Backlash over Hong Kong lawmaker’s verbal attack a wake-up call, observers say
Joephy Chan’s aggressive stance towards former opposition politician questioned in ‘stable’ climate after 2019 social unrest
The backlash over a Hong Kong lawmaker’s accusations against a former opposition district councillor has served as a wake-up call to other legislators about relying on verbal attacks against political foes to win public support, observers have said.
Both Beijing and Hongkongers would place a high value on lawmakers’ efforts to improve the economy and address livelihood issues in the coming Legislative Council election, the commentators said, adding this was especially the case given the “stable” political climate more than five years on from the 2019 social unrest.
At the centre of controversy is Joephy Chan Wing-yan, a 34-year-old lawmaker from the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), who said former district councillor Andy Yu Tak-po was simply helping scam farm victims in Southeast Asia as part of a bid to run for a seat in the legislature.
Yu, formerly of the now-disbanded Civic Party, has been in the spotlight recently as an advocate for families of Hongkongers caught up in the scams.
Chan made the comments in a YouTube video in which she also said the city should never let opposition figures “off the hook” for the months-long 2019 protests.
Her remarks attracted a host of critical comments.
