Wu Chi-wai
Political Prisoner
Wu Chi-wai 胡志偉
Age at Arrest: 58
Former chairman, Democratic Party
*Currently in jail.
Wu Chi-wai received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1991. After he returned to Hong Kong, he started his political career as an assistant for former legislator Conrad Lam.
Wu was elected as a member of the Urban Council in 1995 before it was demolished in 1999. He won a seat in the Wong Tai Sin District Council in 1999, and was elected as a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council in 2012 and 2016. Wu became the chairman of the Democratic Party with 92% of the vote in 2016 when Emily Lau retired from both the Legislative Council and Democratic Party leadership. Wu served the King Fu Constituency until 2019.
In November 2020, 15 democratic lawmakers including Wu resigned en masse in protest against the dismissal of four of their colleagues from the Legislative Council. Wu was arrested twice in 2020, once for taking part in the melee that broke out in the Legislative Council in May 2020 and again for allegedly inciting and taking part in an unauthorised assembly (the annual 1 July March) in December 2020.
On 6 January 2021, Wu was arrested under the National Security Law for participating in the “35+” unofficial primary elections in July 2020. While Wu was remanded in custody, his 92-year-old father passed away, but the Correctional Services Department rejected Wu’s application to attend his father’s funeral and instead offered to allow him to watch the funeral online. Subsequently, a High Court judge granted Wu short-term bail so that he could attend his father’s funeral, where he stayed for only 40 minutes before he was escorted back to the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre. (Photo: Democratic Party via HKFP)
Charges, incidents & sentences:
Charge: Participating in an unlawful assembly
Incident: Tiananmen Square Massacre Vigil on 4 June 2020
Sentencing: 4 months, 2 weeks’ imprisonment (HKFP)
Charge: Inciting others to take part in an unauthorised assembly and knowingly participating in an unlawful assembly
Incident: Protest against the National Security Law on 1 July 2020
Sentencing: 10 months’ imprisonment (HKFP)
Charge: Conspiracy to commit subversion under the National Security Law
Incident: Organising and participating in unofficial primary elections for the Hong Kong Legislative Council in July 2020
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