Horace Cheung Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Horace Cheung
Native Name Lang:zh-hk
Honorific-Suffix:JP
Office:Deputy Secretary for Justice
Term Start:1 July 2022
Predecessor:Position established
Office1:Non-Official Member of the Executive Council
Term Start1:1 July 2017
Term End1:30 June 2022
Appointed1:Carrie Lam
Office2:Vice-Chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong
Term Start2:24 April 2011
Term End2:18 June 2022
Predecessor2:Carson Wen
1Blankname2:Chairman
1Namedata2:Tam Yiu-chung
Starry Lee
Office3:Member of the Legislative Council
Term Start3:1 January 2022
Term End3:18 June 2022
Constituency3:Election Committee
Predecessor3:New constituency
Successor3:Chan Wing-kwong
Term Start4:1 October 2016
Term End4:31 December 2021
Predecessor4:Christopher Chung
Successor4:Constituency abolished
Constituency4:Hong Kong Island
Office5:Member of the Central and Western District Council
Constituency5:Sai Wan
Term Start5:1 January 2012
Term End5:31 December 2019
Predecessor5:Chan Tak-chor
Successor5:Pang Ka-ho
Birth Date:30 June 1974
Birth Place:Hong Kong
Party:Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB)
Residence:North Point, Hong Kong
Alma Mater:TWGH Yau Tze Tin Memorial College
City University of Hong Kong
Occupation:Solicitor
Politician
Order:ts
T:張國鈞
S:张国钧
J:Zoeng1 Gwok3 kwan1
Y:Jēung Gwok kwān
P:Zhāng Guójūn

Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan, JP (born 30 June 1974) is a Hong Kong solicitor and politician and the former vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the largest pro-Beijing party in Hong Kong. He was elected to Legislative Council of Hong Kong in 2016 through the Hong Kong Island constituency, and re-elected in 2021 through the Election Committee constituency. He is the current Deputy Secretary for Justice.

Career

Cheung graduated from the City University of Hong Kong with a bachelor's degree in law and is a partner of Cheung & Yeung solicitors. He joined the DAB in 2000 and worked closely with the then party chairman Ma Lik as the vice-chairman of the Wan Chai branch, party of Ma's Hong Kong Island constituency. He took in charge of the party's 800-member youth wing when it was created in 2004. With his young age with professional background, Cheung is a high-flier in the party.[1] In 2011, he became the vice-chairman of the DAB.

He contested in the 2003 District Council elections in Stubbs Road but was defeated. In the 2004 Legislative Council elections, he was placed in the DAB list behind Ma Lik and Choy So-yuk and was not elected. In 2008 Legislative Council elections, he was placed the fourth behind Tsang Yok-sing, Choy So-yuk and Christopher Chung and did not get elected. In 2011 District Council elections, he won a seat in Sai Wan constituency in the Central and Western District Council by 24 votes against a Democratic Party candidate. He was elected to the Election Committee in the Election Committee sub-sector elections through the Urban District Councils Sub-sector in 2011. He lost his seat in the 2019 District Council elections.[2]

He has been appointed to various public positions including membership on the Administrative Appeals Board, Buildings Appeal Tribunal Panel, Central Policy Unit, Estate Agents Authority, Long Term housing Strategy Steering Committee, Standing Committee on Disciplined Services Salaries and Conditions of Service and Steering Committee on the regulation of the sale of first-hand residential properties by legislation. He is member of the Disciplinary and Investigate Panels of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA).

He was elected to Legislative Council of Hong Kong in 2016 through the Hong Kong Island constituency.

In April 2021, Cheung criticized the Hong Kong Bar Association, and said that the group had commented too often on political issues.[3]

On 18 June 2022, he resigned from the Legislative Council and the DAB to become the Deputy Secretary for Justice.[4]

In December 2022, Cheung said that asking the NPCSC to interpret Hong Kong's national security law is the "healthiest way" for the legal system to develop, after the government appealed to Beijing to block Jimmy Lai from using UK lawyer Tim Owen.[5]

In February 2023, after a trip to the Middle East, Cheung said that no government officials or business leaders asked him about the national security law, and said that those in the Middle East "are not easily swayed by inaccurate or incorrect information."[6]

Personal life

In September 2022, Cheung tested positive for COVID-19.[7]

References

HKEX:

Notes and References

  1. News: THE DAB: Horace Cheung, Starry Lee. 2 December 2006. Denise. Hung. South China Morning Post.
  2. Web site: 2019 District Councils Election – Election Results (Sha Tin). Government of Hong Kong.
  3. Web site: Pro-government figures say legal sector's self-regulatory rights should be revoked if professional groups turn political | Apple Daily. 2021-04-08. Apple Daily 蘋果日報. zh-hk. 8 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210408011550/https://hk.appledaily.com/news/20210408/I5TKQU4MQBAU7OPTOU2RCDY27Y/. dead.
  4. Web site: Horace Cheung quits DAB before joining govt - RTHK . 2022-06-24 . news.rthk.hk . en-gb.
  5. Web site: 2022-12-10 . Hong Kong deputy minister backs request for national security law interpretation . 2022-12-10 . South China Morning Post . en.
  6. Web site: Lee . Peter . 2023-02-10 . Middle East charm offensive 'fruitful' says Hong Kong's John Lee, as deputy justice sec. says no one asked about security law . 2023-02-12 . Hong Kong Free Press HKFP . en-GB.
  7. Web site: Standard . The . Deputy justice minister Horace Cheung catches Covid . 2022-09-02 . The Standard . en.