Leung Kwok-hung - Career As A Legislator

Career As A Legislator

For the swearing-in ceremony of the Hong Kong Legislative Council on 6 October 2004, Leung's fellow members arrived in business attire. Long Hair, in contrast, wore a T-shirt with Tiananmen Square on the front and Che Guevara on the back. When he was called to come forward and take the oath, he raised his left fist, encircled with a black wristband, a memorial to those who died in the 1989 protests.

Leung had planned to alter his oath of office, but a Hong Kong judge said such a step would make it impossible for him to serve. Instead, Leung added his own messages to the standard oath, demanding vindication for those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, calling for the release of political prisoners and an end to one-party rule on the Mainland.

Leung shouted at the ceremony: "Long live democracy! Long live the people!" He was then sworn in as a council member. Observers watched closely the reaction from the Mainland government, as Leung's statements touched upon a politically sensitive issue that is often considered taboo in official public settings.

In the aftermath of the Article 23 political storm and debate over freedom of expression, many were concerned about possible Mainland reaction to the incident. However, the Mainland government did not respond in any dramatic fashion.

Leung's populist and unorthodox confrontational style contrasts with the usually restrained atmosphere of LegCo. Rita Fan, the LegCo chairperson, seemed more concerned by Leung's attire for LegCo meetings than any of his political opinions. One legislator commented that "Legco has to get used to Leung, and he has to get used to Legco."

On 29 September 2007, Leung vowed to support Jose Maria Sison, a politician from the Philippines and founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Leung was in Europe at the Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. He sits in the Hong Kong legislature as member of the Finance and House Committees, and of the Legislative Panels on Constitutional Affairs, Housing, Manpower, Transport, and on Welfare Services.

On 26 January 2010, Leung and four other pro-democracy legislators handed in their resignation, forcing by-elections in all five geographical constituencies of Hong Kong which they characterized as a "de facto referendum" on democracy. Leung explained that his resignation was, "in keeping with campaign promise... to fight for direct elections." He was reinstated as a legislator after receiving over 100,000 votes in the by-election.

On 9 Sep 2012, Leung successfully wins the elections of Legislative Council Election (New Territories East). That is his second reelection for the Legislative Council. He gains 48,295 votes in the election which ranks the top among all the applicants.