Ventus Lau

Ventus Lau

Ventus Lau Wing-hong (Chinese: 劉頴匡; born 8 October 1993) is a Hong Kong politician. He is the convenor of the Shatin Community Network and the founding convenor of the Community Network Union, an alliance of the localist community groups in different districts. He came to media attention in the 2018 New Territories East by-election and his candidacy was disqualified by the returning officer for his previous pro-Hong Kong independence stance.

Biography

Lau first participated in politics on the invitation of his secondary school teacher Tam Hoi-pong to join the pro-democracy Neo Democrats in early 2014. He became a community officer of Pok Hong in Sha Tin. During his study at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He established the CUHK Local Society in 2014, aiming to disaffiliate the Chinese University Students' Union from the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) after the 2014 Hong Kong protests, in which the radical localists held the HKFS responsible for the failure of the movement.

Lau quit Neo Democrats over the dispute of the disaffiliating campaign as the Neo Democrats supported the unity of the HKFS, as well as the "Liberation" street actions launched by the militant localists such as Civic Passion and Hong Kong Indigenous targeting mainland parallel traders. He formed the Shatin Community Network and continued his community services in the district. In the 2015 District Council elections, the group won a seat in Chung Tin. In August 2017, the Shatin Community Network co-founded the Community Network Union, an alliance of the six localist community groups in different districts, in which Lau became the convenor of the union.

Lau declared his candidacy in the 2018 New Territories East by-election, a seat left vacant by localist Baggio Leung of Youngspiration over the oath-taking controversy. He claimed to have received the endorsement from Leung and did not participate in the primary organised by the pro-democracy. He also declared he no longer support "Hong Kong independence. He also resigned as the convenor of the Community Network Union and ran as an independent localist. After the end of the nomination period, Lau's candidacy was disqualified by the returning officer on the basis of his previous support for the idea of Hong Kong independence.