Members will have been saddened to learn of the passing of Anna Lo, a former Assembly Member for South Belfast. Anna represented the constituency of South Belfast in the Assembly from 2007 to 2016, and she was held in high esteem by all of us who served with her. Anna was a Chairperson of the then Environment Committee, and I had exchanges on various issues with her on many occasions. The exchanges were always pleasurable, however, because Anna was that type of character. She always had a smile on her face at the conclusion of any discussion, but she fought passionately for what she believed in.

We have absolute respect for what Anna did and what she achieved. She was the first person from a Chinese background to sit in any Parliament in the United Kingdom and, indeed, in Europe. That was a significant achievement. Dr Paisley had a particular affection for Anna Lo and what she represented. We are privileged to have many people from ethnic minorities in our community. It was the Assembly's privilege to have someone from an ethnic minority background representing the people of South Belfast, and we had the utmost respect for Anna Lo.

Many people, particularly in the Alliance Party, will be deeply saddened by Anna's passing. Some of the people who are Members of the Assembly now were previously members of her staff, and they will, understandably, be feeling that pain. I particularly want to express the sympathies of the House to Anna's partner and her two sons at this difficult time. We all know the burden of losing a loved one and we express our deepest condolences and sympathies to Anna's immediate family at this time.

Members will wish to speak on this matter and will have up to three minutes in which to do that.

This is a tribute that I hoped I would never have to pay. For all of us in the Alliance Party, it is hard to contemplate that Anna is no longer with us. She was full of energy and joy and lit up every room that she entered. It is hard to believe that we will not see her again. On behalf of Alliance, I extend condolences to her sons, Owen and Conall; her daughter-in law, Fiona; her two grandchildren; and her partner, Robert. Anna was hugely proud of her family, and I know that they will truly miss her.

When making tributes to public figures, we often speak in superlatives, using words such as trailblazing, unique, groundbreaking and transformational. Few truly deserve such praise, and there are still fewer for whom those words feel inadequate to express what they were to us, but Anna was one of those precious few. Born in Hong Kong, Anna came here and made her home here. Now, at a time when immigration is such a contested issue, we remember with gratitude the fact that Anna chose this place — chose us — and made a huge contribution to the community here. As a translator, a social worker, the chief executive of the Chinese Welfare Association and a Member of the Assembly, Anna's life was one of service. Her compassion, empathy, intelligence and insight made her not just an excellent legislator and Environment Committee Chair, but an outstanding constituency worker.

Anna was, however, much more than her work. She was a published author, a gifted artist and someone who loved to spend time walking and hiking in nature; a fact that is reflected in many of her paintings. Her thirst for knowledge and learning — her natural curiosity — made her a joy to be around.

I first met Anna when I was a councillor in Belfast City Council, and she was a member of the good relations steering panel. At that time, she was also guiding the plans for the new Chinese Resource Centre through the various procedural hoops for planning and funding. From the minute that I met her, I was hugely impressed by her. Her commitment to the city, to public service and to building a truly shared and united community shone through. Integration and fairness were in her DNA. I saw in Anna the qualities that would make her an excellent public representative, and I asked her, in 2007, whether she would consider running for Alliance in South Belfast. She could not have been more surprised when I asked, and I could not have been more delighted when she agreed. After she spoke to the local association at a selection meeting, only days later, they were thrilled to select her as their candidate. The rest, as they say, is history.

That was genuine history in the making, however, in that Anna became the first person from an ethnic minority background to be elected in Northern Ireland and the first person from a Chinese background to be elected to any legislature in western Europe. She paved the way for others from minority backgrounds to participate and contribute, and, as a society, we are much the richer for that.

Her election showed the best of us in Northern Ireland: warm, welcoming, diverse and confident. That was the Northern Ireland that she loved and helped to nurture. Sadly, however, her election also brought out the worst in some people: Anna was subjected to appalling racism and abuse. Anna's bravery in facing down her abusers, on her own behalf and on behalf of others, was matched only by the support and encouragement that flowed towards her from friends, colleagues and constituents, all of whom were inspired by her resilience. There could be no more passionate and consistent an advocate for the causes that she took up and that were close to her heart. To have Anna on your side was to have a determined and persistent champion, whether that be for the protection of the environment, human rights or equality and women's rights.

For those of us who knew her best, Anna was not just a colleague but a friend. Over the years, she was a huge encouragement and support to me, as she was to many. I will miss her directness, candour, wit and humour so much. Anna quietly shaped and, on occasion, even changed my views in ways that she will never know, all thanks to her honesty and compassion. For those of you who know me, you will appreciate the achievement that that represents.

Anna was not a religious person. As a humanist, she believed in the goodness of people and their ability to transcend division. She exemplified that, every day of her life. Good things do, indeed, come in small packages, and Anna Lo was the best of us. She was my friend: warm, witty, funny, fierce, courageous and kind. I will miss her enormously, but she will live on in her legacy and in the hearts of all those whom she touched with her kindness.

As Sinn Féin Chief Whip, it is my honour to say a few words on behalf of the party on the passing of Anna Lo. Anna Lo has been described as a trailblazer, a champion of equality and peace and a fearless campaigner who fought against discrimination her entire life.

I know, from speaking to colleagues who worked with her over many years in the Assembly, that she was certainly all those things and much more.

As the first politician from a minority ethnic background to be elected to the Chamber, and, indeed, the first Chinese person to be elected to a legislative Parliament anywhere in western Europe, she broke new ground, but she also stood her ground. It is always difficult to be the first. There is no doubt that Anna faced appalling racism, misogyny and bigotry throughout her political career. However, she was never deterred from doing what she believed in. She never shied away from speaking her mind or doing what she believed was right.

She may have been small in stature, but she always stood tall when it came to representing her constituents and defending the rights of those who needed her assistance. Of course, there were often political disagreements. Anna, although she was a straight talker, was always respectful and courteous in the cut and thrust of political discourse. Whether it was campaigning for equality or women's rights, or fighting discrimination and racism, there was much common ground on which Sinn Féin was proud to stand with her. She is a great loss to those ongoing campaigns. She is a great loss to the political process here. Most of all, she is an immeasurable loss to her partner, Robert, her sons, Conall and Owen, and her wider family and friends. Our thoughts are with you today. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I offer our sincerest condolences to you all.

Today, we remember Anna Lo, someone whose place in the history of the Assembly and Northern Ireland is assured. When Anna Lo became an MLA for South Belfast in 2007, she made history as a first. Her election was a significant milestone, but the fact that Anna remains the sole MLA from a minority ethnic background highlights how far we still have to go to honour her legacy by making the House more reflective of our increasingly diverse society.

Anna was, undoubtedly, much loved by those who knew her and much respected by those who worked with her. As someone who represented South Belfast, I heard that love and respect for her first-hand from so many people in so many places. She genuinely blazed a trail. She did so with passion, ability, commitment and some style. I know that she loved representing South Belfast, a constituency with such incredible diversity, and she worked hard for her constituents there.

On behalf of the Democratic Unionist Party, I extend our deepest sympathies to Anna's family, friends and colleagues in the Alliance Party. We extend our heartfelt condolences on Anna's passing and assure them of our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.

As we create this tapestry of tributes to Anna Lo, it is difficult, at times, to avoid repetition. However, repetition is not necessarily a bad thing; not when it focuses on Anna Lo's values and the great contribution that she made, not just in the Chamber but to society in general.

Before she was here, Anna spent some time working for BBC Northern Ireland, which is where I first came across her. She was working on the administrative side of the BBC's World Service operation in Belfast. For a young aspiring journalist, having, "Worked for the World Service" on your CV was very desirable at the time. The obstacle was the person who was head of the World Service. I will not name them — if you know, you know — but they were difficult. Anna became the bridge between young, nervous reporters like me and that formidable head of the BBC World Service in Belfast.

I think that "being a bridge", to a certain extent, summarises Anna's contribution to public life in Northern Ireland down the years. She was a fantastic character. She made a tremendous contribution. At all times, she was not just a public servant but public-spirited. She was very direct. I will never forget Anna coming straight up to me on one sunny March morning outside the famous Willard Hotel in Washington DC. I had made a statement the night before. She had obviously read it. She deconstructed it. She changed my mind, and she admonished me. In a way, that underlines the sense of respect that she commanded as a great person.

She will be sadly missed. On behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party, I offer my condolences to her family and friends.

I join everyone else who has paid sincere and fulsome tribute to Anna Lo on her passing. I extend the condolences of the SDLP and me to her family, including her partner, Robert, her two sons and her grandchildren, and to her colleagues in the Alliance Party, who will be feeling her loss most acutely, having stood with and worked with her so closely over the years.

When you become a representative for South Belfast, as I am proud to be — as are you, Mr Speaker, and others in the Chamber — one of the things that you are most proud of and feel most passionate about representing is the diversity of South Belfast. Of course, Anna Lo represented that in a very obvious way in that she was not only the first and, so far, frustratingly, the only ethnic minority MLA to serve in the Assembly but as others, including Naomi Long, her party leader, have said, the first legislator from a Chinese background in all of western Europe. What an extraordinary achievement. If that were the sum total of Anna's achievement, that would in itself be remarkable, but it was not. She was a fierce advocate, a talented legislator, an extraordinary communicator and campaigner and a diligent constituency worker. People from all backgrounds in that wonderfully diverse constituency of South Belfast that we serve feel real affection and, as the deputy First Minister said, love for Anna Lo, because she was an extraordinary representative and an extraordinary human being. She represented extraordinary qualities in overcoming division.

It is often said by people who get frustrated by this place — sometimes by people who leave this place and wonder whether they should come back — that Northern Ireland never changes. In many ways, Anna Lo was the rebuke to that view. Anna Lo represented positive change. She was not just an emblem or symbol of that change; she helped to deliver it by working for her constituents, including but not limited to those from ethnic minority backgrounds, for all of South Belfast and, indeed, for all of Northern Ireland when she was Chair of the Environment Committee. The extent and depth of her achievement are evidenced by the warmth and sincerity of the praise that we have heard for her today. We are all the poorer for her loss.

I offer my condolences again to not only her family, who will be feeling the loss most acutely, but her friends and colleagues in the Alliance Party, who rightly treasured her contribution so much. We offer them our sincere condolences.

I start by expressing my condolences to the family and friends of Anna on her passing.

I first met Anna Lo in her capacity as director of the Chinese Welfare Association in 1997, which was the year that I started working in the voluntary sector. Our paths crossed many times, so I saw at first hand how she championed not just those from a Chinese or Asian background but those from all sections of society, including people of colour and those from different cultural and religious backgrounds. She always did that with her warmth and wit. She was also a great advocate for the celebration of cultural diversity, and she very much contributed to the likes of the Belfast Mela every year.

When I joined the Alliance Party in 2010, she invited me out for coffee and said, "I will be running for only one more term, and I will support you in that transition". She did that with generosity of spirit and warmth. We know in the Chamber that that transition from one politician to another is not always easy, but Anna was exemplary in that.

I also extend the condolences of the South Belfast association. We have a large membership, and they were all so fond of Anna. When we used to go out campaigning, we nearly had to allocate somebody to Anna, because she got caught at doors because everybody wanted to speak to her, spend some time with her and exchange views. We all have very happy, warm memories of her.

I saw that, over the weekend, a lot of people, me included, shared photos of Anna being at many rallies. She was a champion for those who experienced racism, homophobia, transphobia and misogyny and those who were being deprived of their human rights in terms of reproductive health. In many ways, she was the embodiment of the Alliance Party's core values. She was a genuinely wonderful person. I will sorely miss her.

I extend my sympathies to Anna's family, friends and all her Alliance Party colleagues on her very sad passing.

There is no doubt that Anna was a tenacious trailblazer. She had many barriers in her way that were put in place by a society that makes life harder for women, particularly women from a racialised minority. One can only imagine the barriers and obstacles that Anna had to face and overcome every day, especially as an elected representative. She had to face brutal racism and hatred, but she stood against hatred, racism and the bullies. She was absolutely brave in doing so.

From my memory, Anna was one of the first pro-choice MLAs — certainly the first that I saw — to speak in support of reproductive rights. It would have been easier for her to keep her head down and not speak up about women's reproductive rights, but keeping quiet was not what she did and rightly so. Before I was an MLA, some party activists and I were involved in some anti-racist activity with Anna Lo around, I think, 2014. We worked with Anna, speaking on platforms and organising protests that said that all racialised minorities were welcome in Belfast and beyond. It was really important. That was not the sum of her work, but it was an important part of it. Our city and our society are better for the work that Anna did. She was an important figurehead for anti-racist sentiment in Belfast and beyond, and that is more important today than it was in 2007 when she first became an MLA. I hope that her friends and colleagues can be proud of that legacy and of so much more that she did. I express my condolences on her sad passing.

I, too, offer my sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Anna Lo.

It was a pleasure to have known and worked with her. Many have said this, because, simply, it is true: she was a trailblazer, and she did it with style. No one rocked a leather jacket in the Chamber as well as Anna Lo

[Laughter.]

She did it with energy and good humour. Ultimately, however, she served her community and all others.

Elected politics in Northern Ireland is difficult, especially when presented with the challenges that Anna experienced. Society no longer accepts those challenges because leaders such as Anna Lo faced them down. She was unique because she was the first; sadly, she is not yet the first of many, but that will come, and it will be because of Anna. That will be her legacy.

I offer my deepest condolences to all who knew and loved her.

I first met Anna Lo when I joined her office as a work experience student 12 years ago. She was the first person for whom I ever voted, and the more I got to know her, the more I respected her. She talked about issues that others were often too afraid to talk about. As Claire said, she wore a leather jacket. She bought that jacket because she did a course on women in leadership, where they said that men had to wear blazers in the Chamber so women should wear jackets too. I think that Anna got a leather jacket out of spite and to take that advice on board.

Anna somehow managed to deliver brutal honesty with so much warmth. Jenna and Cathy, who are my work sisters, are in the Public Gallery, but, once, another one of my colleagues, who is in America, got a haircut. She came in, and Anna said, "Did you get a haircut?". My colleague said, "Yes, do you like it?", and Anna said, "No".

[Laughter.]

Anna never lied. She wondered how dishonest people kept track of what they said. It was not just us who she was direct with. She told constituents when she thought that they were being unreasonable. She told other politicians when she did not like their behaviour, and party policy rarely dissuaded her from saying what she thought.

Anna taught me so much about the value of hard work. The ushers will remember frequently having to go up to her office to check when she was going home so that they could lock up, because she was the last person here, diligently reading her Committee papers late into the night. She told me that you can never please everyone, but, if you stick to your values, you maintain your integrity. Mostly, she showed me how politics can be done with kindness and empathy, which goes so much further than one-upmanship or bitterly fixating on difference and the past.

Born in Hong Kong, Anna left school at an early age, but her thirst for knowledge never left her. She knew what it was like to be denied opportunities and to feel like an outsider, so she built a career that was founded on inclusivity as a police interpreter, a social worker, the director of the Chinese Welfare Association and, later, as Alliance MLA for South Belfast. Anna was never particularly interested in political theory or strategy; she was just interested in people and making their lives a bit better. She made so many people's lives better, including my own.

Suzanne Breen said that she was good fun, and she was so much fun. Despite so many personal and professional challenges, she lived her life with such energy and optimism. There was a pure, almost childlike joy about her. Anna loved the arts, the environment, going for walks, good food — she was an amazing cook — and spending time with her many friends, but her greatest love was her two sons, Conall and Owen. She would tell anyone who would listen how accomplished they were, their achievements, how they were doing in university and how they were so handsome. She used to tell me that, if I wanted children, I needed to find a Chinese husband. Any time she saw beautiful children, she said, "Oh, they are gorgeous. You know, my children are gorgeous too. They are Eurasian". She was so funny and so proud of her sons. She leaves a remarkable legacy for her children and grandchildren, whom she so adored.

A life of hard work and service had not given her the time for herself that she richly deserved, yet she never seemed to age. In fact, that almost reversed in retirement, and meeting Robert was life-enhancing. Every time I saw her, she was glowing — days filled with painting, swimming, gardening and travel. The cruellest part of her passing is that the life that she had so longed for and that she was finally living has been cut short.

Principled, inclusive, warm and brave, Anna Lo embodied everything that we need more of in politics and in life. My work mum, my mentor, my inspiration, my friend. I cannot believe that she has gone, but I am so glad that, before she went, I got to tell her that I loved her, because I really did. All who loved her will feel her loss profoundly, particularly Conall, Owen and Robert. We will remember Anna Lo for ever.

I rise to pay tribute to Ms Anna Lo and to pass on my condolences, as an MLA, to Anna's partner, Robert, her sons, her wider family and friends and, of course, to Anna's Alliance family circle on Anna's very sad passing.

I had the pleasure of serving on the Environment Committee for a number of years as Deputy Chair while Anna was Chair. Anna was a very good Chair. She was very fair, very respected and very respectful. She was warm, a great character, full of fun, always smiling and incredibly knowledgeable and passionate on environmental issues. She was a little but strong lady who spoke her mind, and she was not afraid to do so. Anna certainly made her mark during her time in the Assembly, and we will remember her for that. I know that she will be missed not just by her family and friends but by those of us who were fortunate enough to have known her, even for a short time, and to have worked alongside her in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

I first met Anna before I knew of her involvement in the politics of the Alliance Party in Northern Ireland. I met her when she was working for the Chinese Welfare Association and I was providing employment documentation support on behalf of the Labour Relations Agency to that organisation. There was definitely a ray of sunshine in that room and in those meetings that I had with her.

Anna joined the Alliance Party, and, as our leader said, in a whirlwind was selected to be a candidate and got elected to the Assembly in 2007. She was here until 2016. I joined her in the Assembly in 2011 and was proud to do so. We were a small team at that time, very close-knit and working very closely together in the roles and responsibilities that we had in the Assembly.

Anna was a friend and a champion of all that she stood for. She stood in the European election in 2014, and, as a party officer, I had a lot of time to spend with her, campaigning and going with her as she went to various events and knocked doors across Northern Ireland. That election had all the hallmarks of a Northern Ireland election from its highs to its appalling lows and to the way in which Anna was treated quite often not only in the press but by her political opponents. I will never forget some of the horrible times that she went through, but Anna had a resilience and that wonderful smile, and she just pushed on in everything that she did. However, I know personally that those attacks took a toll on her.

Anna left here in 2016. She retired from active politics but always kept her passions and interests alive. She was a talented artist. If Members have the opportunity to look at Facebook and elsewhere where you can see some of her art, they will find it absolutely incredible. I am just sorry that I did not have the opportunity to get some of her wonderful art.

Today, I add my words of condolence and sympathy to her family, her wider family circle and all her Alliance Party colleagues, as well as to those constituents in South Belfast who will forever remember Anna Lo.

It is with great pride but huge sadness that I pay tribute to the late Anna Lo. Others have spoken of Anna's role as a trailblazer and pathfinder. She showed what could be done and how it could be done well. Anna served with distinction and determination as an MLA and in the role of Chairperson of the Environment Committee, in which role I, as a former Environment Minister, had quite a few dealings with her. She never let our shared passion or, indeed, policies for the environment temper her scrutiny of my Department, and, although we occasionally crossed swords, there were never cross words.

I admired her effectiveness as a politician and public representative but even more so her ebullience as a person. Her very presence as an elected representative from an ethnic minority background was rare, but the warmth and respect that she showed others was even more so. The House has been a poorer place without her. My condolences, thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends and party colleagues. The world will be a poorer place without her.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam uasal.

[Translation: May her noble soul be at God's right hand.]

I came to the House in 2016, after Anna had left, but that does not mean to say that I did not know Anna in her role as a politician. I remember that, in 2014, as part of the European election campaign, she came to Portaferry to look at the SeaGen turbine that was in Strangford lough at the time. It was an absolutely miserable day. The car was fogged up. It was terrible, and there was nothing that we could do other than get out of the car and stand along the coastline, where Anna quizzed me for about 45 minutes about how the turbine worked. That encapsulates part of what we have heard here today from so many others. Anna Lo was absolutely committed to the environment. She not only loved doing her work but loved the environment. She loved doing things that were going to protect it, not just for her but for all of us.

Anna was a person who loved very warmly. In recent times, an event was held for former and current female elected representatives of the Assembly, and Anna attended it. I watched as she went round the room, and there was not a single female elected representative in the room, no matter what the party, whom Anna did not hug. We all know what Anna's hugs were like. I am very sorry for Owen and Conall and for Robert. Although they have lost a very precious person, we have all lost. Anna was a warm person. She epitomised what Alliance is about. One did not really get into an argument with Anna. She talked you round and made sure that you understood exactly how she felt, but it was all done with a smile on her face and with great warmth in her heart.

Others from the Alliance Party have spoken very warmly about Anna today. I think of Kate, Cathy, Jenna and all who worked with Anna for so long over the years. She was their work mummy, and they will desperately miss her.

Anna was my friend. She and I did not exactly share a lot of height, but the good thing about that was that, when she hugged me, she hugged me really hard, and I will miss her so much.

My thoughts are with those who knew Anna Lo and those who loved her. I had only one interaction with her, and that was in this place. I was a politics student at Belfast Royal Academy in 2009. Our class was very diverse, and we could not agree on a single thing. Our teacher, trying to get us to agree and not argue with us, decided that it would be a good idea to come up with a dream team, including who we could agree should be the First Minister. To a man and to a woman in that class, everyone agreed that that person should be Anna Lo. We came on our visit to Stormont and we had made signs to say "Anna Lo for First Minister".

[Laughter.]

We arrived here and Anna was not in the Building. Instead of devoting her time to her constituency office in South Belfast, she drove from her office to Stormont. There was nothing for Anna to gain in doing that — we were all from North Belfast — but she knew the importance of ensuring that young people were interested in politics. She sat with us for 90 minutes. Her office staff were telling her that she had other engagements, but the people in that room were the most important to her that day. She taught us one thing, and that was that we need to learn to disagree well. Whilst we may have different political views and aspirations, our job as politicians is to serve the collective interests of the people whom we are honoured to represent. That day, Anna Lo, probably unintentionally, had an impact on me.

Our job, as public representatives, is to devote our lives, day and daily, to making the work of this place deliver for the most vulnerable in our society. I am very sorry that I never got to sit in this place or work with Anna Lo, but her legacy lives on. Let it be her epitaph that people in this Chamber learn to disagree well.

Today, as we mourn the passing of Anna, I want to give thanks for a life of public service, and that has been outlined by many today. That public service included her role as head of the Chinese Welfare Association then as an MLA for South Belfast and Chair of the Environment Committee. We are so lucky that Anna chose Northern Ireland to be her home, as her book title states, 'The Place I Call Home: From Hong Kong to Belfast - My Story'. What a wonderful story it is: a story of being courageous in the face of numerous threats and racism, a story of being committed to serving her constituents diligently and a story of being a powerful leader on very difficult topics but someone who stood up and spoke out for many people, including on women's reproductive rights. I give thanks for that.

She was a gentle, kind and humorous person and someone whom I admired deeply. I wish that we could have more politicians like Anna. We were very lucky that Anna chose North Down as her home in recent years, and I was delighted to have Anna as a constituent. She will be missed not just in North Down but by her friends and colleagues in the party and more broadly across Northern Ireland and in this place. Anna was a wonderful person. Her dedication to the environment was well known, and that is something that gives me inspiration in the job that I do so that I can serve the people of Northern Ireland just as well as Anna did.

That brings to a conclusion the contributions of the Members who requested to speak on this matter. We were not scheduled to do this, but I would like Members to stand for a moment to reflect on Anna Lo.

Members observed one minute's silence.

Thank you. Please be seated.