Benny Tai Yiu-ting, 59, is a Hong Kong legal scholar, political figure, and democracy activist. He was an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong.
From 2013, Tai launched and is known for his initiation of the Occupy Central with Love and Peace, as he considered Hong Kong to lack “true universal suffrage” and should participate in an Occupy movement to win universal suffrage in the 2017 Hong Kong Chief Executive election. His suggestion ultimately resulted in the eruption of the Umbrella Movement the following year, as a result of which he was found guilty of “conspiracy to commit public nuisance” and “inciting others to commit public nuisance” and sentenced to six months in prison. Citing this conviction, in July 2020, the University of Hong Kong’s governing council controversially fired Tai.
After the protests, Tai repeatedly campaigned to pressure for greater electoral reforms in Hong Kong, launching “Operation ThunderGo” in the 2016 Legislative Council election, a “smart voter” mechanism aiming at getting the most pro-democracy candidates elected to the Legislative Council. He also initiated “Project Storm” for the pro-democrats to win the majority in the 2019 District Council elections.
On 6 January 2021, Tai was arrested along with 54 other pro-democracy campaigners, activists, social workers, and former legislators on suspicion of “subversion of state power” under the national security law for organizing the 2020 pro-democracy primaries.