Shiu Ka-chun
邵家臻
Member of the Legislative Council
In office
1 October 2016 – 1 December 2020
Preceded byCheung Kwok-che
Succeeded byTik Chi-yuen (2022)
ConstituencySocial Welfare
Personal details
Born1970 (age 53–54)
Hong Kong
Alma materHong Kong Baptist University
ProfessionSocial worker
Signature
Shiu Ka-chun
Chinese邵家臻

Shiu Ka-chun (Chinese: 邵家臻; born 1970) is a Hong Kong social worker and activist, and a former lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University. He was one of leaders in the 2014 Hong Kong protests. In 2016, he was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong through the Social Welfare functional constituency. Shiu resigned along with 14 other remaining pro-democracy legislators from the Legislative Council on 11 November 2020, after the central government had unseated four of pro-democracy legislators the same day.

Biography

Shiu is a social worker and activist, and a former lecturer and associate director of the Centre for Youth Research and Practice at Hong Kong Baptist University.[1]

He participated in social movements and some illegal protests, including in the 2014 Hong Kong protests, a 79-day-long protest against the Beijing government's restrictions on the electoral method of choosing the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. He was one of the core members, along with the Occupy Central trio, Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man and Chu Yiu-ming. He voluntarily reported to police after the trio and Cardinal Joseph Zen had done the same, towards the end of the Occupy event in early December 2014.[2]

In 2016, he was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong through the Social Welfare functional constituency.

On 24 April 2019, Shiu was sentenced to eight months in prison after having been convicted, two weeks earlier, of public nuisance charges in relation to the protests in 2014.[3] The following day, Shiu was taken to hospital due to an irregular heartbeat. Having recovered from a successful angioplasty procedure, Shiu was transferred to prison by 7 May; his application for leave of absence to attend Legislative Council meetings was refused by prison authorities.[4] After his release, Shiu was advised by Hong Kong Baptist University in late July 2020 that his contract as lecturer would not be renewed beyond August. Pointing to his excellent evaluations in teaching by students and the department head, Shiu said that the decision had "totally been a matter of political persecution".[5]

On 11 November 2020, Shiu resigned from the Legislative Council together with 14 remaining pro-democratic legislators in protest over the unseating of four pro-democratic legislators through a ruling by the central government on the same day.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ Lam, Oiwan (30 March 2021). "How Hong Kong lost its academic freedom in 2020". Global Voices. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  2. ^ Buckley, Chris; Wong, Alan (3 December 2014). "3 Hong Kong Protest Leaders Turn Themselves In". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  3. ^ Chan, Holmes (24 April 2019). "Hong Kong's leading Umbrella Movement activists handed jail sentences". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  4. ^ Chan, Holmes (7 May 2019). "Convicted Umbrella Movement activists Tanya Chan and Shiu Ka-chun in recovery after medical procedures". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Shiu loses job as Baptist University lecturer". RTHK. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  6. ^ "HK pro-democracy MPs quit in protest". The Australian / AFP. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  7. ^ Kuo, Lily; Davidson, Helen (11 November 2020). "'An own goal': experts question resignation of Hong Kong lawmakers". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
Legislative Council of Hong Kong Preceded byCheung Kwok-che Member of Legislative Council Representative for Social Welfare2016–2020 Succeeded byTik Chi-yuen
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