Tiffany Yuen

Tiffany Yuen Ka-wai (Chinese: 袁嘉蔚; born 30 September 1993) is a Hong Kong activist and politician, who has been a member of the Southern District Council for Tin Wan since 2020.[1] She was the vice chairperson of Demosistō before resigning from the party in 2018.[2]

Tiffany Yuen
袁嘉蔚
Vice Chairperson of Demosistō
In office
4 December 2017 – 12 May 2018
Preceded byOscar Lai
Succeeded byIsaac Cheng
Member of the Southern District Council
Assumed office
1 January 2020
Preceded byChan Fu-ming
ConstituencyTin Wan
Personal details
Born (1993-09-30) 30 September 1993
British Hong Kong
Political partyIndependent
Demosistō (2016–18)
Alma materCity University of Hong Kong
Tiffany Yuen
Traditional Chinese袁嘉蔚
Simplified Chinese袁嘉蔚

Activism

Yuen was educated at the City University of Hong Kong and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Chinese Language. She was dedicated to activism during her student life, including Yuen's participation in the 2013 Hong Kong dock strike and the protests against the North East New Territories New Development Areas Planning.[3][4] She was also committed to the Umbrella Revolution in 2014.[5][6]

After joining the Demosistō party in 2016, Yuen was elected vice chairperson in 2017 and focused her efforts on community outreach.[7] In light of Demosistō members losing their candidacy due to their promotion of "democratic self-determination", Yuen left the party in 2018 to continue her community services in Tin Wan Estate as an independent.[8] Speaking of her departure, Yuen stated, "In a normal society, no election runner should be deprived of the right because of his political views."[9] Subsequently, Yuen had found employment as an assistant to pro-democracy legislator Au Nok-hin.[10]

Yuen has a long history of championing equality, women's rights, and LGBT rights in Hong Kong.[11] She was a panel speaker at Women’s Festival Hong Kong in 2018 and 2019, the city's sole festival dedicated to womanhood.[12][13] She had also spoken to the media condemning instances of sexual harassment and police brutality.[14][15] Yuen was among the politicians who denounced the homophobic language used by lawmaker Kwok Wai-keung. According to Yuen, these experiences of discrimination served as the motivation in her commitment to equality.[16]

Political career

District Council

Yuen ran in the 2019 District Council election for the Tin Wan constituency, where she pledged her commitment to improve the living conditions of the local residents.[2][17] Her opponent was the pro-Beijing incumbent Chan Fu-ming, who held his position since 2007 and remained uncontested until he was challenged by Yuen.[18][19] On 25 November, she defeated Chan with 61.7% of the votes, earning Yuen a seat on the Southern District Council.[1]

Legislative Council bid

In 2020, Yuen announced her intention to run in the Hong Kong legislative election within the Hong Kong Island constituency. She was endorsed by former Demosistō chairman and legislator Nathan Law, who withdrew from the election and left Hong Kong in light of the national security law that was passed.[20][21] Yuen contested in the pro-democracy primaries, where she emerged as the runner-up behind incumbent legislator Hui Chi-fung of the Democratic Party. She obtained 19,884 votes, representing 21.94% of the electorate, and secured a nomination spot in the general election.[22]

On 27 July, Yuen fielded questions from the returning officer to determine her eligibility to run in the election, an opaque process that nominally determined whether she had objected to the enactment of the national security law, or was sincere in statements made disavowing separatism. As part of her response, Yuen took down an Instagram photo that displayed the words "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times". She had uploaded the photo earlier in January before the slogan was banned in July based on the national security law.[23]

On 30 July, Yuen was told her election nomination was 'invalid', as one of a dozen pro-democracy candidates disqualified on the same day, including Demosistō founder Joshua Wong.[24][25]

Personal life

Yuen was previously in a long-term relationship with Nathan Law.[26] The two broke up in 2019, citing personality differences but remained on amicable terms.[27][28]

References
  1. "2019 District Councils Election - Election Results (Southern)". www.elections.gov.hk. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  2. Editor (2019-11-23). "Former student activists standing in the District Council elections". Varsity. Retrieved 2020-07-19.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  3. 17日被捕2次新社運女神何潔泓為抗爭棄讀港大Face 周刊372期 2014年7月9日
  4. "袁嘉蔚 Tiffany YUEN". Women's Festival Hong Kong 女人節 香港. 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  5. "眾新聞 | 【立會選舉】從鎂光燈後走到台前 袁嘉蔚：留低嘅人，可以做得更多". 眾新聞 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  6. 兩代撕裂 團圓有時 2015年9月27日，明報
  7. "The aftermath: Hong Kong's ousted lawmakers continue their community work and activism against odds". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2017-08-06. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  8. "Nathan Law quits as chairman of party he founded with Joshua Wong". South China Morning Post. 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  9. "Approval of district council candidates sparks censorship cry". South China Morning Post. 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  10. Nip, Amy (18 May 2018). "Party chairman Nathan Law seeks a break". Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  11. "【立會選戰】袁嘉蔚、黃之鋒太古拉票 「大波man」踩場狙擊眾志捐款去向 | 獨媒報導". 香港獨立媒體網. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  12. "What To Look Out For At Hong Kong's First Women's Festival". Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  13. "Womens's Festival Hong Kong is back, edgier and more daring". South China Morning Post. 2019-08-10. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  14. "'How much for an hour?': Hong Kong female politicians speak out against sexual harassment culture". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2020-07-05. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  15. "Strike poll organisers defiant, despite arrests - RTHK". news.rthk.hk. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  16. "【抗暴之戰】郭偉強暗嘲慢必為「菊花先生」 袁嘉蔚促「暴徒先生」道歉". Apple Daily 蘋果日報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  17. "After Protests, Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Landslide Election Victory Blindsided Beijing". www.worldpoliticsreview.com. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  18. "2011 District Councils Election - Election Results (Southern)". www.elections.gov.hk. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  19. "List of Candidates of Uncontested Constituencies for the 2015 District Council Election". www.elections.gov.hk. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  20. "Results come in for Hong Kong's pro-democracy primary for upcoming Legislative Council election". Young Post. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  21. "羅冠聰退出民主派初選 籲轉投袁嘉蔚". 明報. 2020-07-09.
  22. "Hong Kong democrat primaries in full: Young 'localist resistance camp' come out on top". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  23. "Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong says no more int'l lobbying as democrats reply to gov't election questions". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  24. "Twelve pro-democracy figures barred from Legco poll". RTHK. 30 July 2020.
  25. Press, Hong Kong Free (2020-07-30). "Hong Kong bans Joshua Wong and 11 other pro-democracy figures from legislative election". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  26. "ON THE FRONTLINE: Three years after the Umbrella Movement". Discover Society. 2017-10-04. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  27. "羅冠聰：性格不合帶來傷害 與袁嘉蔚拍拖5年告一段落". 巴士的報. 2019-12-23.
  28. "【Kelly Online】同袁嘉蔚5年情已逝 羅冠聰：性格不合帶來傷害". 頭條日報. 2019-12-23.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Oscar Lai		 Vice Chairperson of Demosistō
2017–2018		 Succeeded by
Issac Cheng
Political offices
Preceded by
Chan Fu-ming		 Member of Southern District Council
Representative for Tin Wan
2020–present		 Incumbent
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