Pro-Beijing lawmaker Michael Luk mistakenly voted in favour of a vote of no confidence against Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Wednesday, attracting ridicule from netizens.
The Federation of Trade Unions legislator bowed in apology immediately after the blunder, admitting that he had pressed the wrong button at the legislature. Luk insisted he was firmly against the motion which was brought forward by democrats amid the extradition bill controversy that has rocked Lam’s administration.
“I pressed the wrong button during the vote just now. I should have voted against the vote of no confidence against chief executive Carrie Lam,” he said. “I pressed wrong and did not make sure of the voting situation. I would like to apologise to the public. Sorry.”
A wave of online commenters berated Luk, with one Facebook user stating that Luk “doesn’t know how to press ‘no’ after constantly pressing ‘yes’.” Another claimed he had failed in his duty to be a government “voting machine.”
‘der Knopf’
The German Consulate General also poked fun at Luk’s unfortunate mishap in their “word of the week,” on Facebook by featuring the German word for button – “der Knopf.”
The motion against Lam was eventually downvoted. Among 30 votes from the functional constituencies, 22 voted against versus eight in favour, including Luk.
This marks the second time in a week where Luk has found himself in the spotlight on social media. Luk was previously mocked over his English skills, after he was seen in a video handing a petition letter to German acting consul general, David Schmidt.
The FTU staged a protest at the German Consulate last Thursday against Germany’s decision to grant refugee status to activists Ray Wong and Alan Li, calling on Germany not to become a “fugitive paradise.”
Last December, he led a protest to the US consulate to call for the release of Meng Wanzhou, deputy chief of Huawei. Netizens quickly pointed out that Luk had proceeded to the wrong consulate, as Meng was in Canadian detention. Furthermore, the premises were closed as it was a Sunday.
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