Kwok Wai-keung | |
|---|---|
郭偉强 | |
.jpg) Kwok in 2016 | |
| Member of theLegislative Council | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2022 Serving with Chau Siu-chung,Leung Tsz-wing | |
| Preceded by | Luk Chung-hung |
| Constituency | Labour |
| In office 1 October 2016 – 31 December 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Wong Kwok-hing |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Constituency | Hong Kong Island |
| In office 1 October 2012 – 30 September 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Ip Wai-ming |
| Succeeded by | Ho Kai-ming |
| Constituency | Labour |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1978-04-15)15 April 1978 (age 47) Hong Kong |
| Party | Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions |
| Residence(s) | Tin Wan, Hong Kong |
| Education | Wah Yan College, Hong Kong Hong Kong Polytechnic University City University of Hong Kong |
| Occupation | Legislative councillor Social worker |
Aron Kwok Wai-keung (Chinese:郭偉强) is a current member of theLegislative Council of Hong Kong, representing theLabour, which he was elected to in the2012 LegCo election and2021 LegCo election. Kwok is a member of theHong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, the largest pro-Beijing labour union in the territory. He previously held theHong Kong Island constituency, which he won in the2016 LegCo election.
He is also a former district councillor for theEastern District Council (Provident constituency).
On 27 March 2015, Kwok was appointed one ofHousing Authority members for a two-year term, starting on 1 April.[1]
According to his Legislative Council biography, Kwok holds a diploma in social work and a Bachelor of Arts degree in social policy and administration, and is also a licensed social worker.[2]
During the2003 District Council elections, Kwok ran inChing On constituency ofWong Tai Sin District Council, but was not elected.[3]
Kwok ran for election inProvident constituency of theEastern District Council during the2007 District Council elections. He was elected with 2,527 votes.[4] He ran uncontested during the2011 election and2015 election, retaining his seat by default.[5][6]
He was reelected in the2019 election with 3,229 votes, narrowly beating second-place candidate Duncann Chan by 48 votes.[7]
The pro-BeijingFederation of Trade Unions (FTU) selects members for two Legislative Council seats comprising theLabour functional constituency. Kwok, holding one of the FTU seats, was elected uncontested during the2012 election.[8]
During the2016 LegCo election, he ran for a seat in theHong Kong Island geographic constituency and was elected with 45,925 votes, or 12.2 per cent of the total votes cast.[9]
Kwok has advocated removinglocalist legislators from office. In November 2016, he urged the government to challenge the seat ofLau Siu-lai, who was elected during that year's election, on the basis that she read her swearing-in oath very slowly as a form of protest.[10][11] The government later launched legal action against Lau and other democratically elected legislators, successfully removing them from office.
In November 2017, Kwok was criticised by netizens and anti-poverty activists after expressing a callous attitude toward street sleepers. He made a post on his Facebook page boasting that a footbridge in his district (Provident constituency), on Tong Shui Road, had been cleared of homeless people (and their belongings) on 23 November 2017. The Facebook post included an animated GIF, displaying the clean-up, with the words "all clean". The footbridge was popular with street sleepers as it is redundant to a crosswalk at street level and therefore sees little foot traffic. An anti-poverty activist said that Kwok's post was reminiscent of the concurrent purge of Beijing's so-called "low-end population" that has drawn international attention.[12]
In response to the controversy, Kwok responded that the street sleepers posed a health and safety issue, and that he had received complaints about the footbridge from his constituents. He stated that homeless people should stay in shelters or apply forpublic housing. In response to this, some social workers responded that shelters had time limits and did not constitute a long-term housing solution, and the process for acquiring a public housing unit is not easy.[13]
On 8 May 2020, a meeting of the House Committee of the Legislative Council became chaotic due to controversy between the pro-democracy and pro-Beijing camps over the election of the new committee chair. Live footage filmed during the meeting byRadio Television Hong Kong showed Kwok grabbingRaymond Chan Chi-chuen by the collar and dragging him to the floor. Chan was sent to hospital, where he was diagnosed with aspinal disc herniation.[14]
On 11 May, Chan announced that he had filed a report to the police, accusing Kwok of assault. Chan said he would also launch a crowdfunding campaign to fund private prosecution against Kwok, as he stated that he had little faith in the police nor theDepartment of Justice.[15][16] Chan launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay for the prosecution, which exceeded its HK$1 million goal within hours. Kwok defended his actions, stating that he was trying to protect LegCo security guards.[17] Chan launched a private prosecution against Kwok around three weeks after the encounter. On 6 November,Secretary for Justice intervened and halted the case in the hearing 3 days later.[18]
On 22 November 2018, Kwok voted against a legislative motion that called for the government to explore legal unions forsame-sex couples in Hong Kong. He was among the 27 lawmakers to oppose the motion, and this majority overruled the 24 favourable votes.[19]
On 27 July 2020, Kwok faced criticism for ridiculing lawmaker Raymond Chan based on hissexual orientation.[20] In a Facebook live broadcast, Kwok referred to Chan as "Mr. Chrysanthemum" and his advocates as "chrysanthemum groupies". Thechrysanthemum flower is considered a common euphemism foranus inCantonese lexicon.[21] Chan condemned the derogatory terminology used to mock and discriminate against thegay community.[22][23]LGBT singerAnthony Wong Yiu-ming stated that Kwok's stance represented outdated views onhomosexuality from the pro-Beijing faction.[21] PoliticianTiffany Yuen was critical of Kwok'shomophobic language and demanded an immediate apology.[24] On the next day, Kwok continued his usage of "Mr. Chrysanthemum" in his live broadcast.[22]
On 14 January 2021, Kwok participated in a video conference of the Legislative Council's Panel on Housing, where he was suspected to have been driving while in the meeting, potentially violating the Road Traffic Ordinance.[25][26]
During the debate on the Motion of Thanks for Chief Executive's 2020 Policy Address on 21 January 2021, Kwok falsely claimedThe Guardian (衛報) is a paper forWHO (世衛).[27]
On 5 January 2022,Carrie Lam announced new warnings and restrictions against social gathering due to potentialCOVID-19 outbreaks.[28] One day later, it was discovered that Kwok attended abirthday party hosted by Witman Hung Wai-man, with 222 guests.[29][30][31] At least one guest tested positive with COVID-19, causing all guests to be quarantined.[31] Kwok later claimed that the real issue was not the party, but the government's policy of allowing aircrew fromCathay Pacific to quarantine at home, saying "I wonder if society should be spending time chasing this party while ignoring the whole anti-epidemic loophole".[32]
In December 2022, Kwok was tested positive for COVID-19.[33]
In May 2023, afterDistrict Councils had a reduction in democratically elected seats, Kwok said that public opinion suggested "we do not trust in the public," and argued against the public opinion, saying "of course, we know this is a misleading and wrong concept."[34]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theEastern District Council Representative forProvident 2007–2023 | Succeeded by Constituency abolished |
| Legislative Council of Hong Kong | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Legislative Council Representative forLabour 2012–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Legislative Council Representative forHong Kong Island 2016–2021 | Constituency abolished |
| Preceded by | Member of Legislative Council Representative forLabour 2022–present Served alongside:Chau Siu-chung,Leung Tsz-wing | Incumbent |
| Order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Kwok Ka-ki Member of the Legislative Council | Hong Kong order of precedence Member of the Legislative Council | Succeeded by Dennis Kwok Member of the Legislative Council |