All Around Town: Rural Hong Kong leader ‘Bowie’ denies making a name ch-ch-change
Rural leader Hau Chi-keung, who has considered running in the upcoming Legislative Council polls, recently launched his Facebook page, but it was his name – instead of his posts or pictures – which caught the eye. The Sheung Shui rural committee chairman called himself “Gary” instead of “Bowie”, the name which has been quoted by the Post and other media for years. Hau denied he had changed his name, claiming he had been “Gary” for some 40 years. “I would not clarify as I if have always been mistaken,” Hau said. But All Around Town found a name card given out by Hau a few years ago, which bore the name “Bowie”. Perhaps “Gary” is the only person who knows the truth behind the sudden name change.
Jeffie Lam
Legal sound bites make for a useful notebook
The annual July 1 pro-democracy march can be a good opportunity for activist groups and parties to spread their message and raise funds. This year, the Progressive Lawyers’ Group – a platform formed last year to defend the city’s core values of freedom, democracy and rule of law – has designed a notebook, with cartoons of contentious sound bites made by legal practitioners in recent years. It includes pro-Beijing solicitor Junius Ho Kwan-yiu, who earlier claimed “police are not killing citizens but thugs”, and former Law Society chairman Ambrose Lam San-keung, who called the Chinese Communist Party “great”. “We wanted the item to be something people can use,” the group’s convenor Kevin Yam Kin-fung said. Jeffie Lam
Legco has unused rule for handling disorder
Scenes of chanted slogans and hurled objects are no longer surprising in the city’s legislature. But Pauline Ng Man-wah, the former secretary general of the Legislative Council, revealed on Wednesday that there is actually a clause in the legislature’s rule book which has never been used by the president to maintain order. “According to 36 (2) of the Rules of Procedure, every member shall be seated when the president or chairman rises during proceedings in council,” she said. Anyone who fails to comply would be regarded as behaving in disorderly manner. Ng made the revelation as she launched her reference book – A Companion to the History, Rules and Practices of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Jeffie Lam
