Regina Ip admits she lied about Beijing liaison office visit
Ip previously told Ming Pao newspaper that she had not been to the office during the announcement of Legislative Council election results
Chief executive aspirant Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee has admitted she lied about not visiting Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong hours after the Legislative Council polls on Sunday.
Retracting a previous denial of the visit, Ip, who leads the New People’s Party and is an executive councillor, apologised to the public and said she “misled” Ming Pao newspaper by saying she was not in a car photographed leaving the Sai Wan complex.
“I was requested by the other party to keep the meeting confidential,” Ip said. “But later I didn’t feel well for [saying that]. I apologise to the public and Ming Pao.”
Ip had been mocked by pan-democratic lawmakers for thanking Beijing for its support, which they say led to her and two other party members’ victories in the Legco polls. They said this was evidence of Beijing’s meddling in local politics – underlined by the sensitive timing when Ip made the visit before all of the election results were announced.