Lau was a member of the
United Democrats of Hong Kong (a predecessor of the
Democratic Party). After losing in the
1991 LegCo election, running as 'Ray Lau', he left the party and founded the
Civil Force. He subsequently joined the DAB in 1998. On 14 October 2008,
Chief Executive Donald Tsang appointed Lau a non-official member of the
Executive Council, filling the vacancy left by the resignation of
Jasper Tsang, a role he held, in parallel with his Legco seat, until June 2012. In 2012, Lau lost his seat in the
2012 Hong Kong Legislative Council Election. On 20 December 2012, he was appointed undersecretary for constitutional and mainland affairs by
Chief Executive CY Leung, tasked with overseeing political reforms. During the 2014
Occupy movement, as one of five officials representing the government in the
televised debate with student representatives, he was mocked for saying not a word, and was then widely represented as hiding inside a typical Hong Kong rubbish bin. On 21 July 2015, Leung moved Lau to the role of
Secretary for Home Affairs, a post he held through into the administration of
Carrie Lam. He was removed from the post in a cabinet reshuffle on 22 April 2020. ==References==