Albert Ho

Albert Ho Chun-yan (Chinese: 何俊仁; pinyin: Hé Jùnrén; born 1 December 1951, Hong Kong). He is currently secretary general of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China and chairman of the Democratic Party. He is a solicitor and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.

Ho was elected to the Urban Council in 1995, and has served as a LegCo member since 1998, to represent the New Territories West constituency. In 2004, Ho unsuccessfully challenged Rita Fan in the Legco presidential election.

Attack incident

On 20 August 2006, Ho was assaulted by three unidentified men using baseball bats and a baton^[1] in a McDonald's restaurant in Central, Hong Kong, after he had attended a protest against the government's plan to adopt a Goods and Services Tax. He suffered injuries to his head, arm and face, including a broken nose.^[2]

Democratic Party chairman Lee Wing Tat claimed that the attack was likely to be related to a lawsuit Albert Ho was then working on and had nothing to do with politics. Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang condemned the attack, declaring that the attackers would be pursued to the "ends of the earth". Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee also condemned it.

This was the first attack on a pro-democracy legislator since that on United Democrat Ng Ming Yam in 1985 and on Democratic Party incumbent chairman Lee Wing Tat in 1994. It was also the first attack on a LegCo member since the Handover. On 12 October 2006, five suspects were arrested by police in Hong Kong and Zhongshan. Cheung Wing-ho, Leung Kwan-ping, Chan Chun-kit and Leung Fu-keung were all been charged with "wounding with intent". A 56 year-old man was also arrested while trying to board a plane.^[3] Another suspect, a 77-year-old, was arrested on 3 November 2006, while trying to board a ferry to Macau. However, court proceedings were adjourned until 28 November because of the continuing investigations. The defendants were refused bail, as the magistrate perceived there was a serious flight risk. According to Next Magazine (Vol 870), these men were closely associated with Stanley Ho.

Views, policy positions and Legco voting

In June 2010, as party leader, he led negotiations with the government, and most notably with the Beijing government, on the 2012 constitutional reform package, persuading them to accept an amendment to have the five new District Council functional constituencies elected by popular vote, and then leading the effort to have his party support the proposal, ensuring its success.^[4]

2012 Chief Executive election

Albert Ho announced that he would run for the Chief Executive position on 4 October 2011 in a Cha chaan teng at Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. He said in the press conference that the new chief executive must be liked by Hong Kong people.^[5] With the pan democrats securing a total of 205 votes, Albert Ho will take part in a pan-democrat primary election on 8 January 2012 against Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood lawmaker Frederick Fung Kin-kee. Albert Ho said the result will force Henry Tang and Leung Chun-ying to face calls from the public.^[6]

See also

• List of graduates of University of Hong Kong

References