Cheng Chung-tai
Cheng Chung-tai (Chinese: 鄭松泰; born 5 November 1983) is a Hong Kong academic, social activist, and politician. In the 2016 legislative election, he won a seat in the New Territories West constituency. He took over Wong Yeung-tat's position as the chairman of Civic Passion after his electoral victory.
Cheng Chung-tai | |
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鄭松泰 | |
Member of the Legislative Council | |
Assumed office 1 October 2016 | |
Preceded by | Lee Cheuk-yan |
Constituency | New Territories West |
Chairman of Civic Passion | |
Assumed office 5 September 2016 | |
Preceded by | Wong Yeung-tat |
Personal details | |
Born | Hong Kong | 5 November 1983
Nationality | Chinese (Hong Kong) (1997–) |
Political party | Civic Passion |
Alma mater | Hong Kong Polytechnic University (BA) Peking University (PhD) |
Occupation | Academic |
Signature |
Cheng Chung-tai | |||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 鄭松泰 | ||||||||
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Biography
Cheng obtained his bachelor's degree from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and doctoral degree from the Peking University.
He is a member of the localist group Civic Passion and participated in the anti-parallel trading protests in 2015. In the 2015 local election, Cheng represented the Civic Passion to run against pro-democratic Democratic Party incumbent Albert Ho in Lok Tsui, where he secured 391 votes, while Ho lost his seat to a pro-Beijing candidate Junius Ho by a margin of 277 votes.[1]
In the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election, Cheng represented the Civic Passion to run in the New Territories West. He took over Wong Yeung-tat's position as the leader of Civic Passion after his electoral victory.[2]
In 2017, Cheng was convicted and fined for the offence of flag desecration. He had turned some miniature Chinese and Hong Kong flags upside-down, flags that pro-Beijing legislators had placed on their desks in the Legislative Council chamber in 2016. They had been handed out by Edward Lau to his pro-Beijing colleagues as a reminder that the "country should be respected".[3] Cheng regarded the flags as "cheap patriotic acts" and alleged that the pro-Beijing bloc was ignoring issues of actual importance to Hong Kong people.[4] Lau subsequently called the police to report Cheng for flag desecration.[3] On 29 September 2017, the Eastern Magistrates' Court found Cheng guilty and fined him $5,000.[5] Lau subsequently complained that the punishment was too lenient, and referred to previous sentences of imprisonment for the same offence.[3]
On 31 August 2019, Cheng was one of several prominent democrats targeted in sweeping arrests made by police that day.[6]
Academic career
From 2012 to 2018, Cheng has served as a teaching fellow at the Department of Applied Social Sciences at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.[7] He teaches classes on Hong Kong society, Chinese society, and popular culture.[8]
In 2016, he was criticised by Kaizer Lau, a member of the governing council of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for supporting and organising violent protests and advocating for Hong Kong independence. Lau also called for the non-renewal of the employment contract of Cheng.[9]
Cheng lost this position on 30 June 2018 as his teaching contract had not been renewed by the university. He quoted a disciplinary letter from the university as stating: "Your conduct and convictions are inconsistent with the university’s commitment to quality education and aspiration to embrace internationalisation".[10] He alleged that the university's actions were "political persecution" and were unrelated to his teaching performance.[8]
See also
References
- "Election Results". Electoral Affairs Commission.
- "黃洋達辭任熱血領導 黃毓民:樹敵多累選情". AM730. 6 September 2016.
- Cheung, Karen (29 September 2017). "HK$5,000 fine for lawmaker who flipped flags 'not a sufficient warning', says pro-Beijing legislator". Hong Kong Free Press.
- Cheng, Kris (12 April 2017). "Hong Kong lawmaker arrested and charged after flipping flags at legislative meeting". Hong Kong Free Press.
- Cheung, Karen (29 September 2017). "Civic Passion lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai found guilty of 'desecrating' flags during legislative session". Hong Kong Free Press.
- Grundy, Tom (30 August 2019). "Hong Kong lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai arrested in round-up of pro-democracy figures". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- "Dr.CHENG Chung Tai 鄭松泰博士". The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Archived from the original on 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- Ng, Naomi (12 January 2018). "Hong Kong lecturer decries 'political persecution' after Polytechnic University lets him go over Chinese flag desecration". South China Morning Post.
- Cheng, Kris (21 April 2016). "CY Leung ally posts 26-point criticism of localist academic on PolyU's 'democracy wall'". Hong Kong Free Press.
- Tong, Elson (13 January 2018). "Lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai's Poly U teaching contract not renewed after flag-turning conviction". Hong Kong Free Press.
Legislative Council of Hong Kong | ||
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Preceded by Lee Cheuk-yan |
Member of Legislative Council Representative for New Territories West 2016–present |
Incumbent |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by Wong Yeung-tat as Leader of Civic Passion |
Chairman of Civic Passion 2016–present |
Incumbent |
Order of precedence | ||
Preceded by Lau Kwok-fan Member of the Legislative Council |
Hong Kong order of precedence Member of the Legislative Council |
Succeeded by Roy Kwong Member of the Legislative Council |