Edward Leung

Edward Leung Tin-kei (Chinese: 梁天琦; born 2 June 1991) is a Hong Kong student and activist. He is the spokesman of Hong Kong Indigenous, a localist group. He took a leading role and was arrested in the 2016 Mong Kok civil unrest. He ran in the 2016 New Territories East by-election in the New Territories East and received more than 66,000 votes. Five months later, he was barred from running in the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election due to his pro-Hong Kong independence stance.

Biography

Leung was born in China and moved to Hong Kong with his mother when he was around one year old. He is a student at the University of Hong Kong, majoring in Philosophy with a minor in Politics and Public Administration. Prior to this, he completed secondary education at Shung Tak Catholic English College in Yuen Long District, the district in which he still resides.

He is the spokesman of Hong Kong Indigenous, a localist group formed in early 2015. He had said that he believed in Hong Kong people's right of self-determination for independence. In January 2015, he represented the group to run in the New Territories East by-election of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and was endorsed by Youngspiration, another localist group.

On 9 February 2016, three weeks before the election, Leung was widely reported by the international media after he was arrested by police during the civil unrest in Mong Kok, after the group Hong Kong Indigenous called upon the people to come onto street in defence of the unlicensed street hawkers from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department inspectors. The confrontation later turned into violent clashes between police and the protesters. Leung and around 20 members and volunteers of the group were arrested.

At the election, he received 66,524 votes, about 15 percent of the total votes, behind Alvin Yeung and Holden Chow. The better-than-expected result was considered a big boost for the localist cause.

Barred from running in 2016 Legislative Council election

Leung intended to run again in the 2016 Legislative Council election, but was challenged by the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC)'s new election measure to require all candidates to sign an additional "confirmation form" in the nomination to declare their understanding of Hong Kong being an inalienable part of China as stipulated in the Basic Law of Hong Kong. Leung said he would not sign the form and would seek a judicial review. After the court refused to immediately hear the judicial reviews, Leung decided to sign the confirmation form. Before that, EAC returning officer Cora Ho Lai-sheung sent Leung an email asking if he would still advocate Hong Kong independence although he had signed the original form to pledge to uphold the Basic Law.

On 2 August, Leung received an email from Ho telling Leung that his nomination was "invalidated" with the attachment of Leung's Facebook posts, newspaper clippings and cited transcripts of his remarks at press conferences, and stated that although Leung had signed the forms, she did not believe that Leung "genuinely changed his previous stance for independence."