Ip Kwok-him | |
|---|---|
葉國謙 | |
.png) Ip in 2020 | |
| Non-official Member of theExecutive Council | |
| In office 17 March 2016 – 30 June 2020 | |
| Appointed by | Leung Chun-ying Carrie Lam |
| Preceded by | Starry Lee |
| Succeeded by | Gary Chan |
| Member of theLegislative Council | |
| In office 1 October 2008 – 30 September 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Lau Wong-fat |
| Succeeded by | Lau Kwok-fan |
| Constituency | District Council (First) |
| In office 1 October 2000 – 30 September 2004 | |
| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Succeeded by | Lau Wong-fat |
| Constituency | District Council (First) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1951-11-08)8 November 1951 (age 74) |
| Nationality | Hong Kong Chinese |
| Party | Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong |
| Spouse | Lee Ngan-yee |
| Education | South China Normal University (BA) |
| Occupation | Legislative Councillor |
| Signature |  |
| Ip Kwok-him | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 葉國謙 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 叶国谦 | ||||||||||||
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Ip Kwok-him,GBM,GBS,JP (Chinese:葉國謙; born 8 November 1951) is a former unofficial member of theExecutive Council of Hong Kong, served between 2016 and 2022. He is also former member of theLegislative Council of Hong Kong for theDistrict Council (First)functional constituency and Hong Kong delegate to theNational People's Congress and the former convenor of the caucus of theDemocratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) in the Legislative Council. He was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal (GBM) by the Hong Kong SAR Government in 2017.[1]
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Ip was born in Hong Kong on 8 November 1951 to a driver father. His father came from Guangzhou before theChinese Communist Party took over. He studied at the Hon Wah College, a leftist pro-Communist school in theWestern District. He later graduated from theSouth China Normal University with a degree in Bachelor of Art in Geography. After he graduated, he returned to the Hon Wah College as a teacher where he taught for 20 years.[citation needed]
During the1967 Hong Kong riots, he was member of theCommittee of Hong Kong and Kowloon Compatriots from All Circles for Struggle Against British Hong Kong Persecution as a student of the Hon Wah College. He was sent to Macao by theHong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) to learn about theDecember 3 Incident launched by the Macao leftists which successfully led to the concession from Portuguese colonial government.[2]
He became active in local politics in the mid-1980s when he became vice chairman of a research centre for the development of theCentral and Western District, a supplementary member of theCentral and Western District Board. He also co-founded the working committee on concerning theHong Kong Basic Law withAmbrose Lau Hon-chuen, the chairman of the Central and Western District Board.[3]
He first ran for office in the1991 District Board elections, for the Central and Western District Board in the Kennedy Town West & Mount Davis. He was elected with incumbent Chan Tak-chor, receiving 2,942 votes and defeating incumbent Wong Sui-lai of thepro-democraticUnited Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK).[citation needed]
In the1994 District Board elections, he was re-elected inKwun Lung and held the seat until he was defeated by legislatorCyd Ho Sau-lan of the pro-democraticThe Frontier in the2003 District Council elections when his party suffered a devastating defeat in the territory-wide local election.[4][5]
He won back the seat in Kwun Lung in 2007 and held the seat until he stepped down in 2015.[citation needed]
He became a founding member of theDemocratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), a flagshippro-Beijing party set up by a group of traditional leftists in 1992. He was a long-time chairman of the party, serving from 1998 to 2009.[citation needed]
He was first elected to theLegislative Council of Hong Kong in thelast colonial legislative election in 1995 through the ten-seatElection Committee consisting of all District Board members. In 1996, he was appointed to the Beijing-controlledProvisional Legislative Council.[citation needed]
In thefirst SAR legislative election in 1998, he formed a ticket withGary Cheng Kai-nam inHong Kong Island in which Cheng was elected. He returned to the Legislative Council in 2000 when he was elected through the newly created inDistrict Council constituency which was elected by all District Councillors.[citation needed]
After he lost his District Council seat in 2003, he was not eligible to run for the constituency in the2004 Legislative Council election. In the same year, he was awarded theGold Bauhinia Star (GBS) by the government.[citation needed]
He returned to the Legislative Council through the same constituency in 2008 and has held the seat since then. After retiring from the District Council in 2015, he would also step down in the upcoming2016 Legislative Council election.[citation needed]
As a Legislative Councillors, Ip held many other public positions, including on the Board of directors of theUrban Renewal Authority.[6]
He stepped down from the Legislative Council in 2016 and was succeeded byLau Kwok-fan.[citation needed]
According to a chat record leaked to theSouth China Morning Post,[7] Ip, as the convenor of the DAB caucus and the coordinator of the pro-Beijing camp, was responsible together with theLegislative Council PresidentJasper Tsang Yok-sing for the walk-out that resulted in a humiliating defeat of the pro-Beijing parties in the electoral reform voting at the Legislative Council in July 2015.
Ip was appointed to theExecutive Council of Hong Kong byChief ExecutiveLeung Chun-ying on 17 March 2016, succeeding resigning DAB chairwomanStarry Lee Wai-king.[8]
He is also a Hong Kong deputy to the China'sNational People's Congress.[citation needed]
In February 2021, Ip said that he supported reforms to the election system in Hong Kong proposed by theNPCSC, and that the 117 seats district councillors hold in thechief executive election committee are held by those who "advocate mutual destruction for Hong Kong."[9] In response,Ma Ngok from Chinese University said that doing so would eliminate public participation in choosing the chief executive.[10]
On 5 January 2022, Chief ExecutiveCarrie Lam announced new warnings and restrictions against social gathering due to potentialCOVID-19 outbreaks.[11] One day later, it was discovered thatCaspar Tsui attended a birthday party hosted by Witman Hung Wai-man, with 222 guests.[12][13][14] At least one guest tested positive with COVID-19, causing many guests to be quarantined.[14] Ip, several times, later called on Carrie Lam to be lenient towards Tsui.[15]
In February 2022, after theWitman Hung birthday party controversy, Ng defended Hung and said that "I don’t think we need to discuss punishing Hung as he did not cause disrepute to the NPC".[16]
Ip is married with one son and one daughter. His twin brother, Ip Kwok-chung, is a former member of theUrban Council of Hong Kong and theYau Tsim Mong District Council. His nephew, Chris Ip Ngo-tung, is the current chairman of theYau Tsim Mong District Council.
| Legislative Council of Hong Kong | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Legislative Council Representative forElection Committee 1995–1997 | Replaced by Provisional Legislative Council |
| New parliament | Member ofProvisional Legislative Council 1997–1998 | Replaced byLegislative Council |
| Preceded byas Representative for Regional Council | Member of Legislative Council Representative forDistrict Council 2000–2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Legislative Council Representative forDistrict Council 2008–2012 | Succeeded by Himself as Representative for District Council (First) |
| Preceded by Himself as Representative for District Council | Member of Legislative Council Representative forDistrict Council (First) 2012–present | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Non-official Member ofExecutive Council 2016–2022 | Succeeded by |
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