From cheating celebrities to civil unrest: five things that took Hong Kong global in 2019

From anti-government protests that have engulfed the city for more than six months, to a cheating scandal that rocked the entertainment industry, Hong Kong has made international headlines this year. The ongoing political unrest has dominated the news in Hong Kong. Protesters and controversial figures at the centre of the movement, such as pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu, and city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, are the most Googled public figures in Hong Kong. Apart from protests, Hong Kong actress Jacqueline Wong Sum-wing’s scandal with married singer Andy Hui Chi-on caught Hongkongers off guard in April, after a racy video showing the two in a compromising situation came to light. As the year draws to an end, Fiona Sun takes a look at the people in the news in Hong Kong this year. Hong Kong protesters Hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters have taken to the streets of Hong Kong over the past six months, initially opposing a controversial extradition bill, and evolving into greater civil unrest. The protest movement started with peaceful demonstrations that saw record turnouts, with more than 1 million people on June 9, and an estimated 2 million on June 16 marching peacefully to protest against the extradition bill. The bill, if passed, would have allowed fugitives to be sent to jurisdictions with which the city had no agreement with, including mainland China. It was formally withdrawn in October. As the unrest has unfolded, protesters have made five demands – the withdrawal of the extradition bill, an independent inquiry into the police’s handling of the protests, amnesty for arrested protesters, a halt to describing the protests as riots, and the implementation of universal suffrage. To force the government to respond, protesters have adopted various tactics, from peaceful demonstrations and disrupting traffic, to building bombs, and destroying MTR stations and businesses protesters accuse of being pro-Beijing. Police have responded with pepper spray, tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons and live rounds, and have arrested more than 6,100 people, aged 11 to 84, charging around 1,000. Despite successfully prompting the government to formally withdraw the bill on October 23 and the pro-democracy camp to win a landslide district council election on November 24, protesters vow to continue their fight for the remaining demands, with no clear end in sight. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is blamed by many for the ongoing social unrest – the biggest political crisis since the city was returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997. It was Lam’s determination to proceed with the extradition bill, which was sparked by the death of Poon Hiu-wing in Taiwan, reportedly at the hands of her boyfriend Chan Tong-kai, that turned largely peaceful protests into a violent anti-government movement. Fears over the potential for political persecution in mainland China, and the lack of a guarantee of fair trials, saw millions of people take to the streets in early June. Following clashes between protesters and police, Lam announced a suspension of the bill on June 15, but that failed to satisfy protesters who demanded its complete withdrawal. Increasingly violent clashes followed, but Lam did not give in until September 4, when she said the government would officially withdraw the bill in October. Rumours have regularly circulated that Lam would step down, although she and Beijing have denied it. In a leaked audio recording released on September 2, Lam said at a closed-door meeting that given the choice, she would quit, having caused “unforgivable havoc” in the city. She denied it the following day. Attempting to curb protests, Lam invoked the Emergency Regulations Ordinance on October 4 to ban wearing masks at public gatherings, but it only fuelled the anger of protesters who escalated protests citywide. The High Court in November declared the law unconstitutional, dealing a blow to the beleaguered city leader and government. During her latest duty visit to Beijing last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping assured Lam of his full support, praised her courage and commitment, but also told her to end the violence and chaos. Chan Tong-kai Hong Kong student Chan Tong-kai, 20, is the man whose case sparked the ill-fated extradition bill. Chan reportedly admitted to Hong Kong police that he killed his pregnant girlfriend Poon Hiu-wing, a 20-year-old Hongkonger, during a trip to Taiwan in February last year, and then flew back to Hong Kong. Because the death occurred on the self-ruled island, Hong Kong authorities could neither charge Chan, nor extradite him, as there was no extradition agreement in place. Hong Kong prosecutors could only charge him with money laundering, for using Poon’s finances upon his return home. After spending 19 months in jail after being found guilty, Chan was released from prison on October 23. He apologised to the victim’s parents and the general public, and said he wished to surrender himself to Taiwan. Reverend Canon Peter Koon Ho-ming, a top Anglican priest who played a key role in persuading Chan to surrender, said Chan had originally bought tickets to Taiwan, but cancelled them because of the uncertainty ahead. Koon said Chan wanted to spend time with his family before heading to Taiwan. To ensure Chan would be fairly treated, and not turned into a political pawn, Koon said they would consider postponing his voluntary surrender until after Taiwan’s presidential election in January. In a message sent to reporters on Wednesday, Koon said that plan had not changed, and he would tell the press once a date had been confirmed. Junius Ho Hong Kong lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu, 57, was the most Googled local public figure in the city this year. Ho became a hate figure among anti-government protesters after he was filmed shaking hands with men believed to have been involved in a vicious attack on protesters and passengers at Yuen Long MTR station on July 21. Ho said he was simply greeting one of his supporters, and defended the white-clad men, saying they were merely “defending their homes and people”. In the days that followed, his parents’ graves in Leung Tin Village in Tuen Mun were vandalised, and his office in Tsuen Wan was also trashed by masked protesters. Ho was stripped of an honorary law degree that he was awarded in 2011 in late October by his British alma mater, Anglia Ruskin University in East Anglia, which voiced concerns about his controversial conduct. But in December, he received an honorary doctorate from the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, which described Ho as a “patriot”. During a campaign event on November 6 in Tuen Mun for the city’s district council election, Ho was stabbed, and a 30-year-old unemployed man, Tung Pak-fai, was subsequently arrested and charged with attempted murder. The pro-establishment legislator lost in the November 24 district council election in the Lok Tsui constituency of Tuen Mun to Democratic Party member Cary Lo Chun-yu. His defeat was celebrated by anti-government protesters. Jacqueline Wong and Andy Hui Apart from the political storm, Hong Kong actress Jacqueline Wong Sum-wing, 30, and singer Andy Hui Chi-on, 52, made headlines in April when their cheating scandal caught Hongkongers by surprise. In a 16-minute video released on April 16, Hui, married to Hong Kong superstar Sammi Cheng Sau-man, cuddled and kissed Wong, who was in a relationship with actor Kenneth Ma Kwok-ming, in the back of a car. The video immediately went viral, and Hui apologised in tears at a press conference that day. One day later, Wong issued a statement saying she was ashamed of her actions. Following the scandal, the American-born actress decided to take some time off her acting career and left for the US. Wong entered Hong Kong’s entertainment industry after winning the first runner-up title of Miss Hong Kong 2012, and represented the city in Miss World 2013. Hui’s wife Cheng, 47 and dubbed the “queen of Canto-pop”, broke her silence two days after the footage emerged and said she forgave him and would not be ending their five-year marriage. Wong returned to Hong Kong on December 14, and said she hoped to move on from the scandal, and is expected to restart her acting career.