Ben Lam (politician)

Ben Lam
林兆彬
Member of the Yau Tsim Mong District Council
In office
1 January 2020 – 8 July 2021
Preceded byWong Kin-san
ConstituencyMong Kok East
Personal details
Born
Lam Siu-pan

1991 (age 33–34)
Hong Kong
Political partyCommunity March (2017–2020)
Education
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Film critic

Ben Lam Siu-pan (Chinese: 林兆彬; born 1991) is a Hong Kong politician and film critic. He became involved in politics while serving as the Deputy Secretariat of the Hong Kong Federation of Students during his studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. A trained social worker, Lam co-founded Community March in 2017 and served as the district councilor for the Mong Kok East constituency from 2020 to 2021, resigning prior to the enactment of the Public Offices Ordinance 2021. He also writes film reviews for Stand News, Hong Kong Inmedia, and The Chaser News.

Early life and education

Lam was born in 1991 in Hong Kong.[1] He studied social work at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, aspiring to help the grassroots community.[2] In 2009, he participated in the annual Candlelight Vigil for the June 4 Massacre, which he described as "his political awakening".[2] He joined the Student Union of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Federation of Students, serving as Deputy Secretariat for the latter in 2012.[3] Lam graduated in 2013 and became a registered social worker.[4] He had also participated in the 2014 Umbrella Movement.[4]

Career

Politics

After graduation, Lam worked as an assistant to legislative councilor Ip Kin-yuen for five years, but he found the Legislative Council too bureaucratic.[4][2] Aiming to pursue a career in community service, he co-founded Community March with several social activists in 2017, a community-service-based political group, serving as its convener.[2][5] He began focusing his work in Mong Kok East that May,[2] and resigned as a councilor assistant in December 2018 to commit to full-time community service.[6]

In 2018, Lam declared his candidacy for the district councilor position in the Mong Kok East constituency.[2] He won the 2019 Hong Kong local elections with over 60% of the votes against then-incumbent Wong Kin-san.[6] In June 2020, he and Yue Wan district councilor Chui Chi-kin were arrested for participating in a protest march in Mong Kok.[7] In October 2020, Oriental Daily News reported that a Yellow economic circle market was held at Lam's district council office, raising concerns about compliance with usage regulations and COVID-19 social distancing measures.[8] Lam responded that his office shared space with an NGO, and the market was held only within the NGO's area with government permission.[8] He resigned from Community March that same year and registered to run for the Kowloon West constituency in the 2020 Legislative Council Election, although the election was postponed due to COVID-19.[4][9] In December 2020, he expressed interest in running for the 2021 Hong Kong legislative election.[10] In May 2021, Lam announced that his office would no longer accept flowers from the public for the 2019 Prince Edward station attack due to multiple warnings from the Hong Kong Police Force since November 2020.[11]

In July 2021, before the enactment of the Public Offices Ordinance 2021, Lam resigned as district councilor.[12][13] Since his district council office still had a lease, he converted it into a shop called Saan1Haa6Gin3 (Chinese: 山下見) while continuing to provide community service to local residents.[12][13] In August 2021, Lam ran for the election of the Convocation Committee at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.[14] In January 2023, the Independent Commission Against Corruption issued warrants for Lam and another legislative election candidate Sum Sung-sheung, accusing them of "making a false declaration of election expenses totaling HK$68,000" for the postponed election.[15][16] The case alleges that Lam and Sum submitted nomination forms to the Registration and Electoral Office on the same day the government announced the postponement, including purchases of several electronics that the ICAC claims were "lodging false or misleading election return".[15][16]

Film criticism

Lam, who enjoys watching anime, writes film reviews in his spare time.[17] He began his career as a critic by writing for House News and continued for its successor Stand News, contributing over 200 articles.[18] In 2018, Lam served as a member of the panel of adjudicators at the Obscene Articles Tribunal.[19][20] He has also written for Hong Kong Inmedia and is currently contributing to The Chaser News.[21][22]

Personal life

In 2018, while serving with Community March, Lam resided in Kwai Chung.[2] As of January 2024, he is living in the United Kingdom.[23]

References

  1. ^ "香港特別行政區廉政公署- 被通緝人士". Independent Commission Against Corruption (in Chinese). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 麥馬高 (14 December 2018). "「社區前進」力爭油尖旺區會過半 林兆彬辭工全職落區". Hong Kong Inmedia (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  3. ^ Lam, Ben (10 January 2025). "別了．邵家臻｜懷念阿臻：一位真正的同行者". The Chaser News (in Chinese). Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d "涉騙立會選舉開支 前區議員林兆彬被捕". Sing Tao Daily (in Chinese). 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  5. ^ "社區組織深耕細作 七一上街宣揚理念". Hong Kong Inmedia (in Chinese). 3 July 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b 麥馬高 (8 July 2021). "【專訪】林兆彬辭任區議員：與其破產，不如自己搞黃店". Hong Kong Inmedia (in Chinese). Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  7. ^ "兩名民主派區議員林兆彬徐子見被捕". Yahoo! News (in Chinese). RTHK. 28 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  8. ^ a b "區議員涉用議辦搞市集牟利 林兆彬否認指「不屬議辦範圍」". Oriental Daily News (in Chinese). 26 October 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  9. ^ 陳葆琳 (3 September 2021). "【立法會選舉】消息指前油尖旺區議員林兆彬被捕　涉詐騙政府發還選舉開支". Hong Kong Economic Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  10. ^ "區議員嘆被迫自我審查". Apple Daily (in Chinese). 30 December 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  11. ^ "憂成DQ藉口 林兆彬停收8.31獻花". Apple Daily (in Chinese). 28 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  12. ^ a b 劉少風 (15 October 2021). "【專訪】區議員辭職服務居民之心未息　建聚腳點連結同路人". Radio Free Asia (in Chinese). Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  13. ^ a b "林兆彬：轉型從商開黃店 盈利續服務". Ming Pao (in Chinese). 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  14. ^ "中大校友評議會選舉 林兆彬積極考慮參選". Ming Pao (in Chinese). 12 July 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  15. ^ a b Chau, Candice (12 January 2023). "2 Hong Kong legislative candidates wanted by corruption watchdog for attempted election expenses fraud". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  16. ^ a b "涉騙立會選舉開支 林兆彬岑崇尚已離港遭廉署通緝". Ming Pao (in Chinese). 13 January 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  17. ^ "告別議席之前，來一場笑喪—— 我們終於成功爭取一條旺角「日不落大橋」". Hong Kong Feature (in Chinese). 11 October 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  18. ^ "投稿逾200篇 博客：逐一審視犯法風險". Ming Pao (in Chinese). 28 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  19. ^ "林兆彬﹕村上春樹新書被評為第二類不雅物品是國際笑話". Yahoo! News (in Chinese). RTHK. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  20. ^ "林兆彬批評村上春樹新書被評為第二類不雅物品是國際笑話". am730 (in Chinese). 23 July 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  21. ^ "林兆彬". Hong Kong Inmedia (in Chinese). Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  22. ^ "筆者介紹 林兆彬". The Chaser News (in Chinese). Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  23. ^ "台灣大選｜離散海外前區議員訪台觀戰 心情感觸願台灣捍衛民主". The Points (in Chinese). 13 January 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.