Democratic Party Suspends Ted Hui's Membership

The Democratic Party said on Thursday that it has suspended the membership of lawmaker Ted Hui who has come under fire for seizing a phone from a government official at the Legislative Council on Tuesday.

Speaking after a meeting of the party's central committee, chairman and legislator Wu Chi-wai said party members unanimously supported a motion to condemn Hui. He said Hui's action was rude, amounted to bullying, and has seriously damaged the party's reputation.

Wu said the party's disciplinary committee would look into the case before deciding whether Hui should be expelled from the party.

"The way to expel a member has to go through a disciplinary committee, and we urge the disciplinary committee to manage the problem as soon as possible," Wu said.

Earlier, Hui said he was sorry for the stress his action caused to the official and the public's disappointment towards him. He admitted that the phone-snatching was inappropriate and said it was a mistake of his own.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam described Hui's action as barbaric, and said it was completely unacceptable. But she added that the Legco commission would handle the incident properly.

Lam also said the incident would not affect the relationship between the administration and the legislature. She urged all lawmakers to respect civil servants who work at Legco.