Tommy Cheung

Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, GBS, JP (Chinese: 張宇人, born 30 September 1949 in Hong Kong) is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), representing the Catering functional constituencies seats. He is a non-official member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and the current chairman of the Liberal Party.

The Honourable Tommy Cheung Yu-yan GBS, JP
張宇人
Chairman of the Liberal Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 October 2016
Leader	Felix Chung
Preceded by	Felix Chung
Non-official Member of the Executive Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 November 2016
Appointed by	Leung Chun-ying Carrie Lam
Member of the Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 October 2000
Preceded by	New constituency
Constituency	Catering
Personal details
Born	(1949-09-30) 30 September 1949 British Hong Kong
Political party	Liberal Party
Alma mater	Diocesan Boys' School Pepperdine University (BSc, M.B.A.)
Occupation	Businessman politician

Tommy Cheung
Traditional Chinese	張宇人
Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jēung Yúh yàhn Jyutping Zoeng^1 Jyu^5 jan^4

Career

He graduated from the Diocesan Boys' School and Pepperdine University.[1] He was previously a member of the Eastern District Council. He is a businessman, chairman of a trading and investment company,[2] and a member of the Diocesan Boys' School school committee.[3]

Legislative Councillor

In late 2005, when there were strong concerns regarding a potential "bird flu" pandemic, Cheung became "an outspoken opponent of migratory birds". He stated that migrating birds were the source of the pandemic threat.[4]

On 20 March 2010, after Cheung suggested a minimum wage of HK$20/hour, he became the subject of insults and derision from some quarters, nicknamed "$20 Cheung".[5]

During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Cheung spoke out against the government's extension of mandatory social distancing measures. He complained that his constituents were suffering due to mandatory closures of some types of businesses, such as bars and karaoke centres, and accused the government of "not understanding economics".[6]

Chairman of the Liberal Party

Cheung was elected Liberal Party's new chairman after the 2016 Legislative Council election in October. The new leadership was seen as more moderate and conservative with less vocal anti-Leung Chun-ying (pro-government, but anti-Leung) stance.[7] Cheung was subsequently appointed by Leung to the Executive Council.[8] Cheung is reappointed by Carrie Lam to the Executive Council on 1 July 2017.

Cheung voted against paternity leave when it was introduced to the Employment Ordinance in 2015. In 2018, he opposed the Hong Kong government proposal to increase statutory paternity leave from three days to five, claiming the benefit itself should not even exist, as demands for more would be "never-ending". Cheung said that "back in the 1980s" there was no legally mandated paternal leave, but many companies would still grant "white days" for funerals and "red days" for auspicious events such as births and marriages without the need for "inflexible" labour laws requiring them to do so. Cheung's remarks attracted a lot of criticism, including Ng Chau-pei of the pro-Beijing Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions described Cheung as taking part in a "barbaric form of capitalism".[9] Another Executive Councillor, New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip agreed members should avoid publicly criticising the government.[10]

References

1. Profile of Tommy Cheung Archived 5 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
2. Hon Tommy CHEUNG Yu-yan, SBS, JP Archived 26 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
3. An official list of DBS school committee members
4. Hong Kong Standard. ""Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)." Wetland migratory birds not to blame, say experts. Retrieved on 21 June 2012.
5. South China Morning Post. "SCMP." Young critics heckle Liberal lawmaker. Retrieved on 5 April 2010.
6. "Lawmaker blasts govt for extending Covid-19 curbs". RTHK. 21 April 2020.
7. "是否繼續「ABC」反梁 自由黨鬧分歧". HK01. 7 October 2016.
8. "Hong Kong leader appoints two new cabinet members just four months from leadership race". South China Morning Post. 25 November 2016.
9. "Mandatory paternity leave for Hongkongers a mistake as city has dire shortage of workers, pro-establishment lawmaker says". South China Morning Post. 9 August 2018.
10. "Hong Kong lawmaker who called mandatory paternity leave a mistake criticised by colleagues for attacking government plan". South China Morning Post. 11 August 2018.

External links

• Official site of Tommy Cheung

Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Preceded by Ambrose Cheung as Representative for Urban Council	Member of Legislative Council Representative for Catering 2000–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Emily Lau	Chairman of Finance Committee 2012–2013	Succeeded by Ng Leung-sing
Preceded by Ng Leung-sing	Chairman of Finance Committee 2014–2015	Succeeded by Chan Kin-por
Party political offices
Preceded by Selina Chow	Vice-Chairperson of the Liberal Party 2008–2010 Served alongside: Vincent Fang	Succeeded by Selina Chow
Preceded by Felix Chung	Chairman of the Liberal Party 2016–present	Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded by Ip Kwok-him Member of the Executive Council	Hong Kong order of precedence Member of the Executive Council	Succeeded by Martin Liao Member of the Executive Council