Emily Lau was the first woman to be directly elected to the Legislative Council in Hong Kong. She was first elected in 1991, shortly after Hong Kong left British control, and has been re-elected several times since then. She has spent her time in the Legislative Council fighting for democratic rights in Hong Kong, and often deals directly with concerns from the public. In 1991 she opened a ward office in Lung Heng Estate, Shatin.
Lau is a representative of New Territories East and claims that she is a full time legislator with no other business or professional commitments, and no conflict of interest. In addition to voting on bills she helps to monitor the governments budget and receives complaints from the public. Over the past seven years her office had dealt with approximately 6,000 such cases. Keeping the public informed is one of her top priorities and she publishes newsletters to report back to her district. Lau is a member of many different committees within the Legislative Council. She is currently the Deputy Chairwoman of the Hong Kong Democratic Party.