View source for James To

{{short description|Hong Kong lawyer and politician}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Du (surname)|To]]|James To|To Kun-sun|lang=Hong Kong}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = 
| name                = James To Kun-sun
| native_name         = {{nobold|涂謹申}}
| native_name_lang    = zh-hk
| image               = James To 20190515 (cropped).jpg
| imagesize           = 
| caption             = James To in 2019
| office              = Member of the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong|Legislative Council]]
| term_start          = 1 October 2012
| term_end            = 1 December 2020
| predecessor         = ''New constituency''
| successor           = ''Constituency abolished''
| constituency        = [[District Council (Second)]]
| term_start1         = 1 July 1998
| term_end1           = 30 September 2012
| predecessor1        = ''New parliament''
| successor1          = [[Helena Wong (politician)|Helena Wong]]
| constituency1       = [[Kowloon West (1995 constituency)|Kowloon West]]
| term_start2         = 11 October 1995
| term_end2           = 30 June 1997
| predecessor2        = ''New constituency''
| successor2          = ''Replaced by [[Provisional Legislative Council]]''
| constituency2       = [[Kowloon South-west (constituency)|Kowloon South-west]]
| term_start3         = 9 October 1991
| term_end3           = 31 July 1995
| predecessor3        = ''New constituency''
| successor3          = ''Constituency abolished''
| constituency3       = [[Kowloon West (1991 constituency)|Kowloon West]]
| office4             = Member of the [[Yau Tsim Mong District Council]]
| term_start4         = 1 January 2012
| term_end4           = 29 September 2021
| predecessor4        = ''New constituency''
| successor4          = 
| constituency4       = [[Olympic (constituency)|Olympic]]
| term_start5         = 1 January 2000
| term_end5           = 31 December 2007
| predecessor5        = ''New constituency''
| successor5          = Chung Kong-mo
| constituency5       = [[Charming (constituency)|Charming]]
| office6             = Member of the [[Sham Shui Po District Board]]
| alongside6          = Eric Wong Chung-ki
| term_start6         = 1991
| term_end6           = 1994
| predecessor6        = Yau Lai-ngor<br/>Wong Ping-hon
| successor6          = Aaron Lam Ka-fai
| constituency6       = [[Cheung Sha Wan (constituency)|Cheung Sha Wan]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1963|03|11}}
| birth_place         = Hong Kong
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| nationality         = 
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Cherry Yuen|1993|2008|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Sue So|2009}}
}}
| party               = [[Democratic Party (Hong Kong)|Democratic Party]] {{small|(1994–present)}}
| otherparty          = [[United Democrats of Hong Kong|United Democrats]] {{small|(1991–94)}}
| education           = [[Wah Yan College, Kowloon|Wah Yan College]]
| alma_mater          = [[University of Hong Kong]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]], [[Postgraduate Certificate in Laws|PCLL]])
| occupation          = [[Legislative Councillor]]
| profession          = Solicitor
}}

{{Chinese|t=涂謹申|s=涂谨申|p=Tú Jǐnshēn|j=Tou<sup>4</sup> Gan<sup>2</sup>-san<sup>1</sup>|first=t}}

'''James To Kun-sun''' ({{IPAc-en|t|o:|}}; {{zh-t|涂謹申}}; born 11 March 1963) is a Hong Kong lawyer and [[Democratic Party (Hong Kong)|Democratic Party]] politician. From 1991 to 2020, To was a member of the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong]], representing the [[District Council (Second)]] constituency. In his final four years, To was the most senior member in the Legislative Council, and was also the convenor of the [[pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong)|pro-democracy caucus]] from 2016 to 2017. He was also a former member of the [[Yau Tsim Mong District Council]] representing Olympic. 

In November 2020, To, along with the rest of the pro-democracy caucus resigned in protest of the disqualification of four of their members.

==Early life and political career==
To was born in Hong Kong in 1963. He was educated at the Church of Christ in China Kei Wa Primary School and [[Wah Yan College, Kowloon]] before he was enrolled to the [[University of Hong Kong]] where he graduated with a law degree, [[LL.B.]] in 1985 and [[PCLL]] in 1986, and became a lawyer after graduation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Class of 1985 Silver Jubilee|url=https://www.alumni.hku.hk/f/newsletter/478/1158/Reunions.pdf|work=University of Hong Kong}}</ref>

He was involved in the local democracy movement in support of the Tiananmen protests of 1989. In 1990, he co-founded the [[United Democrats of Hong Kong]], the first major pro-democracy party in Hong Kong later transformed into the [[Democratic Party (Hong Kong)|Democratic Party]]. He was first elected to the Sham Shui Po District Board in 1991 in Cheung Sha Wan.

==Legislative Council==
===Colonial years===
To ran in the [[1991 Hong Kong legislative election|first direct elections]] of the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong]] in 1991, where he was elected with [[Frederick Fung]] of another pro-democracy party [[Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood]] (ADPL) in [[Kowloon West (1991 constituency)|Kowloon West]]. He was Hong Kong's youngest legislator at the age of 28 when first elected.<ref name="TheStandard">[http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=12&art_id=60912&sid=17348161&con_type=3 Hong Kong's first Free English-language newspaper] ''The Standard'' {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408151033/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=12&art_id=60912&sid=17348161&con_type=3 |date=8 April 2008 }}</ref> He kept his record until [[2016 Hong Kong legislative election|2016]] when [[Nathan Law]] of [[Demosisto]] was elected at the age of 23.

He was re-elected in the [[1995 Hong Kong legislative election|1995 Legislative Council election]] with 69 percent of the popular vote in his [[Kowloon West (1995 constituency)|Kowloon Southwest]] constituency. He served on the Legislative Council until 30 June 1997 at the eve of the [[handover of Hong Kong]] when he had to step down with his party and replaced by the [[Provisional Legislative Council]].<ref name="Martin">{{cite web|url=http://www.martinlee.org.hk/BiosJamesTo.html|title=James To Kun-sun|work=Matin Lee}}</ref>

===After 1997===
He ran again the [[1998 Hong Kong legislative election|first SAR Legislative Council election]] in 1998 he was re-elected with [[Lau Chin-shek]] on the same ticket with 55 percent of the popular vote in Kowloon West. He has specialised in the security issues, having been the party's spokesman on security issue and chaired the Panel on Security, one of the key committees in the Legislative Council. He had closely followed the works of the [[Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong)|Independent Commission Against Corruption]], immigration issues, Vietnamese refugees, crime and triads. He also campaigned for the setup of the [[Independent Police Complaints Commission]] against police abuses of power.<ref name="Martin"/> Due to his Christian belief, he was known for his anti-gay rights voting records despite his pro-democracy political affiliation. He was the only member of the pro-democracy camp to vote abstain in the SODO motion on 7 November 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.e123.hk/ElderlyPro/details/199590/71|title=基督徒涂謹申棄權：無關信仰 (Christian James To Abstained: Nothing relates to faith)|newspaper=明報|date=2012-11-08}}</ref><ref>[https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr12-13/chinese/counmtg/voting/v20121107.pdf Equal rights for people of different sexual orientations] 07-11-2012 [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong]]</ref>

He was re-elected in Kowloon West in 2000, 2004 and 2008. In June 2010, he expressed open skepticism of the Democratic Party's support for the government's [[Consultation Document on the Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive and for Forming the LegCo in 2012|2012 constitutional reform package]] but nevertheless toed the party line and voted for the measure. In the reform package, the party had secured the inclusion of a late amendment to hold a popular vote for five new [[District Councils of Hong Kong|District Council]] [[Functional constituency (Hong Kong)|functional constituencies]].<ref>Cheers and jeers for political reform vote, [[South China Morning Post|SCMP]], Gary Cheung, Albert Wong and Fanny WY Fung, 25 June 2010</ref> In a dissenting speech to Legco, he warned of the creation of "super-functional constituencies" with an apparently larger mandate than that of geographical constituency lawmakers.<ref>James To criticises – and votes for proposal, ''[[South China Morning Post|SCMP]]'', Albert Wong and Fanny W. Y. Fung, 25 June 2010</ref>

Nonetheless, in the [[2012 Hong Kong legislative election|2012 Legislative Council election]], he represented the party to run in the newly created territory-wide [[District Council (Second)]] constituency. His ticket received 316,468 votes in total, the largest votes in the electoral history of Hong Kong until it was exceeded by his party colleague [[Kwong Chun-yu]] in 2016.

===2016 election and caucus convenor===
[[File:James To Kun-sun.jpg|thumb|left|To in 2016]]
In 2016, he was re-elected in the District Council (Second) constituency with a sharp decline of vote due to the [[strategic voting]] of the pro-democracy voters who turned to vote for Kwong Chun-yu who was trailing behind To. As a result, To took the marginal seat with 243,930 votes, only 10,694 votes, 0.6 per cent higher than the unelected [[pro-Beijing camp|pro-Beijing]] candidate [[Wong Kwok-hing]] of the [[Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions]].

He became the most senior member of the Legislative Council, after [[Albert Ho]] retired from the legislature and [[Lee Cheuk-yan]] was surprisingly unseated, and became the last Legislative Council member from the "Class of 91", pro-democrats who first were elected in the [[1991 Hong Kong legislative election|first Legislative Council direct election]] in 1991. He also became the only legislator who has been directly elected in all elections since 1991 in the most senior member in the house. In October 2016, he became the convenor of the reorganised pro-democracy caucus, holding that position until 2017.

===2020 Democratic caucus resignation===
On 12 November, To and 14 other members of the Democratic caucus resigned en masse in protest against the disqualification of four Democratic caucus candidates which occurred the previous day. Speaking to reporters, To said, "[The disqualifications] are an arbitrary form of repression by which the Communist Party sought to control everything."<ref>[https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/11/08f07cd87539-breaking-news-hong-kong-disqualifies-4-pro-democracy-lawmakers-on-china-decision.html Hong Kong opposition lawmakers resign en masse after 4 disqualified], ''[[Kyodo News]]'', 11 November 2020</ref>

===Arrest===
On 6 January 2021, To was among 53 members of the pro-democratic camp who were [[January 2021 arrests of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists|arrested]] under the [[2020 Hong Kong national security law|national security law]], specifically its provision regarding alleged subversion. The group stood accused of the organisation of and participation in unofficial primary elections held by the camp in July 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55555299|title=National security law: Hong Kong rounds up 53 pro-democracy activists|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=6 January 2021|access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref> To was released on bail on 7 January.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hongkongfp.com/2021/01/08/hong-kong-has-entered-a-bitter-winter-says-primaries-organiser-as-52-democrats-in-mass-arrest-bailed-out/|title='Hong Kong has entered a bitter winter,' says primaries organiser as 52 democrats in mass arrest bailed out|first=Candice|last=Chau|work=[[Hong Kong Free Press]]|date=8 January 2021|access-date=4 February 2021}}</ref>

On 29 September 2021, To was disqualified along with 10 other district councillors for his invalid oath-taking after he was involved with participating in the last year pro-democracy primaries.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-09-29|title=Another 10 Hong Kong district councillors ousted after oath-taking ceremony|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3150614/10-more-hong-kong-district-councillors-ousted-after-being|access-date=2021-09-29|website=South China Morning Post|language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
To married Sue So on 12 December 2009.<ref>[http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20091213/00176_093.html "政情：阿涂再婚 全場催「造人」"]. ''Oriental Daily'' {{in lang|zh}}</ref> The couple had a son in 2012.

==See also==
* [[Father of the House]]
* [[Senior Unofficial Member]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|TO Kun-sun, James}}
* [http://www.tokunsun.org.hk James To's homepage] (Chinese only)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101206184940/http://www.legco.gov.hk/general/english/members/yr08-12/tks.htm Legco biography]

{{s-start}}
{{s-off|hk
}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Wong Ping-hon]]<br />[[Yau Lai-ngor]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = Member of [[Sham Shui Po District Board]]
| district = [[Cheung Sha Wan (constituency)|Cheung Sha Wan]]
| with = [[Eric Wong Chung-ki|Eric Wong]]
| years = 1991–1994
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Aaron Lam Ka-fai|Aaron Lam]]
}}
{{s-new|constituency
| rows = 2
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = Member of [[Yau Tsim Mong District Council]]
| district = [[Charming (constituency)|Charming]]
| years = 2000–2007
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Chung Kong-mo]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = Member of [[Yau Tsim Mong District Council]]
| district = [[Olympic (constituency)|Olympic]]
| years = 2012–2021
}}
{{S-vac}}
{{s-par|hk}}
{{s-new|constituency
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = Member of Legislative Council
| district = [[Kowloon West (1991 constituency)|Kowloon West]]
| years = 1991–1995
| alongside = [[Frederick Fung]]
}}
{{s-aft
| after = Himself
| as = Representative for Kowloon South-west
}}
{{s-bef
| before = Himself
| as = Representative for Kowloon West
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = Member of Legislative Council
| district = [[Kowloon West (1995 constituency)|Kowloon South-west]]
| years = 1995–1997
}}
{{s-non
| reason = Replaced by [[Provisional Legislative Council]]
}}
{{s-new|parliament
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = Member of Legislative Council
| district = [[Kowloon West (1998 constituency)|Kowloon West]]
| years = 1998–2012
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Helena Wong (politician)|Helena Wong]]
}}
{{s-new|constituency
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = Member of Legislative Council
| district = [[District Council (Second)]]
| years = 2012–2020
}}
{{s-non|reason=Constituency abolished}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Albert Ho]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Father of the House|Senior Member]] in Legislative Council
| years = 2016–2020
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Abraham Shek]]
}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Cyd Ho]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = Convenor of [[Pro-democracy camp]]
| years = 2016–2017
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Charles Mok]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:To, James}}
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Hong Kong solicitors]]
[[Category:Hong Kong Christians]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Hong Kong]]
[[Category:District councillors of Yau Tsim Mong District]]
[[Category:Charter 08 signatories]]
[[Category:Democratic Party (Hong Kong) politicians]]
[[Category:United Democrats of Hong Kong politicians]]
[[Category:HK LegCo Members 1991–1995]]
[[Category:HK LegCo Members 1995–1997]]
[[Category:HK LegCo Members 1998–2000]]
[[Category:HK LegCo Members 2000–2004]]
[[Category:HK LegCo Members 2004–2008]]
[[Category:HK LegCo Members 2008–2012]]
[[Category:HK LegCo Members 2012–2016]]
[[Category:HK LegCo Members 2016–2021]]
[[Category:Political prisoners held by Hong Kong]]