Dominic Lee | |
|---|---|
李梓敬 | |
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| Member of theLegislative Council | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2022 | |
| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Constituency | New Territories North East |
| Member of theSham Shui Po District Council | |
| In office 1 January 2016 – 31 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Jimmy Kwok |
| Succeeded by | Lau Wai-chung |
| Constituency | Yau Yat Tsuen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1984-01-22)22 January 1984 (age 41) Hong Kong |
| Political party | New People's Party (2020–present) Civil Force (2020–present) Liberal Party (2009–2020) |
| Residence | Hong Kong |
| Education | Rice University (BS) |
| Occupation | Company director |
Dominic Lee Tsz-king (Chinese:李梓敬; 22 January 1984) is a Hong Kong politician. He is a member of theNew People's Party and a Legislative Council Member representing theNew Territories North East. He is a former member of theSham Shui Po District Council forYau Yat Tsuen from 2015 to 2019 and the former chairman of theLiberal Party Youth Committee.
Lee was born in Hong Kong in 1984 to an upper-middle-class family. He studied atDiocesan Boys' School and theLi Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong before going abroad and graduated fromRice University in 2006 with a degree in economics. He worked as an assistant in his campus polling station forDemocratic Party presidential candidateJohn Kerry in 2004 and later worked as an intern for DemocratAl Green in theUS House of Representatives.[1]
He joined the pro-business conservativeLiberal Party in 2009 after he returned to Hong Kong. During the2004 Hong Kong legislative election, he helped Liberal Party chairmanJames Tien win a seat representingNew Territories East. Lee became the first chairman of the party's youth committee when it was established in 2011.
Lee is vocal about his conservative stances on the economy, immigration, and social issues. He is known for his strong words in opposition to universal retirement protection and was once criticized by an elderly woman over the topic during alegislative council public hearing, which went viral on the Internet.[citation needed]
In 2015, he supported the government's plan to scrap visa-free facility for Indians, defending the move as a "sacrifice to protect our borders".[2] In 2016, he led the Alliance Demanding Repatriation of Refugees against "fake" refugees from Southeast Asia coming into Hong Kong.[3] Moreover, he demanded quitting theUnited Nations Convention against Torture to block "fake" refugees from coming to Hong Kong.[4] In May that year, he led an anti-refugee protest which drew 100 to 200 people as well as counter-protesters.[5] Claiming that there was a refugee-led crime surge in Hong Kong and that South Asians should be locked up in internment camps,Access to Information requests fromJustice Centre Hong Kong have debunked these fears as not being based upon any measurable increase in crime.[6]
In April 2016, he led a protest inLan Kwai Fong against theEqual Opportunities Commission's ruling of "ladies' night" being discriminatory.[7] Lee supported bar and nightclub operators in favor of resuming ladies' night to avoid potential losses of revenue.
In the2011 District Council elections, Lee ran in Shek Lei Extension but was defeated byDemocratic Party incumbent Leung Kwok-wah. In the2015 District Council elections, he ran in theYau Yat Tsuen constituency and won againstLeague of Social Democrats candidate Dickson Chau Ka-faat, succeeding council chairman Jimmy Kwok Chun-wah as member of theSham Shui Po District Council.
In 2016, he was nominated by the Liberal Party to run in the2016 Hong Kong legislative election inNew Territories East with the support of incumbent legislator and party honorary chairman James Tien. However, the Liberal party ticket narrowly missed out on winning the seat.
In 2018, Lee claimed that civil unions and gay marriage will “encourage” people to adoptLGBTQ lifestyles in response toHong Kong Court of Final Appeal's ruling which stated that spousal visas may be granted to same-sex couples in civil unions.[8]
In the2019 District Council elections, Lee narrowly lost his District Council seat inYau Yat Tsuen to independent barrister Lau Wai-chung by 96 votes.[9]
While an active member of the Liberal Party, Lee ran for the 2020 primary of theNew People's Party for the Legislative Council election in the New Territories East constituency.[10] As a result, his membership with the Liberal Party was revoked by party leaderFelix Chung.[11] Later that night, Lee announced his resignation as the member of Liberal Party[12] and joined New People's Party andCivil Force,[13][14] a district-based political coalition that was established in 2014[15] by Chairperson of the New People's Party,Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee.[16]
In March 2021, after some companies boycotted purchasing cotton fromXinjiang due to suspectedhuman rights violations, Lee said that some leaders of Western countries and Western media had falsely understood the situation in Xinjiang and have leveled allegations without evidence.[17]
In the2021 Hong Kong legislative election, Lee was elected to the Legislative Council representingNew Territories North East (2021 constituency) with 45.35 percent of the vote. Lee is one among five members of the New People's Party to be elected to theLegislative Council and will serve a four-year term.
In April 2023, a survey of more than 1000 Hongkongers showed that only 4% of respondents recognized Lee as a lawmaker.[18]
In April 2024, Lee criticized former Chief ExecutiveCarrie Lam's office space, saying "Why does a former chief executive need to rent such space?"[19]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New creation | Chairman ofLiberal Party Youth Committee 2011–2020 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Member ofSham Shui Po District Council Representative forYau Yat Tsuen 2012–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Legislative Council of Hong Kong | ||
| New constituency | Member of Legislative Council Representative forNew Territories North East 2022–present | Incumbent |