Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung
Vice-chairman of the Labour Party, Dr. Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung is known as “Longhair of the Social Service Sector,” thanks to his dedication to fighting social injustice in Hong Kong. He speaks to Yannie Chan about his role in mediating the political clashes in Mong Kok, and his hopes for the ongoing civil disobedience campaign.
I was born in Macau. My parents were working in Hong Kong at the time and I joined them at the age of 7.
My grandmother named me Fernando. She was born in Peru and only spoke Spanish.
There used to be no degree for social work. I graduated with a diploma. I wanted to study further, and I got a PhD at Berkeley.
As an immigrant [in the US], I felt the challenges minority groups face in society. Many immigrants from China lived inside a bubble. They stayed in Chinatown and didn’t interact much with mainstream society. Asians didn’t have a say in public policy.
I was head of the Oakland Chinese Community Council. One thing I worked on was to promote minorities’ participation in government census, which has direct implications on how federal funding is spent. Traditionally, Chinese people do not like to participate in the census.
The local government set September 13 as Dr. Fernando Cheung’s Day. It was the day I left the council to move back to Hong Kong. I don’t think I deserve it.
My second daughter is severely disabled, and it was difficult for my wife and me to take care of our children. We decided to move back so we would have more family around to help.
I went into politics because of the city’s big income gap. Even though the United States has one of the worst wealth gaps among developed countries, the lifestyles of cleaners and security guards aren’t that far off from those of the middle class.
But in Hong Kong, it’s like heaven and hell.
The Legislative Council is a facade. I thought that it would have the power to monitor the government and influence the sector that I represented, but no, it was all a lie.
The government was so arrogant that when I wanted to arrange for people with disabilities to meet with officials, they just said no. They didn’t even offer an explanation.
I was called “Longhair of the Social Service Sector.” I was seen as a bad boy because I even challenged the establishment within the social service sector, saying that they have been too obedient to the government.
The catchline of my campaign is to ask people to be more rebellious.
I am actually a very mild and moderate person. I am part of the establishment. I teach at a university—how radical could I be? I would be labeled as a radical only in a radically unjust and conservative society.
I stayed at the Mong Kok protest areas with [Legco councillor] Claudia Mo for several nights. I wanted to protect the movement. Things were incredibly intense after the police hit protesters with batons. Both sides were geared up—the police with shields and batons, and protesters with water bottles—and were ready to charge.
I stood between the two groups and urged them to calm down.
The police have to give us legislators some face. We managed to bring the level of hostility down.
Some protesters berated me, but most people thanked and supported us.
I’m most worried about the movement spinning out of the control. Some people are stirring up trouble. Some police officers are also obviously filled with hatred. That’s dangerous because they possess public authority to exercise violence.
The Umbrella Movement is a miracle. The self-discipline of protesters is amazing. It’s like we have built a utopia down there at Occupy.
It has certainly affected the daily lives of some Hongkongers, and we can talk about reducing the protest area and opening up Civic Square.
Many wonder if it’s time for the protesters to retreat, but the responsibility is ultimately on the government.
As a lawmaker, I have to tackle too many issues. I wish I could close in on one issue and go deeper. I would pick disability rights, because of my second daughter.
I feel very powerless as a father. There is no training required for instructors at daycare centers. On the other hand, trained social workers don’t work directly with the community and have to deal with a lot of administrative work. It’s a very backward system.
People who don’t know a thing about social service are in charge, and it takes years to educate them. The new commissioner for rehabilitation used to work at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Shanghai, and she has no background in rehabilitation. I have to teach her from scratch.
I get to visit luxury houses and the homes of senior government officials. I also regularly visit subdivided flats. These unfair scenes keep me motivated.
I don’t believe in God. I’m too proud. I won’t surrender myself. I believe there’s a wider force. Maybe it’s God, but I can’t make that leap of faith. I need to rely on myself.
