A Democratic party member just checked out at Champagne Court..

Chan Ka-wai, a former vice-chairman of Kowloon City District Council, being photographed by a Chinese-language newspaper leaving a brothel in Champagne Court, Tsim Sha Tsui, just after 6pm.

Never been to that place but this news indicates this is a popular destination.

Word!

http://thestandard.com.hk/news_d ... r=20110714&fc=7

Democratic Party official quits over brothel visit
Sex scandal claims scalp of party's chief executive, photographed by a newspaper leaving one-woman brothel just months before district council elections
Fanny W. Y. Fung, Tanna Chong and Adrian Wan
Jul 14, 2011
scmp.com

The Democratic Party's chief executive resigned on Tuesday, hours after he was photographed by a newspaper leaving a one-woman brothel.

Chan Ka-wai claimed he had visited the brothel to "interview a sex worker" and to advise her on "ways to protect herself". But the party leadership immediately accepted his resignation and distanced itself from the scandal, describing it as a matter of his personal conduct.

The former Kowloon City District Council vice-chairman, 48, was caught by journalists from the Oriental Daily News on Tuesday evening while leaving a brothel in Champagne Court, Tsim Sha Tsui. He told the newspaper he had been interviewing a prostitute. The newspaper said he appeared nervous as he explained that he had previously volunteered for a sex workers' rights group in the 1990s.

In a video interview, posted on the newspaper's website, Chan conceded he had paid the woman, asked her to pose naked and make sexual gestures, and taught her how to protect herself when serving clients - but denied any physical contact.

"I have been there. I won't deny it. Basically I was there to do an interview. I had to pay for it," he said.

He tendered his resignation as a party member and chief executive to chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan on Tuesday night.

Before the party formally approved Chan's departure yesterday, Ho said: "This incident is regrettable. This is purely a matter of his personal conduct ... He is no longer our staff, and is quitting the party. We will let the public judge.

"Everyone with an aspiration in politics should ... avoid doing anything that could harm oneself, one's family and the organisation."

Chan was first elected as a member of the Kowloon City District Council in 1999, and became vice-chairman in 2004. He lost his seat to Dr Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, now a Kowloon West legislator. He is married with a young son. A Christian, he is pursuing postgraduate studies in theology at Chinese University.

In a text message to reporters yesterday morning, Chan wrote: "My behaviour has harmed the reputation and embarrassed the Democratic Party. Last night I tendered my resignation as chief executive to the party chairman. It has been approved by the chairman. I have also applied [to quit] the party."

He did not respond to further questions.

The Democratic Party suffered a major sex scandal before the 2004 Legislative Council election, when authorities in Guangdong detained Alex Ho Wai-to, a candidate in Kowloon East, accusing him of hiring a prostitute there and releasing photos of him half-naked.

Separately, a Legco committee has yet to release its report on an inquiry into claims Democrats lawmaker Kam Nai-wai fired an assistant after she rejected his advances.

Lawmaker Fred Li Wah-ming, who led Alex Ho's ticket in the 2004 poll, said that the nature of Chan's incident was less serious than Ho's.

"Chan is not exactly a politician ... he is an employee paid by a political party only," said Li. "He has paid for his mistake."

Dr Ray Yep Kin-man, of City University's politics department, believed the latest scandal would have little impact, because Chan was not a well-known figure.

I have to say i cant help but feel sorry for the poor SOB.. But for christ sake..wear a feaking mask if you are a public figure!

anybody know which gal in champagne court?

According to Apple Daily, her name is "ting ting" on forth floor, local WG.  But shes on leave eversince the incident occured

He is an excellent example of someone who should have joined Sex141 forum and have read all the informative advice and topics on "how to monger without getting in trouble". His problem like most of HK's politicians is inherent self-belief that he would not get in trouble because of his political role.

I wonder if he's ever read some tips shared out here. Indeed there is a fine line public figures need to tread when they get involved with stuff like this. Wear mask or cap or at least prepare a statement he's willing to stick to without admitting the real thing... like what punters say when gfs and wives catch them leaving a WG building?

The story says he was interviewing the WG, but nodded when someone asked if he had sex with her.

The thing is that this is not the first time someone of his stature got nabbed in a similar scandal.

It's too bad that western morality is making its way to Hong Kong.  If a country is civilized enough to have prostitution then it shouldn't be hypocritical to preach against it.

western is a lot more open i think but asia is catchign up maybe i shouldnt put it in that way tho

Dang...there goes my run for the presidency..............

Agree

Except in his case he's
  married
  claiming christian values
  preparing himself to teach christian values
... i.e. fornication is actually against his stated values, and is therefore hypocritical in his specific case regardless of society's values.  

I guess the issue is although prostitution is legal, there are a lot of voters who feel it shouldn't be,
and while those that feel it should be legal are not going to lobby against or vote against someone who doesn't punt,
those that feel it shouldn't be legal will vote against a punter and will organise to discredit him in any and all ways they can.  

Ergo, hypocritical social logic prevails.  

Poor guy.  No prizes for guessing whether his wife is forthcoming ...

Good point.

So was it societal hypocrisy forcing him to conform in speech in order to get elected?  Or was it a cynical political ploy on his own part?  The latter is deserving of a public tongue lashing, but the former does not.  In either case, the evils of a repressive society on its individuals and its elected representatives is clearly illustrated: we're all forced to lie under these conditions in order to preserve our privacy and our personal freedom.

Not exactly - my reasoning is that (as far as I know) Christian values prohibit prostitution.  

So regardless of whether he got his wife's permission to visit sex workers or not, simply by claiming to live as a Christian he's already telling people his own self-professed standards require him to avoid doing something he himself actually does.  

I guess he is now facing the consequences of lying to his wife (assuming she was unaware he was a regular patron in Champagne Court)
And lying to the voting public also has consequences ...

... when you get caught!

I wouldn't chastise someone for being christian/religious/whatever and at the same time whoring around.  Now, if they're preaching about not whoring around to others then they deserve 20 lashes with the whip of hypocrisy.  

In an ideal world everyone deserves the privacy to work out their own conflicts: puritanical vs. hedonist in this particular case.