Audrey Eu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Chinese name: | 余若薇 |
| Nick name: | 民主女神 |
| Constituency: | Hong Kong Island |
| Political party: | Civic Party |
| Pro- | liberal, social democracy |
| Previous occupation | Barrister |
| LegCo webpage | [1] |
| Website | [2] |
Audrey Eu (Chinese: 余若薇), LLB (HKU), LLM (London), SC, JP was born on September 11, 1953 in Hong Kong with family roots in Shanghai. She is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and is currently the party leader of the Civic Party.
Contents |
[edit] Legal career
Eu was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1978 and was appointed as a Queen's Counsel (Senior Counsel after 1997) in 1993. She specializes in civil law. Before her entrance into politics, Eu was the chairlady of the Hong Kong Bar Association. She shot to fame in the public eye on the right-of-abode, at the time of the transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China in 1997, she held a firm stance against the interpretation of the Hong Kong's Basic Law by the National People's Congress.
[edit] Political career
Eu decided to enter into politics in 2000, and was successful in gaining a Legislative Council seat at a byelection. She then became a founding member of the Basic Law Article 23 Concern Group, which later became the Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group, then the Civic Party in 2005.
[edit] Article 23 Concern Group
In 2002, when the Hong Kong Government wanted to alter the existing Article 23 concerning treason and sedition, Eu, with some other notable members of the Bar, including Alan Leong, Margaret Ng, Ronny Tong, formed the Basic Law Article 23 Concern Group. Before the draft Bill became public, Eu put forward strong opinions and statements opposing certain measures of the Article 23 legislation. Her campaigning helped her significantly raise her public profile after the July 1, 2003, demonstrations.
[edit] Article 45 Concern group
Concern started to grow among Hong Kong residents later about Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law in 2004. There were also uncertainties concerning the future of the next 2007 Chief Executive election and the next 4th LegCo elections in 2008.
In response, Eu, along with other baristers including Margaret Ng and Ronny Tong, formed the Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group that advocated fully democratic processes in the form of universal suffrage in both elections. She found most support with the middle-class.
Eu ran for the 2004 LegCo election for the Hong Kong Island constituency in the same ballot as Cyd Ho from The Frontier. The "Eu-Ho" pair obtained 73,844 votes which resulted in Eu obtaining a seat at the expense of Ho, who lost out to her nearest DAB rival Choy So Yuk by a mere 815 votes. This was seen as a blunder by the pan-democratic camp, as Hong Kong Democratic Party LegCo candidate Martin Lee had more than enough votes to be elected, directly affecting Cyd Ho's election chances.
[edit] Opinions of Audrey Eu
[edit] Criticisms
Eu has been viewed by pro-government forces in the media as one of the Hong Kong Legco's "Evil Women."
[edit] Support
Eu often holds talks in Hong Kong in different secondary and primary schools, varying her topics from linguistics to sex education. She has been viewed as possessing a broad knowledge of topics, and has become a popular role model among the younger generation.
[edit] Eu's response
Although there are many different views on Eu, she never seemed bothered. Confronting different opinions about her, she once responded that "the style of a person builds up on his nature" in a talk given in June 2005.[1]
[edit] Family
Her younger brother Benjamin Yu is also a senior counsel.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Cheng E. et al, 薇言大義, July 2005
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: Gladys Li |
Chairman of Hong Kong Bar Association 1997-1999 |
Succeeded by: Ronny Tong |
| Preceded by: none (first incumbent) |
Leader of Civic Party 2006-current |
Succeeded by: (current incumbent) |
