Regina Ip admits she lied about Beijing liaison office visit

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.”

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Ip previously told Ming Pao her car was at the liaison office because she was sending some books she wrote to her friends there.

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.

She denied suggestions that she went there to thank Beijing for its support, but did not answer whether she went there to talk about Legco presidency or the chief executive election. She said she was there to discuss “a wide range of matters” that she had no time to discuss while electioneering. She would not disclose who was at the meeting.

Ip is believed to be interested in joining the chief executive election next year. She has openly turned down requests to become Legco president, a position that would put her in an embarrassing position if she was to run for chief executive a few months afterwards.