Chan Hon-yee, JP (born October 20, 1961) is a Hong Kong medical specialist and

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

who served as Director of

Health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

and Director of the

Auxiliary Medical Service Auxiliary Medical Service (AMS) is a voluntary medical and health services provider in Hong Kong. Its mission is to supply effectively and efficiently regular services to maintain the health and well-being of people in Hong Kong. History The ...

Early life

Chan Hon-yee was born on October 20, 1961. From kindergarten to preparatory school she completed her studies at

Rosaryhill School Rosaryhill School () was a co-educational school in Hong Kong, offering kindergarten, primary and secondary education. The school was founded in 1959, and was closed in 2024. History The school was founded by the Dominican Order in 1959 as t ...

. She was accepted to the Department of Medicine at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

where she obtained a

Bachelor of Medicine A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

in 1985.

Career

After graduating from university and practicing for more than two years, Chan joined the

Hong Kong government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...

as a government doctor in February 1988. Afterwards, she studied for a

Master of Medicine Master of Medicine (MMed, MM) is a postgraduate professional clinical degree awarded by medical schools to physicians following a period of instruction, supervised clinical rotations, and examination. As of May 2009, the following universities ...

Public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

from 1991 to 1992. After returning to Hong Kong, she was promoted to Senior Doctor in November 1993 and then to Chief Doctor in July 1996. In August 2000, Chan was promoted to assistant director of Health and was appointed as an Official Justice of the Peace on July 1, 2006. She was appointed as the Food Safety Officer of the

Food and Environmental Hygiene Department The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) is a department of the Hong Kong Government, reporting to the Environment and Ecology Bureau. It is responsible for food hygiene and environmental hygiene. It replaced part of the role of ...

in October 2007. As Food Safety Commissioner, Chan promoted a mandatory

nutrition labeling The nutrition facts label (also known as the nutrition information panel, and other slight variations) is a label required on most packaged food in many countries, showing what nutrients and other ingredients (to limit and get enough of) are in t ...

scheme in response to incidents such as the 2008 Chinese dairy contamination incident, and introduced new food safety control measures to help trace product origins following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. In 2012, Chan broke with custom and passed Tsang Ho Fai Director of the

Centre for Health Protection The Centre for Health Protection is an agency under the Department of Health in Hong Kong responsible for disease prevention and control. CHP plays the same role and function as the Centers for Disease Control in the United States, and the ...

and Tam Lifen Deputy Director of Health to be appointed as the Director of

. Chan retired on September 21, 2021.

Personal life

Chan Hon-yee is married with two sons.

Honors

* Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine - for her academic and career contributions in social medicine. * Official Justice of the Peace - Constance Chan Hon-yee, JP (July 1, 2006 - ).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan Hon-yee, Constance Living people 1961 births Hong Kong medical doctors Hong Kong civil servants Alumni of the University of Hong Kong National University of Singapore alumni Hong Kong justices of the peace Hong Kong women civil servants