Junius Ho, a pro-Beijing lawmaker was stabbed in the chest in Hong Kong on Wednesday, November 6, while campaigning for a local election holding this month.
The lawmaker who is known for his heated arguments with pro-democracy protesters was campaigning with party members in his constituency of Tuen Mun, a town on the outskirts of Hong Kong near the border with China.
A viral video shared online captured moment the assailant approached him for a photo. However, instead of taking out a camera, he brandished a knife and stabbed Ho in the chest. The man who was heard shouting in Cantonese “Junius Ho, you scum”, was overpowered by the lawmaker and others around him.
“This morning is a dark day in Hong Kong’s district council elections,” pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho said, according to the South China Morning Post. “A candidate was intentionally assaulted by an attacker. There is no order left.”
Ho told reported that he suffered a minor wound roughly 2 centimetres (0.79 inches) deep. The knife was blocked by his rib cage, sparing him a life-threatening injury.
Hong Kong has been upended by nearly five months of huge and increasingly violent protests calling for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability.
The lawmaker has become one of the most loathed establishment figures among democracy protesters asides Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam and police chief Stephen Lo. He is particularly disliked by the protest movement after he was seen shaking hands with men who attacked protesters at a subway station on July 21. At least 45 protesters were injured during the attack.
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