Tat Cheng

Cheng Tat-hung (Chinese: 鄭達鴻; born 20 October 1988) is a Hong Kong politician from the Civic Party.[1] He is a member of the Eastern District Council for Tanner since 2016.[2][3]

Tat Cheng
鄭達鴻
Cheng in 2020
Member of the Eastern District Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 January 2016
Preceded by	Desmond Lee
Constituency	Tanner
Personal details
Born	(1988-10-20) 20 October 1988 British Hong Kong
Citizenship	Hong Kong
Political party	Civic Party
Residence	Hong Kong
Alma mater	City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Tat Cheng
Traditional Chinese	鄭達鴻
Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Jyutping zeng6 daat6 hung4

Education

Cheng was educated at Cheung Chuk Shan College and St. Stephen's College. He graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a bachelor's degree in Social Policy and Administration.[4] In 2016, he began studying for a Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) degree at the City University of Hong Kong (CUHK).[5] Cheng's legal studies were concurrent with his duties as an active district councillor. According to Cheng, his intent for pursuing the doctoral degree was to equip himself with legal knowledge and earn the trust of his constituents.[6]

In 2018, Cheng completed his studies and graduated from the program with the JD designation.[7] In the following year, he began pursuing a Postgraduate Certificate in Laws at CUHK. This program allows graduates to qualify for representation as a barrister or solicitor in Hong Kong.[8] Cheng reiterated the value of legal knowledge after the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests commenced, stating that it can help protesters with obtaining bail and navigating the jurisdiction process.[9]

Political career

Civic Party

As a university student, Cheng began a two-month internship with the pan-democrat Civic Party in 2011.[10] After graduation, he officially joined the political party near the end of 2012.[9] Cheng became the chairman of the party's youth-oriented sector, also known as "Young Civics", in 2014.[11] He was the vice secretary-general of the party between 2016 and 2018.[12]

During his tenure with the Civic Party, Cheng was involved in community outreach initiatives within North Point.[10] He also made guest appearances on City Forum to give speeches and discuss local politics.[13]

Cheng participated in the 2016 Legislative Council election as the second candidate for Tanya Chan. Their ticket came in sixth place, thus securing Chan a seat in the Legislative Council.[14]

District Council

In the 2015 District Council election, Cheng ran in the Tanner constituency, which was previously held by veteran politician Desmond Lee. His opponent was Tsang Cheuk-yi from the pro-Beijing Liberal Party, who had the backing of Lee.[15] Cheng won the election with 53.4% of the vote, becoming the only pro-democracy Eastern District Councillor in North Point.[2][16]

Cheng was challenged by Tsang again for his district council seat in 2019. Cheng formed a pro-democracy alliance with local candidates in North Point and Fortress Hill, aimed to contest pro-establishment seats in the election.[17][18] On 25 November, he was re-elected after gaining 57.65% of the vote.[3] His pro-democracy alliance earned six district council positions out of seven prospective candidates.[19]

Legislative Council bid

In the 2020 Legislative Council election, Cheng was nominated by the Civic Party to run in the Hong Kong Island constituency.[20] He replaced incumbent Tanya Chan, who was barred from running due to her suspended sentence over the 2014 Occupy protests.[21] In July 2020, Cheng contested in the pro-democracy primaries, where he came in fourth place after Ted Hui, Tiffany Yuen, and Fergus Leung. With 11,090 votes, Cheng received 12.26% of the electorate and secured a nomination spot in the general election.[12]

On 25 July, Cheng fielded a series of questions from electoral officers, which challenged his eligibility in the upcoming election.[22][23] He was given 24 hours to clarify his stance on the national security law, as well as his views on international sanctions and allegiance to the Hong Kong Basic Law.[24][25] Civic Party members Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok, and Kwok Ka-ki, along with other pro-democracy candidates, also faced similar questioning.[26] On the next day, Cheng issued his response before the mandated deadline.[27]

On 30 July, it was announced that Cheng had been disqualified from running in the election.[28] His colleagues from the Civic Party, and other candidates from the pro-democracy camp, were also disqualified.[29]

References

1. "Cheng Tat Hung | 公民黨 - 公道自在民心 Civic Party - The Civic Way, The Fairer Way". www.civicparty.hk. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
2. "2015 District Councils Election - Election Results". www.elections.gov.hk. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
3. "2019 District Councils Election - Election Results (Eastern)". www.elections.gov.hk. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
4. "CHENG Tat Hung | 公民黨 - 公道自在民心 Civic Party - The Civic Way, The Fairer Way". www.civicparty.hk. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
5. "【立會選戰】公民黨港島接班有危機？鄭達鴻拒被抬轎：「俾我自己嚟一次」 | 獨媒報導". 香港獨立媒體網. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
6. 吳倬安 (2018-08-25). "【政壇諸事町】男神戴四方帽 鄭達鴻苦讀兩年 取得法律博士學位". 香港01 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-07-29.
7. "政情：法律博士暫唔執業 鄭達鴻寧搞政治". 東方日報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-07-29.
8. 吳倬安 (2019-09-28). "【區議會選舉2019】六素人搶攻北角建制堡壘 盼平反北角負面印象". 香港01 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-07-29.
9. "【抗暴一年】法律界新丁也參政 多線發展光復法治". Apple Daily 蘋果日報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-07-29.
10. "【地區政治系列】公民黨新星決以專業打進蛇齋餠糭腹地——專訪鄭達鴻 | 獨媒報導". 香港獨立媒體網. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
11. "年輕從政路 — 大坑「美女」區議員 對談 公民黨青年「男神」 | 全文轉載 | 立場新聞". 立場新聞 Stand News. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
12. "Hong Kong democrat primaries in full: Young 'localist resistance camp' come out on top". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
13. "影片名稱：《城市論壇 - 傘後區選‧新舊更替 劍指立會再有所為？" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-07-29.
14. "2016 Legislative Council Election - Election Result". www.elections.gov.hk. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
15. "【港島選戰】田少為曾卓兒站台鄭達鴻：對方財雄勢大會堅持到底". Apple Daily 蘋果日報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-07-29.
16. Pao, Ming. "建制票倉出線 公民黨鄭達鴻：證選民求變". www.mingpaocanada.com. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
17. "上屆北角七區自動當選 今屆素人同你選曬佢 | 獨媒報導". 香港獨立媒體網. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
18. "【區選光復香港●東區】5素人連同公民黨組「北炮同盟」 出征北角炮台山齊抗警暴". 蘋果日報 (香港). 2019-10-08.
19. "【光復區會】「北炮同盟」年輕人成功拔根 福建幫三大重鎮紅變黃". Apple Daily 蘋果日報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-07-29.
20. Wong, Rachel (2020-06-11). "Over 30 Hong Kong pro-democracy legislative election hopefuls vow to uphold protest demands". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
21. "公民黨8人選立會 不戰九西 超區未定". 明報 (香港). 2020-05-31.
22. "Hong Kong gov't grills 9 pro-democracy election hopefuls on political stance as candidates prepare for disqualification". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2020-07-26. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
23. Submission, Internal (2020-07-27). "China questionnaires fan fears of ban on Hong Kong candidates". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
24. "眾新聞 | 【選舉主任來信】公民黨4子、梁繼昌、4抗爭派 須回答4大類問題：外國制裁、反國安法、否決議案、港獨". 眾新聞 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-07-29.
25. "Poll hopefuls pledge an end to US sanction calls - RTHK". news.rthk.hk. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
26. "Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong says no more int'l lobbying as democrats reply to gov't election questions". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
27. "公民黨四人回覆選舉主任 稱無意尋求外國制裁香港 否決議案與選舉主任無關 | 立場報道 | 立場新聞". 立場新聞 Stand News. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
28. "Twelve pro-democracy figures barred from Legco poll - RTHK". news.rthk.hk. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
29. Press, Hong Kong Free (2020-07-30). "Hong Kong bans Joshua Wong and 11 other pro-democracy figures from legislative election". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 2020-07-30.

Political offices
Preceded by Desmond Lee	Member of Eastern District Council Representative for Tanner 2016–present	Incumbent
Party political offices
New title	Deputy Secretary-General of Civic Party 2016–2018	Succeeded by Daniel Wong