Colleen Lee, Beatrice Siu, KayleneHong and Nacchi Ma
Friday, January 08, 2010
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As a stunned chamber looked on, Raymond Wong Yuk-man and Chim Pui-chung stood toe-to-toe yesterday trading swearwords, personal insults and political abuse for an astonishing four minutes.
At the height of the raging row, the pair went for each other's Achilles' heel with words such as triad, convict and beggar being hurled.
It was not until Finance Committee chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing warned they could be thrown out, and security guards moved in, that the pair backed off in the unprecedented bust-up.
They later apologized and shook hands for the cameras.
But last night parents' and education groups said the incident - which was quickly posted on YouTube and later taken down - had set a bad example for young people and damaged the reputation of the legislature.
The row flared during a debate over whether think-tank Professional Commons should be allowed to express its views at today's debate on funding for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.
Referring to something League of Social Democrats member Wong said, financial services representative Chim murmured: "How can you bulls*** like that?"
Wong replied: "I didn't."
Then, just as pro-rail link lawmaker Paul Tse Wai-chun was about to speak, Chim jumped up from his seat and dashed to Wong, slammed his hand on the desk and shouted: "What the hell do you want ...You think the three of you [League Legco members] are the most supreme?"
Wong did not respond, but as Chim walked back to his seat he said to Wong: "You think you are powerful being a triad?"
Furious, Wong stood up and yelled: "You better take back your words."
Lau tried in vain to suspend the meeting as Wong called Chim "a convict."
"Yes, I was," Chim retorted. "And you will be one sooner or later."
More insults and finger pointing followed with Chim calling Wong "a triad affiliate" as the pair appeared close to blows.
Their confrontation continued as calls for order were ignored, Wong called Chim a "dead convict" and Chim shouted: "How dare you call me a beggar?" claiming Wong owed him money.
In 1998 Chim spent 10 months in jail for forging share certificates and was stripped of his Legco seat the same year.
Subsidized Secondary School Council vice chairman Liu Ah-chuen said: "This anti-authority behavior will have a bad influence on the younger generation. Teenagers tend to follow such bad models."
Alliance of Parents Associations chairwoman Chan Siu-chu said lawmakers should be aware of their behavior. "Young people will initially think this is fun but in the long run it will pervert the virtues of society," Chan said.
However, Youth Union convener Kong Kwai-sang disagreed.
"First and foremost, youths will focus on what they were arguing about in the Legco," Kong said. "In politics arguments are quite normal so I don't think this kind of behavior will have a great impact."
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