Ronny Tong Politician
Ronny Tong Ka-wah QC, SC (Chinese: 湯家驊; pinyin: Tāng Jiāhuá; born 28 August 1950 in Hong Kong) is a Senior Counsel and also Queen's Counsel and current member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco), representing the New Territories East constituency. He is also a member of the Civic Party Executive Committee.After graduating from Queen's College, Hong Kong, he studied law at the University of Hong Kong (LLB) and St Edmund Hall, Oxford (BCL). He was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple and received top marks in the Bar Exams. As a member of the Article 45 Concern Group, he entered the spotlight as a legal expert when half a million Hong Kong people took to the streets in 2003 to protest against the proposed Article 23 anti-subversion bill that was later shelved.During the voting of 2012 constitutional reform package, as a moderate Pan-democrat, Tong intended to vote for the package, but was required to cast the same vote as the rest of Civic Party to oppose it.In 31 August 2014, Tong criticized the decision of Beijing on Hong Kong political reform, stated that he would vote against it, casting severe doubt on the government's ability to win the two-thirds majority a reform package will need in the Legislative Council. He cried as he reacted on a live Cable TV programme. "It is the darkest day in the road for democracy," he said. "I am disheartened … I don't see a future for moderates in Hong Kong politics." A moderate reform plan he drew up - under which the public would not be allowed to nominate chief executive candidates - received a cool response from his allies. The barrister said he would think carefully about the next step in his political career after a decision from Beijing that was "more undemocratic than I could imagine"."I thought there would be [some] chance for future dialogue," he said, referring to when pan-democrats were invited for talks with Beijing officials last month. "But now, I don't see any chance."
