Lai Tung-kwok
Lai Tung-kwok | |
|---|---|
黎棟國 | |
.jpg) Lai in 2023 | |
| Member of the Legislative Council | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency created |
| Constituency | Election Committee |
| Secretary for Security | |
| In office 1 July 2012 – 30 June 2017 | |
| Chief Executive | Leung Chun-ying |
| Preceded by | Ambrose Lee |
| Succeeded by | John Lee |
| Under Secretary for Security | |
| In office 2 November 2009 – 30 June 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | John Lee |
| Director of Immigration | |
| In office 2002–2008 | |
| Preceded by | Ambrose Lee |
| Succeeded by | Simon Peh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 November 1951 Hong Kong |
| Political party | New People's Party |
| Lai Tung-kwok | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 黎棟國 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 黎栋国 | ||||||||||
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Lai Tung-kwok, GBS,[1] IDSM,[2] JP[1] (Chinese: 黎棟國; Jyutping: lai4 dung3 gwok3; born 12 November 1951 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong politician and retired civil servant currently serving as a member of the Legislative Council for the Election Committee constituency.
Lai was previously a principal official who held the position of Secretary for Security of Hong Kong between 2012 and 2017. He previously served as Under Secretary for Security[3] from 2009 to 2012 and Director of Immigration from 2002 to 2008.[4][5]
Early life and education
Lai was born in British Hong Kong in 1951 to a family with ancestral roots in the town of Beijiao in Guangdong. He attended Maryknoll Fathers' School, a Catholic school in Sham Shui Po, from 1957 to 1968,[6] and later obtained a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London External Programmes. Before joining the civil service, Lai briefly worked as a history teacher at the Caritas St Godfrey Prevocational School (now the Caritas Chong Yuet Ming Secondary School).
Civil service career (1973-2009)
Lai joined the Hong Kong civil service as an Assistant Immigration Officer in December 1973. He was promoted to Immigration Officer in September 1980, Senior Immigration Officer in September 1986, Chief Immigration Officer in February 1990, Assistant Principal Immigration Officer in May 1992, Principal Immigration Officer in October 1995, Senior Principal Immigration Officer in April 1997 and to Assistant Director of Immigration in February 1999. He was promoted to Deputy Director of Immigration in January 2001. Lai was appointed Director of Immigration in July 2002.[5] He ceased to be Director of Immigration in April 2008 and retired in 2009 when he was succeeded by Simon Peh.
Political career (2009-present)
Ministerial career
In 2009, he was appointed as the Under Secretary for Security, a newly created political appointment under the Political Appointments System.[7] On 1 July 2012, Lai joined Leung Chun-ying's cabinet as Secretary for Security of Hong Kong. As head of the Security Bureau, he was responsible for overseeing most of Hong Kong's disciplined services.[8] He left office when Carrie Lam succeeded Leung Chun-ying as Chief Executive in 2017.
Lai was elected to the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as a member of the Hong Kong delegation in January 2018. In August of the same year, he joined the New People's Party, and became the Executive Vice-Chairman of the party.[9]
Legislative Council
In the 2021 Legislative Council election, which was the first election after the 2021 electoral changes, Lai ran for a seat in the Election Committee constituency as a member of the New People's Party. He was successfully elected with 1237 votes, coming 19th in the block vote constituency.[10]
In February 2022, Lai told SCMP that he would be attending the 2022 Two Sessions as a Hong Kong delegate.[11]
Lai was elected as chairman of the Legislative Council's Panel on Constitutional Affairs on 16 January 2024 and was re-elected to the position in January 2025.[12]
Controversies
Remarks on alcohol and rape cases
While speaking at a Fight Crime Committee press conference on 14 May 2013 in his capacity as Secretary for Security, Lai remarked in response to a recent rise in rape cases that "some of these cases also involved the victims being raped after drinking quite a lot of alcohol, so I would appeal that young ladies should not drink too much". The statement was criticised by women's groups as putting the blame on rape victims instead of perpetrators, with Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong calling on Lai to apologise. In response, Lai denied that he meant to lay responsibility on the victims, and said that he would "humbly listen" to the opinions that he had received. A spokesman for his department said that Lai had only intended to highlight the ways through which perpetrators took advantage of their victims, and did not mean to blame rape victims.[13]
Falling asleep during Council meeting
On 7 January 2014, during a Legislative Council meeting discussing a second round of consultation for the proposed 2017 electoral reform, Lai was seen falling asleep for around 20 minutes while then-Chief Secretary Carrie Lam was speaking for the government.[14] A Security Bureau spokesperson later said that Lai was feeling unwell and had taken some cold medicine before attending the meeting.
Partygate
On 5 January 2022, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced new warnings and restrictions against social gatherings due to potential COVID-19 outbreaks.[15] One day later, it was discovered that Lai attended a birthday party hosted by Witman Hung Wai-man, with 222 guests.[16][17][18] At least one guest tested positive with COVID-19, causing all guests to be quarantined.[18] Lai had been warned by Legislative Council president Andrew Leung not to attend any meetings until after finishing his last mandatory Covid-19 test on 22 January 2022.[19] However, he decided to attend the meeting on 19 January 2022, against Leung's orders.[19]
References
- ^ a b "GovHK: Mr Lai Tung-kwok, SBS, IDSM, JP, Secretary for Security". Retrieved 2012-11-10.
- ^ http://www.immd.gov.hk/a_report_06-07/west/appendices/l_img/app_02.pdf
- ^ New under secretaries announced Archived 2009-11-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Profile of Hong Kong gov't official: Lai Tung-kwok
- ^ a b "Appointment of Director of Immigration (with photos)". www.info.gov.hk. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
- ^ "Maryknoll Fathers' School - 瑪利諾神父教會學校". www.mfs1.edu.hk. Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
- ^ The Chief Executive (CE) appoints two Under Secretaries
- ^ State Council appoints new HK govt lineup
- ^ "Meeting with Hon Lai Tung Kwok, GBS, IDSM, JP". www.hkbuas.edu.hk. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
- ^ "2021 Legislative Council General Election - Election Results". www.elections.gov.hk. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
- ^ "Beijing loyalists in Hong Kong weigh options on attending key political meetings". South China Morning Post. 2022-02-19. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
- ^ "Minutes of meeting" (PDF). www.legco.gov.hk. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
- ^ "Security chief Lai Tung-kwok denies blaming rape victims". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
- ^ "Wake me up when you're finished, Carrie: security chief dozes off during Lam's speech". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
- ^ "Bars, gyms to close, 6pm restaurant curfew as Hong Kong ramps up Omicron battle". South China Morning Post. 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ "衞生防護中心最新發現洪為民宴會人數為222人 - RTHK".
- ^ Hong Kong Finds New Suspected Covid Case at Official’s Scandal-Hit Birthday Party
- ^ a b "All 170 guests of Covid-19 scandal-hit birthday party sent to quarantine". South China Morning Post. 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ a b "Covid-19: Lawmakers embroiled in 'birthday bash' scandal return to legislature after home quarantine". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
External links
- Lai Tung-kwok@am730 (in Chinese)