Tiffany Yuen Ka-wai ( zh, link=no, t=袁嘉蔚; born 30 September 1993) is a Hong Kong activist and politician, who has been a member of the
Southern District Council
Southern District Council is the district council of Hong Kong, district council for the Southern District, Hong Kong, Southern District in Hong Kong. It is one of 18 such councils. The Southern District Council currently consists of 20 member ...
for
Tin Wan
Tin Wan ( zh, first=t,j, t=田灣) is an area at the south of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is at the west of Aberdeen and the east of Kellett Bay and Wah Fu Estate.
Housing
Tin Wan Estate is a public housing estate ( zh, t=田灣邨, labe ...
since 2020.
She was the vice chairperson of
Demosistō
Demosistō () was a pro-democracy political organisation established on 10 April 2016 as a political party. It was led by Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow – former leaders of Scholarism, along with Nathan Law, former secretary-general of the ...
before resigning from the party in 2018.
For her participation in the
2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries
The 2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries were held on 11 and 12 July 2020 for selecting the numbers of pro-democracy camp, pro-democracy candidates for the subsequently Postponement of the 2020 Hong Kong legislative election, postponed 2020 L ...
, she was
arrested in January 2021 along with over 50 other pro-democrats on national security charges and remains in jail as of October 2021.
Activism
Yuen was educated at the
City University of Hong Kong
The City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) is a public research university in Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and formally established as the City University of Hong Kong in 1994 ...
and graduated with a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in Chinese Language. She was dedicated to activism during her student life, including Yuen's participation in the
2013 Hong Kong dock strike
The 2013 Hong Kong dock strike was a 40-day labour strike at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminal. It was called by the Union of Hong Kong Dockers (UHKD), an affiliate of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) on 28 March 2013, agains ...
and the protests against the
North East New Territories New Development Areas Planning
The Hong Kong 2030: Planning Vision and Strategy (HK2030 Study) is a study group tasked with preparing a strategic land use planning framework for Hong Kong up to year 2030. The HK2030 Study aimed to provide strategic framework for future land use ...
. She was also committed to the
Umbrella Revolution
A series of sit-in street protests, often called the Umbrella Revolution and sometimes used interchangeably with Umbrella Movement, or Occupy Movement, occurred in Hong Kong from 26 September to 15 December 2014.
The protests began after t ...
in 2014.
After joining the
Demosistō
Demosistō () was a pro-democracy political organisation established on 10 April 2016 as a political party. It was led by Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow – former leaders of Scholarism, along with Nathan Law, former secretary-general of the ...
party in 2016, Yuen was elected
vice chairperson in 2017 and focused her efforts on
community outreach
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geog ...
. In light of Demosistō members losing their candidacy due to their promotion of "democratic self-determination", Yuen left the party in 2018 to continue her community services in
Tin Wan Estate
The following shows the public housing estates (including Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS), Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) and Sandwich Class Housing Scheme (SCHS)) in Pok Fu Lam, Aberdeen, Wong Chuk Hang ...
as an independent. Speaking of her departure, Yuen stated, "In a normal society, no election runner should be deprived of the right because of his political views." Subsequently, Yuen had found employment as an assistant to
pro-democracy
Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction.
Whether and to what ...
legislator
Au Nok-hin
Au Nok-hin ( zh, t=區諾軒; born 18 June 1987) is a Pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong), pro-democracy politician in Hong Kong. He is the former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Legislative Council for Hong Kong Island (constituency) ...
.
Yuen has a long history of championing equality,
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...
, and
LGBT rights in Hong Kong
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in Hong Kong (a special administrative region of China) may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents.
History
After the 1967 decriminalisation of homosexuality in the ...
. She was a panel speaker at Women's Festival Hong Kong in 2018 and 2019, the city's sole festival dedicated to womanhood. She spoke to the media condemning instances of
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...
and
police brutality
Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...
. Yuen was among the politicians who denounced the
homophobic
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
language used by lawmaker
Kwok Wai-keung. According to Yuen, these experiences of discrimination served as the motivation in her commitment to equality.
Political career
District Council
Yuen ran in the
2019 District Council election for the
Tin Wan
Tin Wan ( zh, first=t,j, t=田灣) is an area at the south of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is at the west of Aberdeen and the east of Kellett Bay and Wah Fu Estate.
Housing
Tin Wan Estate is a public housing estate ( zh, t=田灣邨, labe ...
constituency, where she pledged her commitment to improve the living conditions of the local residents.
Her opponent was the
pro-Beijing
The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp or pro-China camp is a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Beijing central government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) towards Hong Kong. The term " ...
incumbent Chan Fu-ming, who held his position since 2007 and remained uncontested until he was challenged by Yuen. On 25 November, she defeated Chan with 61.7% of the votes, earning Yuen a seat on the
Southern District Council
Southern District Council is the district council of Hong Kong, district council for the Southern District, Hong Kong, Southern District in Hong Kong. It is one of 18 such councils. The Southern District Council currently consists of 20 member ...
.
Legislative Council bid and arrest
In 2020, Yuen announced her intention to run in the
Hong Kong legislative election within the
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...
constituency. She was endorsed by former Demosistō chairman and legislator
Nathan Law
Nathan Law Kwun-chung ( zh, link=no, t=羅冠聰; born 13 July 1993) is a Hong Kong activist and politician. As a student leader, he was chairman of the Representative Council of the Lingnan University Students' Union (LUSU), acting preside ...
, who withdrew from the election and left Hong Kong in light of the
national security law that was passed. Yuen contested in the
pro-democracy primaries, where she emerged as the runner-up behind incumbent legislator
Ted Hui
Ted Hui Chi-fung ( zh, t=許智峯; born 8 June 1982) is a Hong Kong politician. He formerly represented the Chung Wan constituency in the Central and Western District Council, and was a Legislative Councillor for the Hong Kong Island const ...
of the
Democratic Party. She obtained 19,884 votes, representing 21.94% of the electorate, and secured a nomination spot in the general election.
On 27 July, Yuen fielded questions from the
returning officer to determine her eligibility to run in the election, an opaque process that nominally determined whether she had objected to the enactment of the
national security law, or was sincere in statements made disavowing
separatism
Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...
. As part of her response, Yuen took down an Instagram photo that displayed the words "
Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times". She had uploaded the photo earlier in January before the slogan was banned in July based on the national security law.
On 30 July, Yuen was told her election nomination was 'invalid', as one of a dozen pro-democracy candidates disqualified on the same day, including Demosistō founder
Joshua Wong
Joshua Wong Chi-fung (; born 13 October 1996) is a Hong Kong Pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong), pro-democracy activist and politician. He served as secretary-general of the pro-democracy party Demosisto, Demosistō until it disbanded following i ...
.
On 6 January 2021, Yuen was among 53 members of the pro-democratic camp who were
arrested
An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be Interroga ...
under the national security law, specifically its provision regarding alleged subversion. The group stood accused of the organisation of and participation in the July 2020 primaries. Yuen was released on bail on 7 January. On 28 February 2021, Yuen was arrested again and charged with "conspiring to subvert state power" along with 46 other activists and politicians under the national security law. She was denied bail on 12 March and has remained in prison since then.
On 6 May 2021, Yuen was sentenced to four months in prison for participating in an unauthorised assembly to mark the 2020 Tiananmen anniversary.
In September 2021, the
Correctional Services Department
The Correctional Services Department (CSD) is responsible for the management of prisoners and prisons in Hong Kong. The Commissioner of Correctional Services reports to the Secretary for Security.
History
Although the Chief Magistrate (now C ...
stated that it had quashed a protest of 18 inmates at the
Lo Wu Correctional Institution which had been in response to disciplinary action against six other inmates. According to news reports, Yuen was among the 18 protesters.
Personal life
Yuen was previously in a long-term relationship with Nathan Law. The two broke up in 2019, citing personality differences but remained on amicable terms.
In August 2020, Yuen launched a YouTube channel called "Faan Hou ABC" (番號ABC) with fellow activists Lily Wong and Ho Ka-yau. Their videos explore various topics related to
sex education
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...
and
sex positivity. As of February 2021, the channel has accumulated over 20,000 subscribers.
References
External links
Tiffany Yuen's channelon YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuen, Tiffany
1993 births
Living people
Hong Kong democracy activists
Hong Kong women activists
Hong Kong LGBTQ rights activists
Hong Kong localists
Hong Kong YouTubers
Demosistō politicians
District councillors of Southern District
Alumni of the City University of Hong Kong
Cantonese-language YouTube channels
Prisoners and detainees of Hong Kong
Women civil rights activists
Political prisoners held by Hong Kong