Fergus Leung

Fergus Leung Fong-wai (Chinese: 梁晃維; born 3 April 1997) is a Hong Kong politician formerly serving as a member of the Central and Western District Council, representing Kwun Lung. Leung ran as an independent Localist camp candidate in the 2019 District Council elections and won his seat with 50.69% of the vote.[1]

In this Hong Kong name, the surname is Leung. In accordance with Hong Kong custom, the Western-style name is Fergus Leung and the Chinese-style name is Leung Fong-wai.
Fergus Leung Fong-wai
梁晃維
Member of the Central and
Western District Council
In office
1 January 2020 – 30 April 2021
Preceded byYeung Hoi-wing
ConstituencyKwun Lung
Personal details
Born (1997-04-03) April 3, 1997
Hong Kong
Political partyIndependent
OccupationPolitician, activist
Fergus Leung
Traditional Chinese梁晃維

Career

Leung developed an interest in politics at high school, and took part in Hong Kong's 2014 Umbrella Movement as a teenager.[2] He studied biomedicine at the University of Hong Kong, where he served as the external affairs secretary of the student union.[3][4]

In July 2019, Leung was spurred by the ongoing Hong Kong protests to run for a position on his local District Council.[3][5] As a first-time candidate competing against the incumbent Yeung Hoi-wing, Leung won the seat in Kwun Lung, which had been considered a pro-establishment stronghold, represented by the same political party since 2007.[1][2][6] His election win was amid record voter turnout throughout the city, which Leung described as "a milestone in Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement".[6][7]

In June 2020, Leung announced his intention to run in the 2020 Hong Kong legislative election. He connected with fellow localist camp candidates Sam Cheung and Owen Chow, where they signed a joint statement agreeing to promote the protest movement's demands if elected.[8] In the pro-democracy primaries for the Hong Kong Island constituency, Leung took third place with 14,743 votes, after Ted Hui and Tiffany Yuen, securing him a nomination spot in the general election.[9][10]

On 30 July, weeks before the general election, the government stated that Leung was among a dozen pro-democracy candidates whose nominations were 'invalid'. His disqualification was determined by an opaque process where returning officers nominally assessed whether Leung had objected to the enactment of the national security law, and was sincere in statements made disavowing separatism.[11][12]

On 6 January 2021, Leung was among 55 members of the pro-democratic camp who were arrested under the national security law, specifically its provision regarding subversion. The group stood accused of organising and participating in unofficial primary elections held by the camp in July 2020.[13] Leung was released on bail on 7 January.[14]

On 30 April 2021, he resigned as a district councillor after he was charged under the national security law.[15]

References
  1. "District Council Election Results 2019". Hong Kong Elections. Government of Hong Kong. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  2. Tyson, Ann Scott (16 December 2019). "Hong Kong's freshman councilors get a crash course: City Gov 101". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  3. "The Hope of Kwun Lung? An Interview with Fergus Leung". Shroffed. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  4. "University of Hong Kong students vote massively against all candidates for union leadership posts 'over conservative stances'". South China Morning Post. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  5. "【大學生落區】堅尼地城梁晃維：有能力就要挺身而出". 明周文化. 2019-09-19. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  6. Tyson, Ann Scott (25 November 2019). "In Hong Kong elections, the message is clear. The next step may not be". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  7. "Massive Turnout in Hong Kong Elections Amid Unrest | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  8. Wong, Rachel (2020-06-11). "Over 30 Hong Kong pro-democracy legislative election hopefuls vow to uphold protest demands". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  9. "Hong Kong democrat primaries in full: Young 'localist resistance camp' come out on top". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  10. "Pro-Democracy Activists in Hong Kong Vow to Keep Fighting China's Draconian New Law". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  11. Ho, Kelly; Grundy, Tom; Creery, Jennifer (2020-07-30). "Hong Kong bans Joshua Wong and 11 other pro-democracy figures from legislative election". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  12. "Twelve pro-democracy figures barred from Legco poll". RTHK. 30 July 2020.
  13. "National security law: Hong Kong rounds up 53 pro-democracy activists". BBC News. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  14. Chau, Candice (8 January 2021). "'Hong Kong has entered a bitter winter,' says primaries organiser as 52 democrats in mass arrest bailed out". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  15. "【47人案】梁晃維辭任中西區區議員 | 立場報道 | 立場新聞". 立場新聞 Stand News. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
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