Chan Kam-chuen, (; 15 June 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an appointed member of the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...

from 1980 to 1988.

Career

Chan was born in Hong Kong and attended the

La Salle College La Salle College (LSC) (, Demonym: Lasallian) is a boys' secondary school in Hong Kong. It was established in 1932 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Roman Catholic religious teaching order founded by St. John Ba ...

. His study was interrupted by the

Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surr ...

from 1941 to 1945. After the war, he began his working career at the

Cable & Wireless PLC Cable & Wireless plc was a British telecommunications company. In the mid-1980s, it became the first company in the UK to offer an alternative telephone service to British Telecom (via subsidiary Mercury Communications). The company later off ...

. He set up the Cable and Wireless Staff Association in 1970 and became one of its leaders until 1975. The association negotiated with the company and successfully gained the

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

. In April 1973 when Chan was the chairman and deliberately demoted, the association called for

work-to-rule Work-to-rule (also known as an Italian strike, in Italian: ''Sciopero bianco'', or Slowdown in US usag is a job action in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of their contract or job, and strictly follow time-con ...

and made the company agree to negotiate. When the negotiation broke down in October, the association called for a

go-slow A slowdown (British English, UK: go-slow) is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. A slowdown may be used as either a prelude or an altern ...

and

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

and the company dismissed 53 workers which made the association going back to the negotiation table. The incident probably led to the introduction of the "cooling off period". Until the end of 1973 both sides agreed to hook the workers' wage to the civil servants. Chan began to be appointed by the government in various public offices. In 1980, he was appointed by Governor

Murray MacLehose Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, (; 16 October 1917 – 27 May 2000), was a British politician, diplomat and the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. He was the longest-serving governor of the colony, with four ...

to the Legislative Council, to replace the vacant seat left by Leung Tat-shing of the

Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council The Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council is the third largest trade union federation in Hong Kong, after the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) and pro-Beijing Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labou ...

. Before he was appointed to the council, he was made

Justice of Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. He became the special Adviser to director for the Cable & Wireless PLC and director of the Hong Kong Telephone Co. Ltd. and

Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC; ) is a Hong Kong wholly government-owned railway and land asset manager. It was established in 1982 under the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Ordinance for the purposes of operating the Kowloon– ...

later on. He also held many public positions, including member of Green Mini-bus Operators Selection Board, Fish Marketing Advisory Board, Fisheries Development Loan Fund Advisory Committee, Labour Advisory Board, Public Accounts Committee, Transport Advisory Committee,

Vocational Training Council The Vocational Training Council (VTC) is the largest vocational education, training and professional development group in Hong Kong. Established in 1982, the VTC provides valuable credentials for some 250,000 students each year through a ful ...

, Working Group of the Transport Advisory Committee on

China Motor Bus The China Motor Bus Company, Limited (), often abbreviated as CMB, is a property developer in Hong Kong. Before its franchise lapsed in 1998, it was the first motor bus operator in Hong Kong, and was responsible for the introduction of double-de ...

Maintenance, UMELCO Police Group. He was also chairman of the Correctional Services Children's Education Committee and the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund Board.

Sino-British agreement

Before the British prime minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

's visit to Beijing to discuss the sovereignty of Hong Kong after 1997, Chan with

Chung Sze-yuen Sir Sze-yuen Chung, (; 3 November 1917 – 14 November 2018), often known as Sir S.Y. Chung, was a Hong Kong politician and businessman who served as a Senior Member of the Executive and Legislative Councils during the 1970s and 1980s in ...

and also

Li Fook-wo Li Fook-wo, CBE, BS, MCS, Hon. LLD, Hon. DSSc, FCIB, FHKIB, JP (26 September 1916 – 4 July 2014) was a Hong Kong politician and banker. He was the Chief Manager of the Bank of East Asia, his family business, and also unofficial member ...

and

Lydia Dunn Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...

were the delegates of the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Council flew to London and reflect the views of Hong Kong people. On the debate of the

Sino-British Joint Declaration The Sino-British Joint Declaration is a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after ...

in October 1984, Chan and

John Joseph Swaine Sir John Joseph Swaine, (Traditional Chinese: 施偉賢爵士, 22 April 1932 – 7 August 2012) was the President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1993 to 1995. A barrister by training, Swaine was an appointed and unofficial m ...

were the only members of the Legislative Council abstained from voting for the draft agreement. He expressed his reasons: Chan was awarded the Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in June 1984 and was reappointed to the Legislative Council after the first general election of the Legislative Council in 1985. he served as the chairman of the

after Francis Tien. Chan was the only appointed member who against the amendment of the

Public Order Ordinance The Public Order Ordinance () () (’POO’) is a piece of primary legislation in Hong Kong. It codifies a number of old common law public order offences. It imposes notification requirements for public processions and meetings which resemble a ...

to extend the charge to news media in 1986. He also opposed the government's decision on turning down the demand for direct election in 1988 and protest by walking out the chamber after his speech, stating that "I have to walk out on the two days' debate on the White Paper to reflect adequately the anger, and frustration of the majority outside this Chamber, be they vocal or silent" and becoming the first Legislative Council member to do so in Hong Kong history. He was not appointed again after the 1988 Legislative Council election. He later emigrated to Canada. He died on 6 February 2017 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, aged 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Kam-chuen 1925 births 2017 deaths Hong Kong Christians Hong Kong trade unionists Hong Kong emigrants to Canada Hong Kong justices of the peace Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Cranfield University HK LegCo Members 1985–1988