Gary Chan Hak-kan, BBS, JP (born 24 April 1976) is a Hong Kong politician who serves as a current member of the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...

. He represents the New Territories North East constituency and is a chairperson of the

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is a Pro-Beijing camp (Hong Kong), pro-Beijing political party registered since 1992 in Hong Kong. Chaired by Gary Chan and holding 19 Legislative Council of Hong Kong ...

(DAB) political party.

Biography

Chan was born in

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

, People's Republic of China. He graduated from the Department of Government and Public Administration at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

, and studied in the

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Maxwell School) is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 1 ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. He was a member of

Sha Tin District Sha Tin District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. As one of the 9 districts located in the New Territories, it covers the areas of Sha Tin, Tai Wai, Ma On Shan, Fo Tan, Siu Lek Yuen, and Ma Liu Shui. The district is the most ...

Council from 1999 to 2003. He was appointed as special assistant to the

Chief Executive of Hong Kong The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of Governor of ...

, Sir Donald Tsang, from 2006 to 2008. In 2008, Chan followed

Lau Kong Wah Ray Lau Kong-wah, JP (born 22 June 1957, Hong Kong), is a former Hong Kong Government official and former member of both the Legislative Council and the Executive Council. Until 2020, he was Secretary for Home Affairs. Lau was vice-chairm ...

in running to represent New Territories East in the Legislative Council elections after resigning as special assistant to the Chief Executive. With about 100,000 votes for their

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

, both Chan and Lau were declared elected. Shortly after the election results were announced, Chan was widely ridiculed for his poor English. He is quoted as saying in response to a reporter's question that the DAB would "try our breast ... to improve people's living hood ". In February 2021, Chan supported a maximum length of hair for prisoners in Hong Kong, claiming that "If prisoners have long hair, they can hide small blades or weapons in their hair and that could threaten the safety of correctional officers or other inmates ... Discipline is needed in jail." In 2010, Chan voted to build a cemetery near the mainland China border, but in 2021, became vigorously opposed to it. In January 2022, Chan did not raise his right hand when taking the oath while being sworn in as a legislative councillor. In October 2022, Chan said he was disappointed that Article 23 security legislation was pushed back and not part of any plan to be introduced in 2022, saying that the national security law was "incomplete." On 16 October 2022, Chan said that housing in Hong Kong could be solved, saying "It's the same in Hong Kong.. The land and housing problem and the gap between the rich and poor are not unsolvable, as long as the SAR government puts in the work and Hong Kong people are united. On 25 September 2023, Chan was elected as the chairman of DAB, succeeding

Starry Lee Starry Lee Wai-king, SBS, JP (, born 13 March 1974) is a Hong Kong politician and former chairperson of the largest pro-establishment Beijing-loyalist party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB). She i ...

Controversies

Urine inspection

In a pre-election debate on 2008, Chan proposed to impose mandatory drug tests on teenagers returning from Mainland China, so as to fight against the abuse of narcotics by them. The plan was criticised as abusing human rights.

Libel

In another pre-election debate on 2008, Chan questioned

Leung Kwok-hung Leung Kwok-hung ( zh, t=梁國雄; born 27 March 1956), also known by his nickname "Long Hair" (), is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He was a member of the Legislative Council, representing the New Territories East. A Trotskyist ...

regarding his "one-minute attendance" in each LegCo meeting. Leung denied the accusation and considered it a

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

on him. He replied with the fact that he had over 95% attendance and asked for an apology.

Inadequate English proficiency

Shortly after the result of the Legislative Council was announced and Chan's victory and position as a Legislative Councillor was confirmed, Chan was interviewed by the press on live TV, where he was questioned by one of the English-speaking reporters: Chan replied: His mistake involving the replacement of the word "best" by "breast", in particular, was criticised in the media and the general public in Hong Kong for his lack of English language proficiency despite being a Legislative Councillor."隔牆有耳：網民恥笑陳克勤"
, ''

Apple Daily ''Apple Daily'' ( zh, t=蘋果日報, j=ping4 gwo2 jat6 bou3) was a Chinese-language newspaper published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. Founded by Jimmy Lai and part of Next Media, ''Apple Daily'' was known for its sensational headlines, ...

'', Hong Kong

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Gary 1976 births Alumni of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Politicians from Xiamen District councillors of Sha Tin District Living people Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs alumni New Territories Association of Societies politicians Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong politicians 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 justices of the peace Recipients of the Bronze Bauhinia Star