Chan Chak-to (; born 1984) is a Hong Kong politician and activist. He is known to be his outright pro- Hong Kong independence stance and his active involvement in the electoral politics as a localist. He is currently the convenor of the district-based

Kowloon East Community Kowloon East Community is a localist political group formed in late 2014 in Hong Kong by a group of netizens on the online forum Hong Kong Golden Forum who were inspired by 2014 Occupy protests. It focuses on livelihood issues in Kwun Tong D ...

, which commands one seat in the District Councils.

Early life and activism

Chan was born in Hong Kong in 1984 to a single parent. His mother single-handedly raised him and his two sisters as his father died before he was born. He was educated at the Sing Yin Secondary School and studied Computer Engineering at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university and ...

. He went to Australia through a working holiday scheme for a year before he worked as an engineer at the

Hong Kong Disneyland Hong Kong Disneyland () (local nickname ''HKDL''; also known as HK Disneyland) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and it is owned and managed by Hong Ko ...

. He was first arrested for rehearing the Occupy Central plan in the 2014 July 1 protest among the total number of 511 protesters. In the massive

2014 Hong Kong protests A series of sit-in street protests, often called the Umbrella Revolution and sometimes used interchangeably with Umbrella Movement, or Occupy Movement, occurred in Hong Kong from 26 September to 15 December 2014. The protests began after t ...

, he and other netizens from the

Hong Kong Golden Forum The HKGolden (Hong Kong Golden Forum; ) is an Internet forum for topics related to computer hardware and software among Internet users in Hong Kong in the early 2000s. HKGolden has become an Internet community. The forum is a part of HKGolden.co ...

formed the district-based

and planned to run in the 2015 District Council elections, the first election after the historic protest.

Electoral politics

The Community filled in three candidates in the Kwun Tong District Council, in which Chan ran in the Hong Lok against the pro-Beijing incumbent Ma Yat-chiu. He received 1,525 votes, narrowly defeated by 99 votes, while another member Wong Chin-ken ousted the incumbent Fung Kam-yuen in Lok Wah North. In the 2016 Legislative Council election, Kowloon East Community formed the localist electoral alliance " ALLinHK" with Youngspiration, Tin Shui Wai New Force,

Cheung Sha Wan Community Establishment Power Cheung Sha Wan Community Establishment Power () was a local political group based in Cheung Sha Wan of Sham Shui Po District founded in 2015. Inspired by the Umbrella Revolution, the group contested in the 2015 District Council election but faile ...

Tsz Wan Shan Constructive Power Tsz Wan Shan Constructive Power () was a local political group based in Tsz Wan Shan of Wong Tai Sin District founded in January 2015 by a group of HKGolden netizens. Inspired by the Umbrella Revolution, the group contested in the 2015 Distric ...

and Tuen Mun Community with the slogan "Hong Kong nation's self-determination" where Chan led a one-man ticket in Kowloon East constituency. Despite he and other candidates were required to sign the extra confirmation form to declare their understanding of Hong Kong being an inalienable part of China as stipulated in the Basic Law of Hong Kong. Although refusing to sign the form, Chan's candidacy was confirmed by the

Electoral Affairs Commission The Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) is the body, established under the Electoral Affairs Commission Ordinance, that oversees electoral matters in Hong Kong. Its main functions include considering or reviewing the boundaries of Legisla ...

while some others were disqualified from running. After several warnings against the pro-independence candidates that they might still be disqualified, Chan spoke for the Hong Kong independence in several electoral forums: "I support Hong Kong independence ... it’s the only way out." He also demanded the Basic Law to be scrapped. He eventually received 12,854 votes and was not elected. In the 2016 Election Committee Subsector elections, Chan joined the

pro-democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

IT Vision to run in the Information Technology subsector against incumbent Chief Executive

Leung Chun-ying Leung Chun-ying (; born 12 August 1954), also known as CY Leung, is a Hong Kong politician and chartered surveyor, who has served as vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference since Ma ...

from running for second term. He was elected with 4,238 votes. In the 2017 Chief Executive election, Chan nominated retired judge Woo Kwok-hing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Chak-to Living people 1984 births Hong Kong activists Hong Kong localists Kowloon East Community politicians Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2017–2021