Wong Yan-lung, GBM, SC (; born 1963) is a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

in Hong Kong who served as the second Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong between 20 October 2005 and 30 June 2012.

Early years

Wong grew up in a small flat in Tai Wong Street East ( 大王東街) in

Wan Chai Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to th ...

. He sold ice cream with his father for a monthly income of HK$300-HK$400. Wong graduated from secondary school at Queen's College in

Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...

, Hong Kong. His top marks meant that he secured scholarships every year while studying at the College. In the 1980s, the family moved to

Wah Fu Estate Wah Fu Estate () is a public housing estate located next to Waterfall Bay, Pok Fu Lam in Hong Kong's Southern District. It was built on a new town concept in 1967 and was renovated in 2003. Divided into Wah Fu (I) Estate () and Wah Fu (II) E ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. However, his father continued selling ice cream until Wong returned from studying in England. He read law at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

while on a Prince Philip Scholarship.

Career

Wong undertook pupillage with Andrew Li, and was the latter's last ever pupil. In 1987, he was called to both the Bar of England & Wales and

the Bar of Hong Kong The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) is the professional regulatory body for barristers in Hong Kong. The Law Society of Hong Kong is the equivalent association for solicitors in Hong Kong. Victor Dawes SC is the current chairman of the Cou ...

. He was appointed a

Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdicti ...

in 2002. He sat as a Deputy High Court Judge of the

Court of First Instance A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance w ...

in July 2003, and was a Council member of the

Hong Kong Bar Association The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) is the professional regulatory body for barristers in Hong Kong. The Law Society of Hong Kong is the equivalent association for solicitors in Hong Kong. Victor Dawes SC is the current chairman of the Cou ...

from 1989 to 1990, from 1997 to 2002 and from 2003 to 2005. He was also Chairman of the Special Committee on Legal Education of the Association from 2003 to 2005. He then served as the second Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong between 20 October 2005 and 30 June 2012, under

Donald Tsang Yam-kuen Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (; born 7 October 1944) is a former Hong Kong civil servant who served as the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012. Tsang joined the colonial civil service as an Executive Officer in 1967, occupyin ...

. Since his retirement from governmental office, Wong has resumed private practice as a barrister at

Temple Chambers Temple Chambers is a set of barristers' chambers based in Admiralty, Hong Kong. It is widely considered to be the leading set of chambers in Hong Kong given its high ratio of senior counsel to juniors, as well as a strong history of appointments ...

, with a broad civil and commercial practice. Wong has served as Chairman of the Buildings Appeal Tribunal, of the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Boards, and of the Non-local Higher and Professional Education Appeal Board.Biodata
/ref> On the

Hong Kong Legislative Council oath-taking controversy The Hong Kong Legislative Council members' oath-taking controversy was a series of events surrounding the oaths of office of a dozen pro-democracy and localist members-elect of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) on 12 October 2016 wh ...

, Wong described the

National People's Congress Standing Committee The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...

interpretation of the Basic Law as a "pity" and "avoidable". He added that “from the constitutional and legal perspective, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee undoubtedly has the power to interpret every single clause of the Basic Law ... but at the same time, there is no doubt that such power must be exercised with extreme restraint and only when it is unavoidable”. When former Chief Executive

Donald Tsang Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (; born 7 October 1944) is a former Hong Kong civil servant who served as the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012. Tsang joined the colonial civil service as an Executive Officer in 1967, occupyi ...

was found guilty of one count of misconduct in public office in 2017, Wong personally wrote a ten-page letter of mitigation, stating that " sang'ssignificant contributions to Hong Kong in the past over 4 decades should be properly recognized."

Personal life

Wong has three daughters with his wife, Esther Chan. He met his wife while doing charity work between 1991 and 1996, and married in 1996. He received several hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars as a wedding gift from his wife's wealthy family, which he, in turn, gave to organisations for the homeless. He is a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. He has also served as Vice-Chairman of the CEDAR Fund and Member of the Steering Committee and Volunteer of the Hong Kong Christian Concern for the Homeless.

Awards and honours

Wong was elected as a Master of the Bench of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in 2007. He was made an Honorary Fellow of Magdalene College,

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 2009. He has also received honorary degrees from Lingnan University,

Shue Yan University Hong Kong Shue Yan University (HKSYU or SYU) is a private liberal-arts university on Braemar Hill, North Point, Hong Kong. Founded in 1971 as Hong Kong Shue Yan College () by Henry Hu and Chung Chi-yung, it was unilaterally recognised as the ...

, 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 an ...

, the

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is a public research university in Clear Water Bay Peninsula, New Territories, Hong Kong. Founded in 1991 by the British Hong Kong Government, it was the territory's third institution ...

, the

Open University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) is a university in Ho Man Tin, Hong Kong. Established as the Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong by the Hong Kong government in 1989, HKMU now consists of five schools, namely the School of Arts and S ...

, and 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 ...

. Wong received the

Grand Bauhinia Medal The Grand Bauhinia Medal () is the highest award under the Hong Kong honours and awards system; it is to recognise the selected person's lifelong and highly significant contribution to the well-being of Hong Kong. The awardee is entitled to the ...

in 2012.

References

External links

Wong Yan-lung named new Secretary for Justice

''Skyline Monthly'', "Wong Yan-lung: Black horse of Hong Kong political circles"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Yanlung 1963 births Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Barristers of Hong Kong Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge Government officials of Hong Kong Hong Kong philanthropists Living people Secretaries for Justice of Hong Kong Hong Kong Senior Counsel Hong Kong evangelicals Alumni of Queen's College, Hong Kong

Early years

Career

Personal life

Awards and honours

See also

References

External links