Paul Tse Wai-chun, JP (, born 1959) is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

solicitor, who claims himself as the "Superman of Law". He also owns a small travel agency and was elected to the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...

for the tourism functional constituency in the 2008 legislative election. Tse is of

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

ancestry.

Legal career

Tse practised law as a barrister in Australia for seven years after graduating from

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

. Tse then finished his pupillage in Hong Kong under Justice Peter Nguyen. Tse was called to the bar in 1992 and set up his own firm in 1997. His media stunts and quest for self-publicity have caused controversy. From 1997 to 1999, Paul posed in his underpants only for magazines to spread the message that "laws are inherent to every people". After disciplinary hearings which lasted for nearly a decade, the Law Society of Hong Kong suspended his solicitor's license for 12 months for this stunt, but his firm could continue because there were other partners.

Political career

In 2010, Tse was the sole legislator to vote against the introduction of a minimum wage in Hong Kong. In February 2021, Tse said that Sinopharm vaccines should be administered in Hong Kong, despite the fact that the trial data had not been released. Also in February 2021, Tse announced potential reductions of power held by Legislative Council members, claiming that the reductions would create a "balance between the effective operation of the council and the right of speech of legislators." In response, Andrew Wan said that such changes would serve only to minimize any antigovernmental opposition within the legislature. Tse also said that lawmakers could be banned for a week if they violated any of the new rules, and that the new rules could take effect as soon as 24 March 2021. In April 2021, Tse said that people who urge others to cast blank ballots may commit the crime of "inciting subversion" under the National Security Law. In January 2022, Tse said that he would try to introduce legislation to block the "yellow economic circle", where pro-democracy supporters boycott shopping at pro-government businesses. In June 2023, Tse introduced legislation that would give lawmakers a summer break. In January 2024, during question time in the Legislative Council, Tse criticised the government and said that "law enforcement forces have seemingly given the public the impression that they value the online opinions of

Xiaohongshu Xiaohongshu (XHS; zh, s=小红书, p=Xiǎohóngshū, l=little red book), known in English as RedNote, is a Chinese social networking and E-commerce in China, e-commerce platform. , 70% of the platform's users are reportedly born after 1990, a ...

users, who are not taxpayers, more than Hong Kong citizens, who actually pay tax." Tse said earlier that government actions to placate mainland Chinese netizens would lead to "Xiaohongshu administering Hong Kong," an allusion to "

patriots administering Hong Kong "Patriots administering Hong Kong" () is the principle proposed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that allows only those deemed to be "patriots" to the party and to the Government of China, Chinese government may rule Hong Kong. Heavily emphasise ...

." In his response, Chief Executive John Lee compared Tse's language to that used in the "black-clad violence of 2019" and said that Tse's words reminded him of "soft resistance", warning that it was "dangerous" to spread "false and negative information" about the government's efforts, accusing Tse of stirring up trouble. In late March 2024, after the passing of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance earlier that month, Tse said he had deleted his

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page due to his concern that comments he had made on Xiaohongshu and other matters violated the ordinance. His page was up again before the end of the month, but with all posts invisible or hidden.

Personal life

Tse was born in

Shap Pat Heung Shap Pat Heung is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Located south of Yuen Long and northeast of Tai Tong, the area occupies the plain north of hills of Tai Lam. The Cantonese name 'Shap Pat Heung' means 'eighteen villages'Antiq ...

Yuen Long Yuen Long is a town in the western New Territories, Hong Kong. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu (), Tin Shui Wai, Lau Fau Shan and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin (), and to the north Nam Sang Wa ...

New Territories The New Territories (N.T., Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: ) is one of the three areas of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of H ...

, Hong Kong, into a working-class family. His family lives in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Property

Out of all 90 legislative council members in the 2022-2025 term, Tse owned the most properties, with 15 residential units in Hong Kong and one in Beijing.

References

External links

Paul Tse Solicitor FirmOfficial site of Paul Tse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tse, Paul 1959 births Alumni of the City University of Hong Kong HK LegCo Members 2008–2012 HK LegCo Members 2012–2016 HK LegCo Members 2016–2021 HK LegCo Members 2022–2025 Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2021–2026 Hong Kong pro-Beijing politicians Hong Kong television presenters Indigenous inhabitants of the New Territories in Hong Kong Living people Hong Kong solicitors University of New South Wales alumni Hong Kong people of Hakka descent District councillors of Wan Chai District