Clarisse Yeung

Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying
楊雪盈
Chairwoman of the Wan Chai District Council
In office
1 January 2020 – 15 September 2021
Preceded byStephen Ng
Succeeded byIvan Wong
Member of the Wan Chai District Council
In office
1 January 2016 – 15 September 2021
Preceded byWong Chor-fung
ConstituencyTai Hang
Personal details
Born (1986-11-14) November 14, 1986 (age 37)
British Hong Kong
Political partyGood Day Wanchai
Kickstart Wan Chai (2019-2021)
OccupationPolitician, lecturer

Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying (Chinese: 楊雪盈; born 14 November 1986) is a Hong Kong politician. She is a former chairwoman of the Wan Chai District Council, representing Tai Hang.

Biography

[edit]

Yeung is a graduate of fine arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a holder of a master's degree in visual arts from the Hong Kong Baptist University. She was a part-time post-secondary institute lecturer specialising in arts, culture and policy research.[1]

Yeung first stepped in politics when she joined the failed campaign of local artist Chow Chun-fai in the 2012 Legislative Council election in Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication functional constituency. Subsequently, they established the Hong Kong Culture Monitor, publishing studies and articles regarding local cultural policy and development.[1]

During the 2014 Hong Kong protests, Yeung called for the setting up of the Umbrella Movement Visual Archive to gather art installations, photographs and other artworks related to the movement,[1] of which she became co-founder.[2] She ran in the 2015 District Council election in Tai Hang against the pro-Beijing New People's Party. She grabbed 1,398 votes, beating her nearest rival by 250 votes, becoming one of the few "umbrella soldiers" who were elected.[1] In 2016, she formed a pro-democracy group named "ARTicipants" together with 14 other candidates, running for seats in the Culture sub-sector in the 2016 Hong Kong Election Committee Subsector elections.[3] The ARTicipants list, including Yeung, lost to a pro-Beijing 15-member list which included actress Liza Wang.[4]

In the 2019 District Council election, she initiated a group of fresh faces called Kickstart Wan Chai running in the Wan Chai District Council.[5] The group won six seats in total with Yeung re-elected with 2,340 votes. With the pro-democrats seizing control of the council, Yeung was elected the chairwoman of the Wan Chai District Council.[6] Yeung participated in the 2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries, running for a seat in the Hong Kong Island constituency. She was unsuccessful in her bid, receiving 5,707 votes out of 90,247 voters in Hong Kong Island.[7]

On 6 January 2021, Yeung was arrested with 52 other pro-democracy politicians for criminal charges under Hong Kong national security law. Later that day, her party Kickstart Wan Chai, which she co-founded in 2019, announced on Facebook the party would disband, effective immediately.[8][9] Yeung was released on bail on 7 January.[10] A bail hearing of Yeung and 46 other defendants from the 6 January swoop, which had begun on 1 March, was adjourned after midnight, with Yeung and three other defendants being sent to hospital for exhaustion; Yeung appeared to have fainted in the courtroom,[11] with a post on her Facebook page saying that she had not received food in the preceding 12 hours and was treated in hospital for low blood pressure.[12] On 5 March, Yeung together with three other defendants secured an extension of bail, with conditions including a prohibition of directly or indirectly contacting any foreign officials, members of parliament and their staff, and a curfew from midnight to 7:00 a.m.[13] On 12 March 2021, her bail was upheld by High Court judge Esther Toh.[14]

On 15 September 2021, Yeung was disqualified along with 6 other district councillors after a deadline to submit information for authorities to determine the validity of their oath-taking expired, and after she was charged for participating in the last year pro-democracy primaries.[15] At the same time, she resigned from her position as Wan Chai District Council chairwoman.[16]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Cheung, Ella (9 January 2016). "How an artist became a district councilor". EJ Insight. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  2. ^ Mannering, Laura (29 September 2018). "Disappearing act: What happened to the art from Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement?". AFP. Retrieved 7 March 2021 – via Hong Kong Free Press.
  3. ^ "周博賢、楊雪盈組「文化同行」參選選委會 公開挑戰汪明荃高志森". Inmediahk.net (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 13 November 2016.
  4. ^ "Pro-democracy camp takes record quarter of seats on Election Committee that will choose Hong Kong's leader". South China Morning Post. 12 December 2016.
  5. ^ 周頌謙 (25 November 2019). "灣仔起步六人當選:不能讓建制派「翻盤」". Inmediahk.net (in Chinese (Hong Kong)).
  6. ^ "【灣仔區議會】謝偉俊、黃宏泰質疑選主席程序不公 「拉布」兩小時無阻楊雪盈當選". Stand News (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 7 January 2020. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  7. ^ "民主動力 Power for Democracy". Facebook (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 14 July 2020.
  8. ^ "【初選瘋狂搜捕】楊雪盈被捕 牽頭成立組織「灣仔起步」宣布解散" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Stand News. 6 January 2021. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  9. ^ Wong, Natalie (8 January 2021). "National security law: stunned by crackdown, Hong Kong civic groups take action to avoid 'new wave of persecution'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  10. ^ Chau, Candice (8 January 2021). "'Hong Kong has entered a bitter winter,' says primaries organiser as 52 democrats in mass arrest bailed out". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  11. ^ Cheng, Selina (2 March 2021). "Bail hearing for 47 Hong Kong democrats facing security law charges drags on, with four hospitalised due to exhaustion". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  12. ^ "HK dissidents return to court". AFP. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021 – via Taipei Times.
  13. ^ Ho, Kelly (5 March 2021). "Four Hong Kong democrats in subversion case to be freed on bail after Justice Dept. drops challenge to decision". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Jimmy Sham's bail denied by the court". The Standard. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  15. ^ "7 Hong Kong opposition district councillors disqualified over oath validity". South China Morning Post. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  16. ^ 鄭寶生 (2021-09-15). "港島7名區議員宣誓無效被DQ 包括灣仔區議會主席楊雪盈". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 2021-09-15.
Political offices
Preceded by Member of Wan Chai District Council
Representative for Tai Hang
2016–2021
Vacant
Preceded by Chairwoman of Wan Chai District Council
2020–2021
Succeeded by