Hong Kong lawmaker Judy Chan giving her public apology on Jan 24 following the incident . -- PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM RTHK VIDEO
HONG KONG (The Straits Times/ANN): A Hong Kong lawmaker has drawn flak for deliberately driving against the flow of traffic after a video emerged online showing her doing so.
It is the second case that has surfaced in a week of a Hong Kong politician or official found blatantly flouting rules.
It is also not the first time that pro-Beijing legislator Judy Chan has violated regulations.
Ms Chan on Jan 24 apologised both online and at a media briefing for her “rash decision made in haste” in Jaffe Road, a one-way street in Wan Chai, a day earlier. The matter is now under police investigation.
The video, posted online by an anonymous netizen, shows a black sedan briefly driving against the flow of traffic towards several stationary fire engines with flashing lights. Ms Chan was later photographed stepping out of the car to leave the parking spot nearby.
Admitting that she was the driver in the video, the New People’s Party (NPP) lawmaker said she had been in a hurry to attend a meeting that day and had planned to park at a designated area but found the fire engines blocking her way.
As the parking spot had only one entrance and she was “certain the firefighters would not clear the way quickly”, she then checked that there were no pedestrians in sight and that it was “safe” before steering her Tesla against the traffic flow to quickly enter the spot “without affecting the firefighters’ work”, she explained.
In her apology on Facebook, Ms Chan said: “I ignored the rules of the road and made a wrong judgment while driving. I deeply apologise for this, will reflect on it and promise to follow the rules strictly in the future.”
“I acknowledge that I made a very wrong decision and I’ve also disappointed the public,” she told reporters separately at the press briefing. “I have since provided the police with every little detail that I can remember of the incident, as well as the road conditions at the time.”
The lawmaker opted to sit out a public charity event on Jan 25 following the furore over her traffic offence, citing health reasons.
Netizens blasted Ms Chan for intentionally committing the traffic offence and called for her removal from the Legislative Council (LegCo).
“If you can’t follow the rules on the small things, you have no credibility to be trusted with the big ones,” netizen Andrew Mack wrote in response to Ms Chan’s apology on Facebook.
On YouTube, user Frank Zhang said: “How can one who knowingly breaks the law take on the task of making our laws? She should not be a legislator.”
“The video provides full evidence of her wrongdoing; she should be charged with dangerous driving,” another YouTube user wrote.
Local sociopolitical commentator Fung Hei-kin hopped on the bandwagon, wryly citing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s own words to officials to “govern according to the regulations”.
“President Xi has long stressed that everyone is equal before the law. He has said: ‘There should be no back doors, no loopholes. We must establish explicit rules, abolish unspoken allowances, and resolutely correct those who disobey orders and violate regulations,’” Mr Fung wrote.
“The Hong Kong police should carefully study and learn from Mr Xi in their handling of Ms Judy Chan’s dangerous driving incident.”.
Mrs Regina Ip, NPP’s former chairman and Ms Chan’s predecessor in the Hong Kong Island West constituency, described the legislator’s actions as “reckless".
But she appeared to defend Ms Chan, telling reporters that lawmakers’ hectic schedules could sometimes dull their awareness to minor infractions they might commit in the haste of the moment.
She added that her successor refrained from hiring a personal driver due to budget constraints, but believed this was now necessary given the demands of her role.
In Hong Kong, a legislator earns HK$108,790 (S$17,700) a month, according to local media. This excludes reimbursements for office operations, entertainment and transport.
Hong Kong’s Basic Law requires a lawmaker to be disqualified from office when he or she is convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to jail for at least a month; or when he or she is censured for misbehaviour by a vote of two-thirds of the legislators present.
Veteran barrister Ronny Tong said the incident would inevitably have an impact on the public’s perception of the city’s lawmakers. Legislators typically do not face any penalty for being late to a meeting, and they have “no special allowances” in the eyes of the law, he added.
Other lawyers told local media that based on case history and that no one appeared to have been hurt in the incident, they do not expect Ms Chan to receive much more than a slap on the wrist – like a fine or a community service work order – for her offence.
The controversy over Ms Chan’s traffic violation is the second case in a week of a local politician or official found flouting rules.
Hong Kong’s Tianjin liaison office director, Mr Ricky Cheng, was fired on Jan 21 after public attention was drawn to his social media posts boasting about receiving free travel upgrades while on assignment.
Ms Chan, 45, has been actively involved in Hong Kong politics since at least 2014.
She was among more than 30 lawmakers and officials who violated Covid-19 regulations to attend fellow politician Witman Hung’s birthday bash in January 2022. After that party, one of the more than 200 guests tested positive for the virus, resulting in all of them being sent into a 21-day quarantine at a facility.
The quarantine period was later shortened to 14 days and they were allowed to return home to monitor themselves for symptoms during the remaining seven days.
At the time, the lawmakers were strongly urged by then LegCo president Andrew Leung not to attend meetings until after the full 21-day quarantine and self-monitoring period was over.
But Ms Chan – among several others – opted to go against that advice and resumed attending her legislative meetings days before her self-monitoring period ended. -- The Straits Times/Asia News Network
