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Sammy Heung

A Hong Kong lawmaker is under fire after accusing a former opposition district councillor of helping scam farm victims in Southeast Asia as part of a bid to run for a seat in the legislature.
Internet users on Monday were still flooding lawmaker Joephy Chan Wing-yan’s social media platforms over her comments earlier this month against Andy Yu Tak-po, formerly of the now-disbanded Civic Party.
Chan had said Yu, a former Yau Tsim Mong district council vice-chairman, was “pretending to be constructive” and had ulterior motives in publicly voicing the concerns of Hong Kong families whose loved ones had been lured into forced labour in Thailand and Myanmar.
Yu has denied the claims. He has said he has no intention to run for election.
The former district councillor has helped the families of two men who have since returned to the city.
“The Legislative Council election will be held this year. It is possible that [Yu] is paving his way for the election,” Chan said in a video uploaded to her YouTube channel.
Chan, of the Federation of Trade Unions, also commented on the former district councillor’s physical appearance by saying he had aged and gained weight.
She accused him of “deliberately changing his appearance” to “make people forget what he had done” during the 2019 anti-government protests.
She referred to Yu as being part of the “yellow” camp, referring to the supporters of the 2019 protests, who she claimed had “committed crimes and oppressed normal people”.
“Of course we cannot just let them get away with it,” she said.

But many internet users disagreed with Chan in the video’s comment section, expressing disappointment with her remarks and urging her to focus more on livelihood issues.
“The ‘black riot’ was already five years ago. We, the voters, do not want you to talk about the ‘yellow’ camp every day,” one viewer wrote. “Can you focus more on livelihood issues such as the government possibly cutting the HK$2 [26 US cents] fare scheme for elderly?”
One internet user commented: “Did lawmaker Chan ever help the families of the victims at ‘KK Park’?”
“KK Park” is the name of a notorious Chinese-run scam farm along the Thai-Myanmar border that reportedly houses thousands of forced labourers.
“Why don’t you make use of your position as a lawmaker to rescue the Hongkongers?” another said.
“The current lawmakers, including you, did not put all their efforts into rescuing them. You keep mentioning what happened a few years ago and inciting hatred. What is your agenda?”
Hong Kong authorities said last week that they were attempting to rescue 12 residents who had been lured by scammers to Southeast Asian countries for illegal work.
Yu previously said the families of several victims had turned to him for help after police failed to make sufficient progress. He had also provided updates of the process of helping the victims on his social media page and to the press.


On Thursday last week, a man returned to Hong Kong safely after being released from a scam farm in Myanmar. Another man returned from Myanmar on Monday. Both of their families had sought help from Yu.
In a reply to the Post, Chan said on Monday her comments on whether Yu would run for election in the legislature were “only a small and subsidiary part of the discussion” in her video.
She said she had also suggested that Yu “tried to stir up issues” by comparing the Hong Kong victims and the case of mainland Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was rescued shortly after his capture.
Chan had also referred to the former politician’s change from being an opposition figure to seeking help from the government.
Responding to Chan’s comments, Yu earlier said he had “no intention of taking part in any election in Hong Kong”.
“I started providing help when a resident approached me for help last September and I have been following up with the cases for five months,” he said.
“I sincerely wish to help their family members so that they can safely return to Hong Kong and reunite with their families.”
Yu said he had faced pressure when he stepped up to help the victims, and “disturbance” by “unknown individuals”, after being away from politics for nearly four years.
He said police had read out declarations warning him not to violate the national security law and other legislation during every delivery of petitions he had taken part in with the victims’ families.
“If they think any family members have committed illegal actions when speaking, I will be the one held legally responsible,” he said.
In 2021, Yu was among the opposition district councillors who resigned from their posts ahead of new oath-taking rules requiring they pledge allegiance to the Basic Law mini-constitution and the city. Government leaks at the time suggested the district councillors could be forced to return an entire year of salary and other funding if their oaths were not validated.


Hong Kong lawmaker under fire for jabs at ex-politician helping scam victims

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Hong Kong politics

Joephy Chan of the Federation of Trade Unions. Photo: Edmond So

Former district councillor Andy Yu (left) meets the media with family members of scam victims. Photo: Nora Tam

Second Hong Kong man rescued from Southeast Asia scam farm: ex-politician

A family member of a kidnapped victim is accompanied by former District Councillor Andy Yu (right) to petition for help. Photo: Jelly Tse

Hong Kong, mainland authorities ‘explore how to save Chinese students from scams’

Hong Kong has witnessed an increase in mainland students falling victim to scams. Photo: Dickson Lee

News

Hong Kong

Politics

Joephy Chan accuses former district councillor Andy Yu of using Southeast Asia scam victim cause to gather support for election bid


Joephy Chan accuses former district councillor Andy Yu of using Southeast Asia scam victim cause to gather support for election bid.
