Pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho, who is running in the upcoming District Council election, was attacked by a man in his constituency on Wednesday morning.
Ho is running in the Lok Tsui constituency in Tuen Mun. At around 8:44am, he was attacked near the area’s Richland Garden mall.
Ho’s assistant and the attacker were also injured.
Before the attack, the man thanked Ho for his hard work, according to video footage. Ho invited him for a photo, and the man said he would take his phone out. The assailant then took out an object suspected to be a knife and stabbed Ho.
The attacker was arrested by the police. Ho was then hospitalised.
Ho has come under fire after he was filmed praising a group of white-clad men outside Yuen Long MTR station on the night of a mob attack against civilians nearby. At least 45 people were injured on July 21 when rod-wielding assailants, dressed in white, launched a violent assault on those passing through the station. At least eleven have been arrested in connection with the incident, with some confirmed to have triad backgrounds. The pro-Beijing lawmaker has sued three pro-democracy lawmakers for libel after they publicly accused him of having links to triads.
Ho has also been accused of making a death threat against pro-democracy lawmaker Eddie Chu and using sexist language against convenor of the pan-democrats Claudia Mo.
Last week, Anglia Ruskin University withdrew Ho’s honorary degree citing concerning conduct since he was awarded the distinction.
The government condemned the attack on Wednesday. A spokesperson said that “Hong Kong has all along been a pluralistic and inclusive society and members of the public should express their views in a peaceful and rational manner with respect for each other. The Government will not tolerate any violent acts and the Police will continue to strictly enforce the law to safeguard peace in society.”
Cary Lo and Chiang Ching-man are also running Ho’s constituency.
Series of attacks
District Council election candidates that have been attacked in recent months include democrat Andrew Chiu, who had a part of his ear bitten off on Sunday.
Others include Labour Party member Stanley Ho, who was attacked in late September by men dressed in white and welding rods, and first-time election candidates Jocelyn Chau and Jannelle Leung.
The election is set to take place on November 24.
