Hong Kong official Casper Tsui resigns, two others get warnings for tapas party

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has on Monday accepted Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui Ying-wai’s resignation, saying he brought embarrassment upon himself and the government by breaching health rules at a birthday party. 

She also announced two government officials who attended the same party as Tsui - Allen Fung Ying-lun, a political assistant to the Secretary for Development, and Vincent Fung Hao-yin, Deputy Director of Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office - will receive verbal warnings.

Tsui was among 15 top government officials who attended the 53rd birthday party of Witman Hung Wai-man, principal liaison officer for Hong Kong at the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority and a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress, on January 3 at a Spanish restaurant in Wan Chai amid the local outbreak of the highly infectious Covid-19 Omicron variant.

Apart from the three, another 12 government officials who attended the party will not receive any penalty, according to Lam. They include Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu, police chief Raymond Siu Chak-yee, immigration chief Au Ka-wang, and ICAC Commissioner Simon Peh Yun-lu.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, Lam said the home affairs chief, as one of the core members leading the city’s anti-epidemic fight, should be more sensitive over his actions.

She said Tsui "brought the Hong Kong government into disrepute" and "did not meet the expectations of the general public".

Lam said the investigation revealed Tsui had breached social-distancing rules - not wearing a mask at the party and failing to use the LeaveHomeSafe contact tracing app.

She also said Tsui’s breach of the city’s Covid rules is regarded as serious and has overstepped the mark given he was one of the core officials attending internal meetings discussing how social-distancing rules could be further tightened, hours before he joined the party.

She stressed that Tsui should shoulder more responsibility as the Home Affairs Chief, leading the Home Affairs Bureau - one of the major government departments involved in the city’s fight against Covid.

She said she received Tsui’s resignation this morning and has already accepted it, after which she will seek approval from the Central Government to remove him from office.

Regarding the two government officials receiving verbal warnings, Lam said Allen Fung had stayed at the party for more than four hours, which should have been avoided as a politically appointed official. As for Vincent Fung, Lam said he continued to return to the office the day after he received a notification from health authorities ordering him to get tested for the coronavirus, putting his colleagues at risk of infection.

They will each be reprimanded by their superiors as a result of their actions, said Lam.

As for the other 12 government officials, Lam said they have either arrived at the party early where there were fewer guests, or had stayed for only a short period of time. They have also complied with the city’s Covid rules, including wearing a mask and registering their visit with the LeaveHomeSafe app.

The Hong Kong leader also said all 15 government officials’ attendance at the birthday party is well justified given the officials are related to the party host at work.

Read more: Caspar Tsui's resignation costs him HK$1.9 million