Tanya Chan

Tanya Chan (Chinese: 陳淑莊; born 14 September 1971 in Hong Kong) was a Legislative Councillor representing Hong Kong Island. She is a founding member of the Civic Party. Chan is sometimes known as the "Zhou Xun of the Civic Party".[1]

Tanya Chan
陳淑莊
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	Hong Kong
Political party	Civic Party (2006–20)
Residence	Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Alma mater	Sacred Heart Canossian College University of Hong Kong (LLB)
Occupation	Barrister
Signature
Website	http://www.tanyachan.hk
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	陳淑莊
Simplified Chinese	陈淑庄
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chén Shūzhuāng Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Chàhn Suhk jōng Jyutping Can^4 Suk^6zong^1

Early life and education

Chan's ancestral origin is Shanghai 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.[2]

Political career

In 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.[3] On 16 May 2010, she was re-elected as a lawmaker in the by-election.[4]

Until 2011, she was a member of Central and Western District Council.[5]

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.

Benny Tai, Chu Yiu-ming, Tanya Chan (left to right) accompanied by their supporters getting rally before the hearing in the West Kowloon Court. Hong Kong. 24 April 2019[6]

Trial at West Kowloon Court

On 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.[7][8]

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.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[10]

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.[12]

References

1. "Tanya Chan of the Civic Party", Next Magazine, 18 January 2007
2. HK LegCo Archived 2010-12-06 at the Wayback Machine. Legco.gov.hk. Retrieved on 2011-06-21.
3. Hong Kong MPs quit in attempt to push Beijing towards direct elections The Guardian, 26 January 2010
4. Pro-democracy lawmakers win by-elections. Rthk.org.hk (2010-05-17). Retrieved on 2011-06-21.
5. Central & Western District Council Members (2008 - 2011)
6. 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.
7. Lau, Chris; Lam, Jeffie (2019-04-09). "Occupy leaders found guilty over role in Hong Kong's 2014 umbrella movement". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
8. Hale, Erin (2019-04-09). "Architects of Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement Convicted of Conspiracy, Incitement". VOA. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
9. 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.
10. Xinqi, Su; Cheung, Elizabeth (2019-04-24). "Brain tumour 'larger than a ping-pong ball' prompts deferment of Hong Kong lawmaker Tanya Chan's Occupy sentencing". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
11. "Leaders of Hong Kong pro-democracy protests sentenced". CBC News. 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
12. Cheng, Kris (10 June 2019). "Hong Kong lawmaker Tanya Chan handed suspended sentence over Umbrella Movement charges". Hong Kong Free Press.

External links

Media related to Tanya Chan at Wikimedia Commons

• Tanya Chan's official website