Emily Lau

Emily Lau Wai-hing JP
劉慧卿
Emily Lau at City Forum, 2010
Chairperson of the Democratic Party
In office 16 December 2012 – 4 December 2016
Deputy	Richard Tsoi Lo Kin-hei Andrew Wan
Preceded by	Albert Ho
Succeeded by	Wu Chi-wai
Member of the Legislative Council
In office 1 July 1998 – 30 September 2016
Preceded by	New parliament
Succeeded by	Lam Cheuk-ting
Constituency	New Territories East
In office 9 October 1991 – 30 June 1997
Preceded by	New constituency
Succeeded by	Replaced by Provisional Legislative Council
Constituency	New Territories East
Personal details
Born	(1952-01-21) 21 January 1952 (age 65) Hong Kong
Nationality	Hong Kong Chinese
Political party	Frontier (1996–2008) Democratic Party (2008–present)
Spouse(s)	John Ball (m. 1983; div. 1985) Winston Poon (m. 1989; div. 2006)
Residence	Happy Valley, Hong Kong
Alma mater	University of Southern California London School of Economics
Occupation	Legislative Councillor
Profession	Journalist (formerly)
Website	www.emilylau.org.hk

Emily Lau Wai-hing, JP (Chinese: 劉慧卿; born 21 January 1952) is a prominent liberal politician in Hong Kong who champions press freedom and human rights. A former journalist, she became the first woman directly elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in the 1991 LegCo elections. She served as Legislative Councillor for the New Territories East throughout the 1990s and 2000s until she stepped down in 2016. She was also the chairperson of the Democratic Party, the flagship pro-democracy party.

Lau was born on 21 January 1952. Her family moved to Hong Kong from the Guangdong Province in 1948 during the Chinese Civil War. In 1962, her family transferred her to the then new English-language Maryknoll Sisters' School in Happy Valley, where she studied until 1972. When she was in primary school, she was given the English name Emily by her aunt.

Lau traveled to the United States to study journalism studies at the University of Southern California from 1973 to 1976 and graduated with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. She later cited the Watergate scandal and investigative journalism having had a major formative effect on her views on the role and potential of the press.

After returning Hong Kong, Lau worked between 1976 and 1978 as a reporter for the South China Morning Post, the major English-language newspaper in Hong Kong. She then moved into television journalism when she joined the Television Broadcasts (TVB) and promoted to senior producer in 1981. She furthered her studies in the early 1980s at the London School of Economics and completed an M.Sc. in International Relations in 1982, then followed a position as an assistant producer within the BBC from 1982 to 1984, while concurrently working as the London correspondent of Hong Kong TVB News.