Police To Investigate Tanya Chan's 'gathering'

The police are to investigate whether Civic Party legislator Tanya Chan violated a new law banning public gatherings of more than four people by joining a meeting with around 40 bar industry representatives last week.

The police probe was revealed by officials on Wednesday, and follows warnings in recent days from the government and Chief Executive Carrie Lam that lawmakers are not exempt from the temporary regulation brought in amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chan has insisted that she did not violate the law as she attended the meeting in her capacity as a legislative councillor and that the venue -- a bar in Sham Shui Po -- was not open to the public at that time.

But in Legco, pro-establishment lawmakers at a health services panel meeting asked officials whether Chan would be punished.

"She has forgotten her responsibility as a lawmaker to ensure that all the measures are observed to ensure that the outbreak will be over very soon," alleged Alice Mak from the Federation of Trade Unions.

"Every member of the public should observe all the regulations," Mak added.

Health Secretary Sophia Chan told the panel that the police would investigate the matter.

"We have read the news story. Powers have been given to the law enforcement officers … the police will be responsible for following this up," the secretary said.

Pro-democracy legislators Fernando Cheung and Roy Kwong condemned their rivals for targeting Tanya Chan during the meeting, saying they should have been focusing instead on measures to slow the spread of Covid-19.