Lee's ancestral home is Chaoyang, Guangdong.[3] Lee emigrated from Mainland China to Hong Kong in 1959. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1978.[4] His labour activism began with his first job after graduation, when he came in contact with workers with occupational injuries and diseases.[5]
In 1995, Lee was elected unopposed in a by-election of the Legislative Council, replacing Lau Chin-shek, who had resigned. He was re-elected four times, continuously serving as a lawmaker, except for a brief period during 1997 and 1998, when the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to the People's Republic of China, and the Legislative Council temporarily became a Provisional Legislative Council, composed of Beijing nominees.
He received an unexpected loss in the 2016 Legislative Council election, departing the legislature after more than 20 years of service.
Labour Party
In December 2011, he and three other Legislative Councillors Fernando Cheung, Cyd Ho and Cheung Kwok-che co-founded the Labour Party, which became the third largest pan-democratic party in the legislature. He served as chairman until December 2015 when he stepped down to give way to the younger party members and took the vice-chairmanship.[7]
On 28 February 2020, Lee was arrested for his involvement in a pro-democracy march on 31 August 2019, which was part of the protests sparked by the extradition bill and had been classified by police as illegal assembly. A few hours later, he was released on bail, as were the other arrestees Jimmy Lai and Yeung Sum. The cases were scheduled to be heard at Eastern Law Court on 5 May 2020.[11][12]
On 18 April 2020, Lee was one of the 15 Hong Kong high-profile democracy figures arrested on suspicion of organizing, publicizing or taking part in several unauthorized assemblies between August and October 2019 during the anti-extradition bill protests.[13][14] On 1 April 2021, Lee, along with six other pro-democracy advocates, was found guilty of organizing an unauthorised rally on 18 August 2019.[15] On 16 April, Lee was sentenced to 14 months in jail for his role in this and another August 2019 rally.[16][17]
^ ab"原香港支联会主席李卓人在狱中度过67岁生日" [Former chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance, Li Cheuk-yan, celebrates his 67th birthday in prison]. Radio Free Asia (in Simplified Chinese). 13 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
^Lo, Sonny Shiu-hing (2006). "The Politics of Policing the Anti-WTO Protests in Hong Kong". Asian Journal of Political Science. 14 (2): 140–162. doi:10.1080/02185370601063175. S2CID218623836.
.jpg)