Lawmakers Not Exempt From Ban, Says Carrie Lam

Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Monday declared that legislators aren’t necessarily exempt from the government’s ban on gatherings of more than four people in public places — in a clear swipe at Civic Party Legislator Tanya Chan, who has admitted meeting around 40 representatives of the bar industry last Thursday.

In a message posted on her official Facebook page in the early hours of Monday morning, Lam first thanked the “majority of people” who have been complying with the anti-epidemic measure introduced on March 29.

She noted that the number of people who went tomb-sweeping during the Ching Ming Festival on Saturday was far lower than normal, and foreign domestic helpers had also complied with the new restrictions on their day off on Sunday.

Lam said she wanted to make a special mention that lawmakers who take part in, or organise group gatherings outside of the Legislative Council, do not fall under the exemptions laid out in the new regulation — even if they are fulfilling what they consider to be their duties as legislators.

The regulation states that any group gathering "necessary for the proceedings in the Legislative Council or a district council” is exempt from the ban.

Lam did not elaborate on her legal reasoning, and did not name any names.

The CE’s latest message follows a government statement issued on Saturday which came to the same conclusion that meetings outside Legco are not exempt from the ban even if they serve as a function of the council.

A government spokesman noted that anyone who falls afoul of the law can be punished by up to six months in prison and a HK$25,000 fine.

He said a meeting between an unnamed lawmaker and around 40 others in a bar on Thursday night would fall under the regulation if the premises were open to the public at the time.

“Premises such as bars are high-risk venues in spreading virus”, the spokesman said.

“Crowd gatherings are high-risk activities which pose risks to the lives and health of the participants as well as that of other people. Moreover, organisers may be liable to relevant legal responsibilities including criminal liability”, he added.

Chan herself has openly admitted that she had met representatives of the bar industry to discuss the government’s abrupt decision last week to close down all bars for 14 days.

She cited the exemptions laid out in the regulation as evidence that there was nothing wrong with the meeting, and explained that the gathering was only held in a bar because the Legco building had already closed down by 8pm.

Still, she said everyone present kept their distance from one another and wore gloves and masks to minimise any health risk.

Chan stressed she was performing her duties as a legislative councillor at the time in listening to public complaints, and her partymate Alvin Yeung had organised a press conference to air the sector's grievances the very next morning.

“If the government doesn’t surprise everyone with sudden policies all the time, why would all of us need to rush to hold a meeting to discuss a strategy in the middle of the night?” she pondered in a Facebook post.