The Legislative Council election is in full swing. Lau Cheuk-yu, who ran for the Southwest New Territories constituency and reported to be an independent and democratic party, declared that he had received a donation of 1.7 million yuan from an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Island (BVI), which became one of the focuses.
"Hong Kong 01" found that Sheng Zhiwen, chairman and elector of Lan Kwai Fong Group, declared a wholly-owned holding of the company nine years ago.
Lan Kwai Fong Group did not directly respond to whether Sheng Zhiwen was a donor, but only emphasized that all election-related regulations were complied with; Liu Zhuoyu did not answer the reporter's call, and only responded through text that he declared donations in accordance with election regulations.
In addition, the winner of the Election Committee sector, Anglican Pastor Guan Haoming, also declared that he had been provided with vehicle and driver services by an offshore company, at a cost of 30,000 yuan.
Lau Cheuk-yu, who reported that he was an independent and democratic party, ran for the Legislative Council election last year and received a donation of 1.7 million yuan from an offshore company.
(File photo / Photo by Yu Junliang)
Three cash donations from BVI companies attract the most money in non-partisan direct elections
Tsuen Wan District Councillor Lau Cheuk-yu declared that he ran for the Legislative Council election for the Southwest New Territories constituency at the end of last year, and received a British Virgin Islands (BVI) registered company "Vital Fountain Limited", donating three cash donations totaling 1.7 million yuan, becoming a non-partisan district The candidate with the strongest "gold attracting power" among the candidates for direct election.
Liu Zhuoyu spent a lot of money on publicity, including 300,000 yuan for public relations, 240,000 yuan for publicity vehicles, and 210,000 yuan for filming and production.
Sheng Zhiwen, chairman and elector of Lan Kwai Fong Group, declared nine years ago that he owns a BVI company that donated to Liu Zhuoyu.
(File photo/Photo by Liao Yanxiong)
Sheng Zhiwen once declared to West Kowloon that he had donated to an offshore company
Sheng Zhiwen served as a member of the board of directors of the West Kowloon Cultural Authority in the past. According to his declaration to the West Kowloon Cultural Authority in 2013, he wholly owned the BVI company "Vital Fountain Limited" for investment holding (Investment Holding), and He has been a non-salaried executive director of the company since September 2008.
In the 2021 Legislative Council election, Lau Cheuk-yu lost in the Southwest New Territories constituency. Under the two-seat, two-vote system, the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong Chen Hengpin (right) and the Federation of Trade Unions Chen Yingxin (left) were elected.
Liu Zhuoyu was not on stage when the results were announced.
(File photo/Photo by Zhang Haowei)
Sheng Zhiwen and Liu Zhuoyu have no positive response
"Hong Kong 01" once inquired about the donation issue to Sheng Zhiwen.
The Lan Kwai Fong Group replied that everything was carried out in accordance with the election activities guidelines and regulations related to the Legislative Council election, with no other supplements.
The reply did not respond positively to the question of whether Sheng Zhiwen still holds the BVI company, whether he has donated to Liu Zhuoyu, and the reasons for the donation.
The reporter has called Liu Zhuoyu many times, but he has not answered the phone.
He later responded by text, saying that "I declare the donation in accordance with the election regulations", and did not respond positively to other questions about the identity of the donor and the reasons for the donation.
The Lan Kwai Fong Group, of which Sheng Zhiwen is the chairman, replied that everything was carried out in accordance with the election activities guidelines and regulations related to the Legislative Council election, but did not respond positively to other questions.
(File photo/Photo by Luo Junhao)
Sheng Zhiwen once said that he was willing to help the pro-democracy party to run for election. Liu Bao said that he was supported by the businessman election committee.
At the end of October last year, Sheng Zhiwen ran for the election committee of the Legislative Council and was ultimately defeated. However, he had called on the pro-democracy factions to run for the election, saying that if the democrats encountered difficulties in seeking the nomination of the election committee, he would try his best to help them obtain the nomination.
He pointed out at the time that he believed that the participation of the democrats would make the parliament more diverse, and he also pointed out that everyone was a Hong Konger, and the difference of party affiliation was not important.
By November, after registering for the election, Liu Zhuoyu told the media that with the assistance and referral of a well-known businessman's selection committee, he finally obtained 10 nominations for the election, but said it was inconvenient to disclose the identity of the selection committee.
Liu Zhuoyu pointed out at the time that he and the businessman's election committee had different political ideas and views on democratic development and the anti-amendment movement, but the election committee still agreed with his ideas, so he still offered assistance even though he had nominated others.
Lau Cheuk-yu participated in the district council election as a pro-democracy amateur in 2019, defeating Tian Beichen in the Discovery View constituency of Tsuen Wan.
(File photo/Photo by Liang Pengwei)
In 2019, the winning district election was attacked by the democratic establishment last year.
After the anti-amendment demonstrations and conflicts broke out in 2019, Lau Cheuk-yu participated in the district council election as an amateur, and defeated the Liberal Party Legislative Councillor Tian Beichen, who had been entrenched in the Discovery District constituency of Tsuen Wan for many years, and was successfully elected. People's Government".
Until the swearing-in storm last July, 230 pro-democracy district councillors resigned, and Liu Zhuoyu chose to stay in the parliament and successfully took the oath.
In November last year, Liu Zhuoyu announced his candidacy for the election, saying that "democrats should not lie flat", which attracted criticism from some pro-democracy activists who advocated boycotting the election.
After Liu Zhuoyu lost the election, he once told the media that he was too naive, and that his fellow travelers who pursued democracy were too disappointed with Hong Kong's political system and that he could not reverse the situation.
Sheng Kung Hui Pastor Guan Haoming declared the expenses of the 2021 Legislative Council election and received a donation of 30,000 yuan for vehicle services from a non-Hong Kong registered company.
(File photo/Photo by Luo Junhao)
Guan Haoming also received donations from offshore companies
In addition to Lau Cheuk-yu, member of the Legislative Council Election Committee and Anglican Pastor Guan Haoming also accepted donations from offshore companies during the election period.
Guan Haoming declared that a company called "Cheerful Country Enterprise Limited" donated vehicles and driver services worth 30,000 yuan to him.
The company has no registration record in Hong Kong.
Guan Haoming replied to reporters earlier that a "personal friend" lent the vehicle and pointed out that the name of "Cheerful Country Enterprise Limited" could be used when reporting donations, but he said that he did not know that the company was not registered in Hong Kong, and only said it was A friend owns one of many companies.
Cai Ziqiang, a senior lecturer at the Department of Politics and Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, pointed out that the sources of donations from BVI companies and political parties and candidates are also opaque.
(File photo/Photo by Zheng Zifeng)
Cai Ziqiang: Donations from political parties are not transparent
Cai Ziqiang, a senior lecturer at the Department of Politics and Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, pointed out that in past elections, it was rare to see cases of donations to candidates in the name of offshore companies: "I believe that the use of BVI companies is to hide the identity of the donors, fearing trouble. ”
Cai Ziqiang believes that the transparency of relevant practices is low, and it is difficult to know the source of donations, which is not ideal.
However, he also pointed out that many candidates with political party backgrounds donated a lump sum of donations similar to their total election expenses. The source of a lot of money. Political parties donate to candidates, and the outside world will also not know the actual source of the money.”
In 2017, the day before former Financial Secretary John Tsang announced his candidacy for the chief executive election, he received a loan of RMB 3 million from "Prescill Holdings Limited", the BVI company of Yang Minde, the former chairman of the CPPCC and Esquel Group, for campaign activities and office expenses.
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