Wu Chi-wai

The Honourable Wu Chi-wai MH
胡志偉
Chairman of the Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 December 2016
Preceded by	Emily Lau
Member of the Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 October 2012
Preceded by	Fred Li
Constituency	Kowloon East
Member of the Urban Council
In office 1 April 1995 – 31 December 1999
Preceded by	Cecilia Yeung
Constituency	Choi Hung Wan and Ngau Chi Wan
Member of the Wong Tai Sin District Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 January 2000
Preceded by	Chan Chau-Faan
Constituency	King Fu
Personal details
Born	(1962-10-18) 18 October 1962 Hong Kong
Political party	United Democrats (1990–1994) Democratic Party (1994–present)
Alma mater	Queen's College University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Occupation	Legislative councillor district councillor

Wu Chi-wai, MH (Chinese: 胡志偉, born 18 October 1962) is a Hong Kong politician. He is the current chairman of Democratic Party since 2016 and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for Kowloon East constituency since 2012. He has also been a member of Wong Tai Sin District Council since 1999 and member of the Urban Council from 1995 to 1999.

Education and early career

Wu was born in Hong Kong in 1962 to a grassroots family, had been living in squatter area, Kowloon Walled City, Shun Lee Estate and Wong Tai Sin. He was educated at the Queen's College, Hong Kong and joined social work after he graduated in 1981. He furthered his education at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and obtained a master degree in Economics in 1991. Subsequently, Wu returned to Hong Kong and worked as an assistant for Legislative Councillor Conrad Lam, who was a member of the pro-democracy party United Democrats of Hong Kong, which later transformed into the Democratic Party in 1994.

Urban and District Councillor

In the 1994 District Board election, Wu represented the Democratic Party who ran in the Upper Wong Tai Sin Estate but was defeated by Lam Man-fai of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) by a narrow margin of 94 votes. He subsequently got elected in the 1995 Urban Council election, beating veteran Urban Councillor Cecilia Yeung in Choi Hung Wan and Ngau Chi Wan and becoming among the last members of the Urban Council before it was abolished in 1999.

Wu has been member of the Wong Tai Sin District Council since he won in the King Fu in the 1999 District Council elections. In the 2003 District Council elections, he grabbed in total of 4,480 votes in his King Fu constituency, only second to Leung Yiu-chung in Kwai Fong. In the 2007 elections, he was returned with the highest votes in the election and was called the "King of Votes".

Legislative Councillor and Democratic Party chairman

Wu first attempted in the Legislative Council elections in 1998, when he contested in the Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication functional constituency but lost to a pro-Beijing nonpartisan candidate Timothy Fok. He had been in the Democratic Party ticket in Kowloon East since 2000, taking the second or third place behind Szeto Wah and Fred Li. In the 2008 Legislative Council election, he ran his own ticket in Kowloon East next to Fred Li. Although Li was elected, Wu received the lowest votes of 16,365 and could not win a seat.

In 2012, Wu became the Democratic Party's candidate in Kowloon East after Fred Li announced his retirement from the Legislative Council. He received 43,764 votes, 15 percent of the total vote share and was elected to the Legislative Council. He was re-elected in 2016, with an increase of votes, 50,309 votes which counted for 15 percent of the vote share.

He contested in the Democratic Party chairmanship election in 2014. He entered in the second round with 104 votes against incumbent Emily Lau's 158 votes. He lost the second round to Lau by 145 to 171 votes. Wu ran again in the 2016 chairmanship election after Emily Lau retired from the Legislative Council and her party office. He was elected the party chairman uncontestedly, with 92 percent of the confidence vote.