Mak Hoi-wah (; born 9 April 1951) is a Hong Kong politician, social worker and social activist. He was the member of the

Wong Tai Sin District Board The Wong Tai Sin District Council () is one of 18 such district councils in Hong Kong, representing the Wong Tai Sin District. The Wong Tai Sin District Council currently consists of 25 members, each elected from one of 25 constituencies. The l ...

and former vice-chairman of the

Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China ( zh, link=no, t=香港市民支援愛國民主運動聯合會; abbr. ; ) was a pro-democracy organisation that was established on 21 May 1989 in the then British col ...

. He is also a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Biography

Mak was born in China in 1951. He was educated at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...

. During his student life, he and other liberal-minded students formed a cabinet to run against the "nationalist" faction which was dominated the

Hong Kong University Students' Union The Hong Kong University Students' Union (HKUSU; ) was a students' union in Hong Kong registered under the Societies Ordinance founded in 1912. It was the officially recognized undergraduate students' association of the University of Hong Kong ...

along with

Albert Ho Albert Ho Chun-yan (; born 1 December 1951) is a solicitor and politician in Hong Kong. He is the former chairman (2014–2019) and vice-chair (2019–2021) of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, and f ...

in 1974. He graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Philosophy and Political Science. He furthered his study in Social Work at the university and graduated with a master's degree in 1978. In 1994 Mak received a

Postgraduate Certificate in Laws The Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL; 法學專業證書) is an intensive one-year full-time (or two-year part-time) professional legal qualification programme in Hong Kong. It allows graduates to proceed to legal training before qualifyi ...

from the

City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong (CityU) is a world-class public research university located in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. Currently, CityU is ...

. In 1988, he became a lecturer at the Department of Applied Social Studies of the City University of Hong Kong. He had also been Council member of the City University of Hong Kong. Mak was also involved in social activism in grassroots level during and after his student life. In 1975 he joined the

Society for Community Organization The Society for Community Organization (SoCO) () is a non-governmental and human rights advocacy group in Hong Kong. The group was founded in 1971 by church members. It is also financially supported by donations from various churches, overseas f ...

(SoCO) and subsequently became its chairman from 1988 to 1992. From 1978 to 1982 he acted as the Centre Supervisor for the Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council and became its coordinator in 1982. He was responsible for the Community Development Project, serving the

Diamond Hill Diamond Hill is a hill in the east of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The name also refers to the area on or adjacent to the hill. It is surrounded by Ngau Chi Wan, San Po Kong, Wong Tai Sin and Tsz Wan Shan. Its northeast is limited by the ridge. It is p ...

squatters. In 1980, he helped founding the

Hong Kong Social Workers' General Union Hong Kong Social Workers' General Union (HKSWGU) is a trade union for the social workers in Hong Kong. It was established in 1980. The current president, Cheung Kwok-che is the member in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is one of the trade ...

and served as its president from 1980 to 1988. In 1993 he received a

Badge of Honour The Badge of Honour, accompanied by the King's Certificate and Badge of Honour, is a civil award previously presented by the governments of British colonies and protectorates, and now by British Overseas Territories, to recognise loyal and valua ...

for his contributions. Mak first became an appointed member of the

in 1982. In 1986, he served on the

Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law Consultative Committee (BLCC; 香港基本法諮詢委員會) was an official body established in 1985 to canvass views in Hong Kong on the drafts of the Hong Kong Basic Law. Background The f ...

where he called for a democratic political system. In 1989, he was involved in the Tiananmen protests and became a founding member of the

and had served as its vice-chairman. In 1990, he and other pro-democrats founded the

United Democrats of Hong Kong The United Democrats of Hong Kong (; UDHK) was a short-lived political party in Hong Kong founded in 1990 as the united front of the liberal democracy forces in preparation of the 1991 first ever direct election for the Legislative Council of ...

and became its central committee member and after it was transformed into the

. He ran several times in the Legislative Council elections, first time in 1985 through the

Social Services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

functional constituency A functional constituency is an electoral device (a non-geographical constituency) used within the political systems of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China: * Functional constituency (Hong Kong) * Functional cons ...

but was defeated by

Hui Yin-fat Hui Yin-fat, OBE, JP (; 28 April 1936 – 7 December 2016) was a Hong Kong social worker and politician. He was a long-time director of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and was elected member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong ...

; second time in 1995 in Kowloon Northeast constituency against

Chan Yuen-han Chan Yuen-han, SBS, JP (; born 16 November 1946 in Baoan, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China) is a former member of Hong Kong Legislative Council and a noted Hong Kong female trade unionist. She is the vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Federation ...

of the

pro-Beijing The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp, pro-government camp or pro-China camp refers to a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Beijing central government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) t ...

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is a pro-Beijing conservative political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Starry Lee and holding 13 Legislative Council seats, it is currently the largest party in the l ...

(DAB) but was again defeated. He ran again in 1998 as a third candidate on the Democratic Party's

Kowloon East Kowloon East is the eastern part of Kowloon, covering the Wong Tai Sin District, Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong District, with Kowloon City District occasionally included. History The boundary of Kowloon East is not strictly defined and hence varies ...

ticket and was not elected. From 2007, he has been member of the

Election Committee The Election Committee is a Hong Kong electoral college, the function of which is to select the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, to elect 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong ...

through Social Welfare sub-sector.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mak, Hoi-wah 1951 births Living people Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Alumni of the City University of Hong Kong Academic staff of the City University of Hong Kong Chinese democracy activists Hong Kong democracy activists Hong Kong social workers District councillors of Wong Tai Sin District United Democrats of Hong Kong politicians Democratic Party (Hong Kong) politicians Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee members Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2007–2012 Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2012–2017 Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2017–2021