] She was listed third on the candidate list and helped Tsang to win a seat in theKowloon West.
With her professional background, Lee became a new star in the party and also the pro-Beijing camp. She was elected to theLegislative Council with around 39,000 votes, nearly 19 percent of the vote share, when Tsang left the constituency forHong Kong Island in the2008 Legislative Council election. In 2011, she was elected as the vice-chairwoman of the party.
In 2012, she was appointed to theExecutive Council byChief ExecutiveLeung Chun-ying. At the time, she was the only person to hold positions in three different levels of representative councils, the Executive, Legislative and District Councils. She served on the Executive Council until her resignation in March 2016, when she said she wanted to focus on her work on the Legislative Council and the party. Her position was taken byIp Kwok-him, a veteran DAB legislator.[4]
In the2012 Legislative Council election, Lee contested in the newly created territory-wideDistrict Council (Second) "super seats". Her ticket received over 270,000 votes in total. On 17 April 2015, she was elected as the first woman to chair the DAB, succeedingTam Yiu-chung.[5]
After Lee was re-elected in the2016 Legislative Council election, she succeededAndrew Leung of theBusiness and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) to become the chairperson of the Legislative Council House Committee, the second highest office in the legislature. In 2018, she was invited to sit on the 13th National Committee of theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).[6]
On 18 May 2020, Lee was re-elected as House Committee chairperson. Prior to the vote,Chan Kin-por, the nominee of Legislative Council presidentAndrew Leung, had taken the seat of the presiding member – a position which had been held since October 2019 by pro-democratDennis Kwok – with the help of security personnel, and 15 pro-democratic lawmakers had been removed from the meeting room after scuffles had broken out; during Lee's election, three pro-democrats sat outside the room in protest. After the physical removal of the pro-democratic lawmakers, Lee was elected.[7][8]
In March 2021, Lee supported changes that would reduce the power of Legislative Council members, claiming that opposition members had blocked legislation and caused a power vacuum.[9]
In October 2021, Lee and fellow lawmakerHolden Chow were criticized by the mother ofAmber Poon, claiming that Lee and Chow were "vanishing" after holding a press conference in 2019 with her, to push forward the2019 Hong Kong extradition bill.[10]
During the2021 Hong Kong legislative election, Lee dismissed concerns that the record-low voter turnout of 30.2% was problematic.[11]
In January 2022, the mainland Chinese national emblem was permanently added to the Legislative Council chamber, afterAndrew Leung, Starry Lee Wai-king andMa Fung-kwok decided that it should be made permanent.[12] Andrew Leung had earlier said it would be only temporary for the swearing in of lawmakers.[12]
In February 2022, Lee told SCMP that she would not be attending the 2022Two Sessions, as a Hong Kong delegate.[13]
In August 2022, Lee announced that 16 members of the DAB would travel overseas to clarify any "misunderstandings" businesspeople may have about Hong Kong.[14]
In November 2022, after a rugby match in South Korea playedGlory to Hong Kong for the Hong Kong team, Lee said that Asia Rugby should apologize to "theentire [Chinese] population."[15]
On 11 March 2023, Lee was elected to the National People's Congress and succeeded Tam Yiu-chung to become the Hong Kong representative in the NPCSC.[16]
In August 2023, she announced that she will not seeking her re-election as DAB chairwoman, citing her "limited time and work capability".[17] On 25 September 2023,Gary Chan succeeded Lee in the party leader election.[18]
Lee is married and has a daughter. In November 2022, she tested positive forCOVID-19.[19]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member ofKowloon City District Council Representative forTo Kwa Wan North 2000–2023 | Constituency abolished |
| Preceded by | Non-official Member ofExecutive Council 2012–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Legislative Council of Hong Kong | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Legislative Council Representative forKowloon West 2008–2012 | Succeeded by |
| New constituency | Member of Legislative Council Representative forDistrict Council (Second) 2012–2021 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Legislative Council Representative forKowloon Central 2022–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chairman of House Committee 2016–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman ofDemocratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong 2015–2023 | Succeeded by |
| National People's Congress | ||
| Preceded by | Member ofStanding Committee Representative forHong Kong SAR 2023–present | Incumbent |
| Order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Wong Ting-kwong Member of the Legislative Council | Hong Kong order of precedence Member of the Legislative Council | Succeeded by Gary Chan Member of the Legislative Council |
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