Tanya Chan (Chinese: 陳淑莊; born 14 September 1971) is a Hong Kong politician who served as a Legislative Councillor representing Hong Kong Island from 2008 to 2012, and again from 2016 to 2020. She is a founding member of the Civic Party. Chan is sometimes known as the "Zhou Xun of the Civic Party".[1] On 29 September 2020, Chan announced that she would quit politics.[2]
Tanya Chan | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
陳淑莊 | |||||||||||||
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| Member of Legislative Council | |||||||||||||
| In office 1 October 2016 – 30 September 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Kenneth Chan | ||||||||||||
| Constituency | Hong Kong Island | ||||||||||||
| In office 17 May 2010 – 30 September 2012 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Herself | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Kenneth Chan | ||||||||||||
| Constituency | Hong Kong Island | ||||||||||||
| In office 1 October 2008 – 28 January 2010 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Martin Lee | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Herself | ||||||||||||
| Constituency | Hong Kong Island | ||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||
| Born | 14 September 1971 Hong Kong | ||||||||||||
| Nationality | Chinese | ||||||||||||
| Political party | Civic Party | ||||||||||||
| Residence(s) | Wan Chai, Hong Kong | ||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Sacred Heart Canossian College University of Hong Kong (LLB, PCLL) | ||||||||||||
| Occupation | Barrister | ||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||
| Website | http://www.tanyachan.hk | ||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 陳淑莊 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈淑庄 | ||||||||||||
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Early life and education
editChan's ancestral origin is Shanghai[citation needed] and she was educated at Sacred Heart Canossian College. Chan received Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Hong Kong, where she also studied the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws.[3]
Political career
editIn the 2008 LegCo elections, Chan was elected into and became a member of, the Hong Kong Legislative Council to represent Hong Kong Island, along with Civic Party leader Audrey Eu.
In January 2010, Chan and other four lawmakers, Albert Chan, Alan Leong, Leung Kwok-hung and Wong Yuk-man resigned from LegCo, forcing a by-election, which they would treat as a "de facto referendum" to press the Chinese Government into allowing universal suffrage in Hong Kong.[4] On 16 May 2010, she was re-elected as a lawmaker in the by-election.[5]
Until 2011, she was a member of Central and Western District Council.[6]
In the 2012 legislative election, she stood as the second candidate in Kenneth Chan's list in Hong Kong Island, in an attempt to boost Civic Party's votes and seats. Although Kenneth Chan was elected, she lost re-election under the party-list proportional representation system. In the 2016 legislative election, she was returned to the Legislative Council, succeeding outgoing Kenneth Chan's seat.
Trial at West Kowloon Court
editOn 9 April 2019, at West Kowloon Court, Chan and eight others were found guilty of public nuisance and incitement over their roles in the 2014 Hong Kong protests.[8][9]
Earlier, Chan scheduled a full-body health check-up to reassure her mother that she was physically ready to endure a jail term if this were to happen. Her physical examination was conducted in a private hospital on 4 April. Chan received the results of her health check on 11 April, followed by a consultation in Canossa Hospital on 17 April. The test results revealed there was something unclear with her brain. On 18 April, Dr Edmund Woo Kin-wai, a neurologist, found that Tanya Chan had a meningioma, a type of brain tumour larger than a ping-pong ball. The tumour was considered dangerous as it pressed on Chan's brain stem, nerves, and blood vessels.[10]
On 23 April, medics stated that Chan needed open brain surgery to remove the tumour as soon as possible, followed by radiotherapy sessions. According to medics, there was no clarity whether the tumour was caused by cancer, and an open brain surgery would be necessary for additional medical insights.[11] On 24 April, the trial at West Kowloon Court adjourned her sentencing to 10 June, since Chan required brain surgery within two weeks. The other eight Occupy Central leaders were sentenced to different punishments, ranging from 200 hours community service to 16 months of jail time.[12]
In the same day, Chan asked Legislative Council president Andrew Leung for leave from her legislative duties while she sought further treatment. Before speaking about her illness, she also asked Hongkongers to continue their fight for democracy and to believe in their faith.[11]
On 10 June 2019, Chan was handed a sentence of eight months suspended for two years, after the court was told that she would require radiotherapy treatment and will experience double vision for six months. Her brain tumour was found to be benign, but had not been completely removed, and needed further therapy. The court was also asked to consider her record of public service since 2006.[13]
Later career
editChan moved to Taiwan, and in 2024, opened a restaurant in Taipei's Songshan District.[14][15]
Bibliography
edit- 政．戲．伊人 [Politics. play. Yiren], Ming Chuang Publishing Co., Ltd., 2008, ISBN 9789628994663
- My Journeys for Food and Justice (邊走邊吃邊抗爭), Red Publishing (Round Table Culture), 2014, ISBN 9789888270644[16]
References
edit- ^ "Tanya Chan of the Civic Party", Next Magazine, 18 January 2007
- ^ [1] The Standard, 30 September 2020
- ^ HK LegCo Archived 6 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ Hong Kong MPs quit in an attempt to push Beijing towards direct elections The Guardian, 26 January 2010
- ^ Pro-democracy lawmakers win by-elections. Rthk.org.hk (17 May 2010). Retrieved 2011-06-21.
- ^ Central & Western District Council Members (2008 - 2011)
- ^ 林祖偉 (24 April 2019). "香港佔中案宣判刑期：「我們不會被入獄所擊倒」". BBC Chinese (in Chinese). Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ Lau, Chris; Lam, Jeffie (9 April 2019). "Occupy leaders found guilty over role in Hong Kong's 2014 umbrella movement". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ Hale, Erin (9 April 2019). "Architects of Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement Convicted of Conspiracy, Incitement". VOA. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ Chan, Holmes (24 April 2019). "Convicted democrat Tanya Chan to undergo surgery to remove brain tumour, as Umbrella Movement sentencing postponed". Hong Kong Free Press.
- ^ a b Xinqi, Su; Cheung, Elizabeth (24 April 2019). "Brain tumour 'larger than a ping-pong ball' prompts deferment of Hong Kong lawmaker Tanya Chan's Occupy sentencing". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Leaders of Hong Kong pro-democracy protests sentenced". CBC News. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ^ Cheng, Kris (10 June 2019). "Hong Kong lawmaker Tanya Chan handed suspended sentence over Umbrella Movement charges". Hong Kong Free Press.
- ^ Chen, Kai-yu; Mazzetta, Matthew (29 September 2024). "Former Hong Kong lawmaker to open restaurant in Taipei". Central News Agency. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ Hiciano, Lery (30 September 2024). "EX-HK legislator starts new life as head chef in Taipei". Taipei Times. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ Ott, Haley (24 July 2020). "Hong Kong politician whose book was yanked from shelves says, "I don't know how I can protect myself"". CBS News. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
External links
edit
Media related to Tanya Chan at Wikimedia Commons