You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Chinese. (May 2020)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Chinese Wikipedia article at [[:zh:戴耀廷]]; see its history for attribution.
You should also add the template {{Translated|zh|戴耀廷}} to the talk page.
In this Hong Kong name, the surname is Tai. In accordance with Hong Kong custom, the Western-style name is Benny Tai and the Chinese-style name is Tai Yiu-ting.
Benny Tai Yiu-ting (Chinese:戴耀廷;born 12 July 1964) is a Hong Kong legal scholar,political figure,and democracy activist. He was an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong.
From 2013,Tai launched and is known for his initiation of the Occupy Central with Love and Peace,as he considered Hong Kong to lack "true universal suffrage" and should participate in an Occupy movement to win universal suffrage in the 2017 Hong Kong Chief Executive election. His suggestion ultimately resulted in the eruption of the Umbrella Movement the following year,as a result of which he was found guilty of "conspiracy to commit public nuisance" and "inciting others to commit public nuisance" and sentenced to six months in prison.[1][2] Citing this conviction,in July 2020,the University of Hong Kong's governing council controversially fired Tai.[3]
After the protests,Tai repeatedly campaigned to pressure for greater electoral reforms in Hong Kong,launching "Operation ThunderGo" in the 2016 Legislative Council election,a "smart voter" mechanism aiming at getting the most pro-democracy candidates elected to the Legislative Council. He also initiated "Project Storm" for the pro-democrats to win the majority in the 2019 District Council elections.
On 6 January 2021,Tai was arrested along with 54 other pro-democracy campaigners,activists,social workers,and former legislators on suspicion of "subversion of state power" under the national security law for organising the 2020 pro-democracy primaries.
He joined the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong in 1990,became an assistant professor in 1991 and an associate professor in 2001. He was also the Associate Dean of the law faculty from 2000 to 2008.[4] He specialised in constitutional law,administrative law,law and governance,law and politics and law and religion.[6]
Tai has been active in promoting civic education in the community,having served on the Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee as a student representative from 1988 to 1990 and a member of the Committee on the Promotion of Civil Education and the Bilingual Laws Advisory Committee from 1995 to 2003. He was also a part-time member of the Hong Kong government's Central Policy Unit in 2007.[6]
In July 2020,Tai was fired by the University of Hong Kong,his long-time employer,citing the criminal conviction he incurred for his role in the 2014 pro-democracy protests,known as Occupy Central.[3] The university's governing council controversially overturned (by 18 votes to 2) a previous ruling by its senate,which recommended against dismissal. His salary and benefits were immediately suspended.[3] Tai claimed that the decision to fire him was "made not by the University of Hong Kong but by an authority beyond the University through its agents."[3]
On 16 January 2013,Tai wrote an article entitled "Civil Disobedience's Deadliest Weapon" on Hong Kong Economic Journal which sparked public debate. In the article,Tai postulated a non-violent civil disobedience seven-step progression to pressure the Hong Kong government to implement genuine full democracy:10,000 participants signing a declaration (taking a vow and pledge of willingness to occupy the streets),live TV broadcast of discussions,electronic voting on methods for universal suffrage,a referendum on the preferred formula,resignation of a "super-seat" Legislative Council member to be filled in a by-election to be seen as a referendum on the plan,civil disobedience,and,finally,Occupy Central in July 2014 if the plan was rejected by the Beijing government.[7]
Chan Kin-man,Benny Tai and Chu Yiu-ming,lead first OCLP-linked march (Black Banner protest),14 September 2014
He and sociology scholar Chan Kin-man and pro-democracy priest Reverend Chu Yiu-ming founded the Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) on 27 March 2013.[8] The plan was supported by the pan-democracy camp and rounds of deliberations were held among the Occupy participants from 2013 to 2014 before an referendum on the electoral reform proposal in June 2014.[9] The plan was strongly condemned by the Beijing authorities.[9] Tai also received death threats.[10]
As the occupation ended its first month,Tai and Chan Kin-man resumed their teaching duties at their respective universities and OCLP handed over the command of its medic,marshal and supplies teams to the student groups,the Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism.[12][13] On 3 December 2014,the Occupy Central trio,along with 62 other key figures turned themselves in to the police,admitting taking part in an unauthorised assembly as originally planned.[14] They declared that they did so to fulfil their promise to bear legal responsibility and uphold the rule of law,as well as to affirm their principles of love and peace.[15]
In March 2017,he and eight other Occupy leaders were arrested on the rare charges of conspiracy to cause public nuisance,inciting others to cause public nuisance,and inciting people to incite others to cause public nuisance. University of Hong Kong principal law lecturer Eric Cheung Tat-ming and criminal defence lawyer Jonathan Midgley described the charges as "not at all common".[16]
In April 2019,Tai was found guilty of conspiracy to cause public nuisance and inciting others to cause public nuisance.[1] He was sentenced to 16 months in prison.[2]
In early 2016,Tai mapped out an "Operation ThunderGo" for pan-democrats to grab half of the seats in the Legislative Council election to increase political leverage in future political reform in the response to the increasing fragmentation of the pan-democracy camp in the post-Occupy era. He suggested the anti-establishment forces to field no more than 23 lists if their goal was to win 23 seats in the geographical constituencies.[17] For the functional constituencies,Tai suggested that besides retaining the current six trade-based functional constituencies and three territory-wide directly elected District Council (Second) super seats,the camp needed to target three additional seats in Medical,Engineering and Architectural,Surveying,Planning and Landscape.[17] The plan met with reservations from the very diverse interests within pro-democracy political parties,who could not agree on a united front. Tai's plan hit its setback when the Neo Democrats decided not to support the proposed coordinating mechanism for the District Council (Second) super seats in May.[17][18]
Tai also worked on a "smart voters" system involving 25,000 voters who would indicate their preferences on an interactive poll and would be informed of the popularity of candidates according to polls the day before the official vote and which would be updated through exit polling two and a half hours before polls closed. Such "smart voters" would delay voting until 8pm and then be signalled to support candidates whose numbers were weaker instead of wasting votes on stronger candidates who were already through.[19]
Tai's Operation ThunderGo was blamed as he released on the election day a list of recommended pro-democratic candidates based on pre-polling. It drew a large number of voters to vote for the candidates who were on the brink of losing as shown in the polls from other candidates,which resulted in the high votes received by fresh faces Eddie Chu,Lau Siu-lai and Nathan Law at other veteran democrats' expenses including Lee Cheuk-yan,Cyd Ho and Frederick Fung who failed to retain their seats.[20]
Remarks on Hong Kong independence
For Freedom,For Hong Kong Rally to support Benny Tai in response to the pro-Beijing attacks in April 2018.
In a seminar in Taipei organised by the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps in March 2018,Tai was recorded making an argument that following the end of "dictatorship" in China,the country's various ethnic groups could exercise their right to self-determination and decide how they could link up with each other. "We could consider going independent,being part of a federal system or a confederation system similar to that of the European Union," he said.[21]
Tai was condemned by Pro-Beijing media in Hong Kong for several days in a row,followed by a rare statement of condemnation from the Hong Kong government.[21] The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) and the Liaison Office also issued strongly worded comments condemning Tai,stating that a "small number of people in Hong Kong have colluded with external separatist forces" to advocate the city's independence. "They have fully exposed their attempts to split the country and violated the national constitution,the Hong Kong Basic Law,and the relevant laws in Hong Kong. They are challenging the bottom line of 'one country,two systems'. Such activities must not be ignored or tolerated." Hong Kong member of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) Tam Yiu-chung asked if it was still appropriate for Tai to keep his job at HKU.[22] Tai responded by saying his comments were "imaginations of the future",which in his opinion did not violate any criminal laws. He also added that he does not support independence.[23] He warned that a "Cultural Revolution-style denouncement could have started against me. It will quickly spread to affect all Hong Kong people."[24] He expressed fears for his personal safety as he suspected that he was being followed by officers from "powerful" mainland agencies who may be posing as journalists,and that the police were unable to help him.[25]
In April 2017,Tai proposed the "Project Storm" to win the majority of the District Council seats for the pro-democrats in the 2019 Hong Kong local elections. He stated that by winning a majority of the some 400 District Council seats,pro-democrats could gain an additional 117 seats of the District Council subsectors on the 1,200-member Election Committee which elects the Chief Executive. Tai believed that by making it harder for Beijing to control the Chief Executive election,it would compel Beijing to restart the stalled political reform after its restrictive proposal was voted down in 2015.[26]
Benny Tai is married with one daughter and two sons.[4] He is a Christian who considers himself a "part-time theologian",and said he could write a thesis on the topic of Christianity and the Occupy protests. He stated that his political views were inspired by his Christian faith,adding that the movement was guided by the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.[29]
Related Research Articles
Frederick Fung Kin-kee,SBS,JP is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1991 to 1997 and from 2000 to 2016 and the former chairman of the pro-democracy Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) from 1989 to 2007.
The pro-democracy camp,also known as the pan-democracy camp,is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy,namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic Law under the "One Country,Two Systems" framework.
Tam Yiu-chung,GBM,JP is a pro-Beijing politician in Hong Kong. He is a former member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC),former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) and former chairman of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB).
Leung Yiu-chung is a Hong Kong politician. He is a member of the pro-labour Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre,which is a part of the pan-democracy camp. He has had a long-standing tenure as a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Between 1998 and 2016,he represented the New Territories West geographical constituency,and from 2016 to 2020,he represented the District Council (Second) functional constituency. Leung has also served as a member of the Kwai Tsing District Council since 1985.
The Hong Kong Island by-election,2007 Pro-democracy primary was a primary election held to select a single candidate to represent all the Pan-democrat parties,also referred to as the "pro-democracy camp",in the Hong Kong Island by-election,2007.
The 2012 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 9 September 2012 for the 5th Legislative Council (LegCo) since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The 2007 Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 18 November 2007. Elections were held to all 18 districts of Hong Kong,returned 405 members from directly elected constituencies out of total 534 councils member. A total number of 886 candidates contesting in 364 seats,while 41 seats were uncontested. A total number of 1.4 million voters cast their ballots,consisting 38% of the electorate,significantly lower than the last elections in 2003.
Junius Ho Kwan-yiu is a Hong Kong lawyer and politician who currently serves as a member in the Hong Kong Legislative Council. A prominent radical pro-Beijing and anti-gay rights figure in Hong Kong’s political landscape,he formerly served as president of the Law Society of Hong Kong,chairman of the Tuen Mun Rural Committee and as an elected member of the Tuen Mun District Council from 2015 to 2019.
Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) was a single-purpose Hong Kong civil disobedience campaign initiated by Reverend Chu Yiu-ming,Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man on 27 March 2013. The campaign was launched on 24 September 2014,partially leading to the 2014 Hong Kong protests. According to its manifesto,the campaign advocates for an electoral system in Hong Kong that is decided through a democratic process and satisfies international standards of universal and equal suffrage. With the first three stages of the movement –dialogue,deliberation and citizens' authorization –the civil disobedience that follows must be non-violent.
The 2014–2015 Hong Kong electoral reform was a proposed reform for the 2017 Hong Kong Chief Executive election and 2016 Legislative Council election.
Civic Passion was a radical,populist,localist,and nativist political party in Hong Kong. Founded by Wong Yeung-tat as an activist group in 2012,it held strong localist views and opposed the involvement of the Chinese government in the governance of Hong Kong. In the 2016 Legislative Council election,the Civic Passion formed an electoral alliance with Wong Yuk-man's Proletariat Political Institute and Chin Wan's Hong Kong Resurgence Order. Cheng Chung-tai became the only candidate of the alliance elected to the legislature and subsequently took over as the leader of the Civic Passion. After the election,Cheng reorganised the group into a political party and pulled out from the social activism. From December 2020 to August 2021,it was the only opposition party in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
The 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 4 September 2016 for the 6th Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). A total of 70 members,35 from geographical constituencies (GCs) and 35 from functional constituencies (FCs),were returned. The election came after the rejection of the 2016/2017 constitutional reform proposals which suggested the electoral method for the 2016 Legislative Council remains unchanged.
The 2015 Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 22 November 2015. Elections were held to all 18 District Councils with returning 431 members from directly elected constituencies after all appointed seats had been abolished.
The Sixth Legislative Council of Hong Kong was the sixth meeting of the legislative branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Running from 1 October 2016 to 31 December 2021,it was the longest legislative session in Hong Kong history,lasted for five years and three months. The term of the session was originally from 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2020,but was extended by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) due to the postponement of the 2020 Legislative Council election.
The 2019 Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 24 November 2019 for all 18 District Councils of Hong Kong. 452 seats from all directly elected constituencies,out of the 479 seats in total,were contested. Nearly three million people voted,equivalent to 71 per cent of registered voters,an unprecedented turnout in the electoral history of Hong Kong. The election was widely viewed as a de facto referendum on the concurrent anti-extradition protests.
The 2018 Hong Kong Legislative Council by-election was held on 11 March 2018 for four of the six vacancies in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) - the Hong Kong Island,Kowloon West and New Territories East geographical constituencies and the Architectural,Surveying,Planning and Landscape functional constituency - resulting from the disqualification of six pro-democrat and localist camp Legislative Council members over the 2016 oath-taking controversy. The by-election for the two other seats was not held due to pending legal appeals by the two disqualified legislators.
Ricky Or Yiu-lam is a Hong Kong politician and a former member of the Sai Kung District Council for Kwong Ming. He is the former chairman of the Concern Group for Tseung Kwan O People's Livelihood and a former member of the Democratic Party.
The 2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries were held on 11 and 12 July 2020 for selecting the numbers of pro-democracy candidates for the subsequently postponed 2020 Legislative Council election to maximise the chance for the pro-democrats to achieve a majority in the 70-seat Legislative Council.
The 2020 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was originally scheduled on 6 September 2020 until it was postponed by the government. On 31 July 2020,Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that she was invoking the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to postpone the election under the emergency powers granted to her by it,citing the recent resurgence of the COVID-19 cases,adding that the move was supported by Beijing.
The Hong Kong 47 are a group of 47 pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under the Hong Kong national security law.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
