Pro-Beijing heavyweight hits back after Hong Kong media group claims son is Australian citizen who runs immigration business with his wife in Perth

Tam Yiu-chung accuses Next Digital of ‘causing nuisance’ after it says couple’s company helps mainland Chinese move down under
City’s sole delegate to China’s top legislative body mocked for not raising ‘a patriot’

Hong Kong politics

Lilian Cheng

Published: 6:57pm, 29 Jan 2021

Why you can trust SCMP

Hong Kong’s sole delegate to China’s top legislative body has hit back at a local media organisation for “causing nuisance” to his family, after it claimed his son and daughter-in-law were Australian citizens and ran a business helping Chinese people to emigrate.

Refusing to confirm or deny the news report by Next Magazine and Apple Daily, both of which are owned by media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, pro-Beijing heavyweight Tam Yiu-chung said in a statement on Friday he respected the couple’s career choices.

Tam, a delegate to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, said his support was the same as the backing he had received “from my family over the years over my choice to work in politics in serving the country and Hong Kong sincerely”.

The story about Tam’s son came against the backdrop of the escalating tension between China and the West in the wake of Beijing’s imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong, which some have said eroded the city’s rights and freedoms.

Tam was among the six Chinese officials sanctioned by the United States this month.

01:06

China and the US ‘need cooperation, not fighting’, says Beijing’s envoy to Washington

The reports, run by Next Magazine and Apple Daily on Thursday and Friday, said Tam’s eldest son Tam Kin-wang, 47, and his wife, Sharon Leong Chong-peng, had both emigrated to Australia in recent years.

According to the publications, the couple set up a company called China-Perth-Link Corporate in Perth, which specialises in auditing and accounting services, with Apple Daily citing evidence that the firm provides immigration consultation services to Chinese people.

A website bearing the same company name listed Tam’s daughter-in-law as the company consultant, and claimed to offer different services for mainland Chinese clients, including help for immigration, investment and business financing. But the website was shut down on Friday afternoon.

Tam Kin-wang was a shareholder of the company, according to the reports.

Even if he carries different political affiliations from his father, like many families in Hong Kong, it’s not his father’s fault

Lau Siu Kai, vice-president Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies

Former opposition lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, of the Democratic Party, mocked Tam Yiu-chung for failing to bring his son up to be a “patriot”, who, instead, encouraged mainland Chinese to leave the country.

But in a rare public statement, Tam Yiu-chung “strongly condemned” Next Digital, the parent company of the two publications, which is known for its criticism of Beijing.

“They have taken a further step to harass my family this time, which really enraged me,” he wrote.

Tam refused to comment further when approached by the Post on Friday, and his daughter-in-law did not respond to a request for comment.

Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said Tam’s status as a patriot would not be affected by the reports, and the business or even political affiliation of his family members should not be linked with Tam’s.

Hong Kong not an independent judicial kingdom, says pro-Beijing heavyweight

“His son can do whatever jobs he wants, and even if he carries different political affiliations from his father, like many families in Hong Kong, it’s not his father’s fault,” he said. “I think the report hopes to question and intimidate Tam’s loyalty, but it would hardly damage his reputation or position.”

Earlier this month, Tam Yiu-chung said it was only natural for Beijing to impose retaliatory measures against London’s new pathway for Hong Kong residents to acquire British citizenship through the BN(O) visa scheme, to be rolled out on Sunday.