Roy Tam Hoi-pong (; born 17 May 1980) is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

activist and politician. Known for advocating

environmental activism The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement) is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living. In its recognition of humanity a ...

and

localism Localism may refer to: * Fiscal localism, ideology of keeping money in a local economy * Local purchasing, a movement to buy local products and services * Conflict in surf culture, between local residents and visitors for access to beaches with lar ...

and as a former member of the

Tsuen Wan District Council The Tsuen Wan District Council () is the district council for the Tsuen Wan District in Hong Kong. It is one of 18 such councils. The Tsuen Wan District Council currently consists of 22 members, of which the district is divided into two constit ...

, Tam was charged with in 2021 with subversion in

Hong Kong 47 The Hong Kong 47 is a group of 47 Pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong), pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under the 2020 Hong Kong national security law, Hong Kong national security law. On 6 January 2 ...

case.

Early career

After graduating from CNEC Christian College and from

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 ...

with Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, Tam first worked as a teacher in multiple schools, teaching biology, science, and computer science. Notable students include

Tommy Cheung Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, GBS, JP (, born 30 September 1949 in Hong Kong) is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), representing the Catering functional constituencies seats. He is a non-official member of the Executive Counc ...

, former spokesman of student activist group

Scholarism Scholarism was a Hong Kong pro-democracy camp, pro-democracyWilfred Chan and Yuli Yang, CNN]Echoing Tiananmen, 17-year-old Hong Kong student prepares for democracy battle 28 September 2014 student activist group active in the fields of Hong ...

Environmental activism

Dedicated in promoting environmental awareness, Tam co-founded and was the inaugural editor-in-chief of ''Green Post'', a campus media on environmental protection. He also founded two local environmental groups, Footprint and Green Sense, in 2002 and 2004 respectively. Tam, as the President of Green Sense, was well known for several clashes with government on urban planning, including housing development over wetlands, airport expansion, and reclamation. He was often interviewed on green issues, such as walled buildings, energy saving. In 2009 the group advocated 50-cent charge for disposable utensils after McDonald's Skip the Straw Day programme. However, Tam's environmental views was sometimes criticised as radical, such as recommending no escalators in metro stations and calling for boycotting

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

, and was branded by pundit Choy Chi-keung as "environmentalism Taliban" after Tam urged to cancel television programme Hole in the Wall for wasting

Styrofoam Styrofoam is a brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), manufactured to provide continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and as a water barrier. This material is light blue in ...

, and by others for his objection to

Ice Bucket Challenge The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving the pouring of a bucket of ice water over a person's head, either by another person or self-administered, to promote awareness of the disease amyo ...

Political career

Tam ran in the 2008 legislative election in Kowloon West constituency under the slogan "vote for a green Hong Kong". He supported

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

for both Chief Executive and Legislative Council elections, but claimed to be neither a democrat nor a conservative. Despite supported by

Civic Party The Civic Party (CP) was a pro-democracy camp, pro-democracy liberalism in Hong Kong, liberal political party from March 2006 to May 2023 in Hong Kong. The party was formed in 2006 on the basis of the Article 45 Concern Group, Basic Law Ar ...

and Democratic Party's New Territories East branch chairman, he was defeated by a large margin. Tam announced his intention to join the 2012 election, but abandoned his election plan citing illness. A localism supporter to reduce quota of Chinese

One-way Permit The Permit for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao, colloquially known as the One-way Permit, is a travel document issued by the Exit and Entry Administration of the People's Republic of China. This passport-size document is issued for its be ...

, Tam in 2013, along with various pro-democracy legislator and activists, initiated the anti- assimilation, anti-

communization Communization theory (or communisation theory in British English) refers to a tendency on the ultra-left that understands communism as a process that, in a social revolution, immediately begins to replace all capitalist social relations with ...

, anti- Leung movement, urging a stop to Chinese interference in Hong Kong and the resignation of Leung Chun-ying as Chief Executive. Tam also called on Taiwan to alert growing Chinese influence. Tam is also a supporter for

Taiwan independence Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of Chi ...

to preserve democratic institutions and defend local culture after he described Hong Kong's One Country, Two Systems as a failure. He further protested against the influx of Chinese migrants which overburdened Hong Kong's medical system. After being elected to the

in the new Ma Wan constituency in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Tam again intended to run in the 2016 legislative election for the pro-democracy

Neo Democrats The Neo Democrats was a pro-democracy, localist political group in Hong Kong composed mainly of former and disenchanted members of the Democratic Party New Territories East branch after the 2012 constitutional reform proposals. It had held ...

, but withdrew to take care of his ill wife. In 2019 amidst the large scale protest, Tam was re-elected in the District Council election in a landslide victory. Neo Democrats put Tam's name forward in the 2020 pro-democracy primaries, but was defeated with the least votes amongst the candidates. Tam was arrested in February 2021 for "subversion of state power" for running in the primaries and detained since then after bail denied by court. The case of which would be known as "

". He quit Neo Democrats and resigned from the District Council on 20 April 2021. He remanded in custody after the judge considered he "persistently reiterated his stance against the Hong Kong government".

Electoral performances

2008 legislative election

2015 local elections

2019 local elections

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tam, Roy Living people 1980 births Hong Kong pan-democrats Hong Kong environmentalists Alumni of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Neo Democrats politicians Political prisoners held by Hong Kong