Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, GBS, JP (, born 30 September 1949 in Hong Kong) is a member of the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kon ...

(LegCo), representing the

Catering Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major servi ...

functional constituencies seats. He is a non-official member of the

Executive Council of Hong Kong The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the cabinet of the Government of Hong Kong, acting as a formal body of advisers to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong that serves as a core policy-making organ assisting the Chief Executive. It is ...

and the current chairman of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Career

He graduated from the

Diocesan Boys' School The Diocesan Boys' School (DBS) is a day and boarding Anglican boys' school in Hong Kong, located at 131 Argyle Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon near Mong Kok East station. The school's mission is "to provide a liberal education based on Christian pr ...

and

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

.Profile of Tommy Cheung
He was previously a member of the Eastern District Council. He is a businessman, chairman of a trading and investment company, and a member of the Diocesan Boys' School school committee.

Legislative Councillor

In late 2005, when there were strong concerns regarding a potential "bird flu" pandemic, Cheung became "an outspoken opponent of migratory birds". He stated that

migrating birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting b ...

were the source of the pandemic threat.Hong Kong Standard. "." ''Wetland migratory birds not to blame, say experts.'' Retrieved on 21 June 2012. On 20 March 2010, after Cheung suggested a minimum wage of HK$20/hour, he became the subject of insults and derision from some quarters, nicknamed "$20 Cheung".South China Morning Post.
SCMP
" ''Young critics heckle Liberal lawmaker.'' Retrieved on 5 April 2010. During the

2020 coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, Cheung spoke out against the government's extension of mandatory social distancing measures. He complained that his constituents were suffering due to mandatory closures of some types of businesses, such as bars and karaoke centres, and accused the government of "not understanding economics". In January 2021, Cheung partially blamed teachers for the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests and that CCTV cameras should be installed in classrooms to monitor teachers for "subversive remarks." In December 2022, Cheung was part of 3 lawmakers who drafted legislation to reform

CUHK The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university and ...

's governing council, saying "During the anti-government turmoil in 2019, there was a riot on the campus of CUHK but the attitude and handling of the incident by CUHK were appalling. In December 2022, Cheung said "We need to take action to correct such behaviour that is this disrespectful to Hong Kong and to our country" and that he would support summing Google to the Legislative Council, to answer questions on why

Glory to Hong Kong "Glory to Hong Kong" ( zh, t=願榮光歸香港) is a march that was composed and written by a musician under the pseudonym "Thomas dgx yhl", with the contribution of a group of Hongkonger netizens from the online forum LIHKG during the 20 ...

was ranked so highly when searching for the national anthem of Hong Kong. At the same month, he was tested positive for COVID-19.

Chairman of the Liberal Party

Cheung was elected Liberal Party's new chairman after the 2016 Legislative Council election in October. The new leadership was seen as more moderate and conservative with less vocal anti-Leung Chun-ying (pro-government, but anti-Leung) stance. Cheung was subsequently appointed by Leung to the Executive Council. Cheung is reappointed by

Carrie Lam Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Sec ...

to the Executive Council on 1 July 2017. Cheung voted against paternity leave when it was introduced to the Employment Ordinance in 2015. In 2018, he opposed the Hong Kong government proposal to increase statutory paternity leave from three days to five, claiming the benefit itself should not even exist, as demands for more would be "never-ending". Cheung said that "back in the 1980s" there was no legally mandated paternal leave, but many companies would still grant "white days" for funerals and "red days" for auspicious events such as births and marriages without the need for "inflexible" labour laws requiring them to do so. Cheung's remarks attracted a lot of criticism, including Ng Chau-pei of the pro-Beijing

Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) is a pro-Beijing labour and political group established in 1948 in Hong Kong. It is the oldest and largest labour group in Hong Kong with over 420,000 members in 253 affiliates and associated ...

described Cheung as taking part in a "barbaric form of capitalism". Another Executive Councillor, New People's Party chairwoman

Regina Ip Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee (; ' Lau; born 24 August 1950) is a Chinese politician. She is currently the Convenor of the Executive Council (ExCo) and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), as well as the founder and current chair ...

agreed members should avoid publicly criticising the government.

References

External links

Official site of Tommy Cheung
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheung, Tommy 1949 births District councillors of Eastern District Living people Hong Kong Christians Hong Kong businesspeople Pepperdine University alumni Liberal Party (Hong Kong) politicians HK LegCo Members 2000–2004 HK LegCo Members 2004–2008 HK LegCo Members 2008–2012 HK LegCo Members 2012–2016 HK LegCo Members 2016–2021 HK LegCo Members 2022–2025 Hong Kong pro-Beijing politicians Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee members Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star Recipients of the Silver Bauhinia Star