Hong Kong lawmaker Paul Tse courts controversy over WhatsApp leak furore
From baring almost all as a lawyer to becoming the prime suspect in the WhatsApp leak fiasco, Paul Tse now considers his electoral options
Solicitor turned politician Paul Tse Wai-chun is not new to controversy.
Actually, he has a good record of antagonising his peers - fellow lawyers in the past and this time his colleagues in the Legislative Council.
The non-affiliated proestablishment lawmaker has emerged as a prime suspect in a political witch-hunt, led by allies in the legislature, over the leak of their WhatsApp messages about the walkout farce during the political reform debate on June 18.
As more secrets continued to leak out of the pro-Beijing camp and on to the front pages of newspapers, not only were members embarrassed, but Legco president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing's impartiality and integrity were called into question.
Leaked text messages seemed to show that Tsang, a veteran Beijing loyalist from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, was colluding with government allies during the debate and the eventual vote - which ultimately went against the reform package.
Tsang's party colleague, lawmaker Christopher Chung Shu-kun, said the "leaker" had been rooted out - an independent who "used to wear shorts" to meetings.
And it was the very same Paul Tse who hit the political gossip pages early last month after he was pictured wearing shorts at a Legco meeting. He told reporters that he was fond of wearing shorts to weekend meetings during the hot summer months.