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Shiu Ka-chun

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Hong Kong social worker and activist (1969–2025) In this Hong Kong name, the surname is Shiu.

Shiu Ka-chun
邵家臻
Shiu in 2017
Member of the Legislative Council
In office
1 October 2016 – 1 December 2020
Preceded byCheung Kwok-che
Succeeded byTik Chi-yuen (2022)
ConstituencySocial Welfare
Personal details
Born(1969-06-03)3 June 1969
British Hong Kong
Died10 January 2025(2025-01-10) (aged 55)
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Political partyProfessionals Guild
Alma materHong Kong Baptist University
ProfessionSocial worker
Signature
Shiu Ka-chun
Chinese邵家臻
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinShào Jiāzhēn
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingsiu6 gaa1 zeon1

Shiu Ka-chun (Chinese: 邵家臻; 3 June 1969 – 10 January 2025) was a Hong Kong social worker and activist, and a lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University. He was one of leaders in the 2014 Hong Kong protests. In 2016, he was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong through the Social Welfare functional constituency. Shiu resigned along with 14 other remaining pro-democracy legislators from the Legislative Council on 11 November 2020, after the central government had unseated four of pro-democracy legislators the same day.

Early life, activism, and term in Legislative Council

Shiu was a social worker and activist, and a onetime lecturer and associate director of the Centre for Youth Research and Practice at Hong Kong Baptist University.

He participated in social movements and some illegal protests, including in the 2014 Hong Kong protests, a 79-day-long protest against the Beijing government's restrictions on the electoral method of choosing the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. He was one of the core members, along with the Occupy Central trio, Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man and Chu Yiu-ming. He voluntarily reported to police after the trio and Cardinal Joseph Zen had done the same, towards the end of the Occupy event in early December 2014.

In 2016, he was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong through the Social Welfare functional constituency.

On 24 April 2019, Shiu was sentenced to eight months in prison after having been convicted, two weeks earlier, of public nuisance charges in relation to the protests in 2014. The following day, Shiu was taken to hospital due to an irregular heartbeat. Having recovered from a successful angioplasty procedure, Shiu was transferred to prison by 7 May; his application for leave of absence to attend Legislative Council meetings was refused by prison authorities. After his release, Shiu was advised by Hong Kong Baptist University in January 2020 to stop teaching pending a disciplinary review, and in late July 2020 that his contract as lecturer would not be renewed beyond August. Pointing to his excellent evaluations in teaching by students and the department head, Shiu said that the decision had "totally been a matter of political persecution".

On 11 November 2020, Shiu resigned from the Legislative Council together with 14 remaining pro-democratic legislators in protest over the unseating of four pro-democratic legislators through a ruling by the central government on the same day.

Drawing on his personal experience of imprisonment in 2019 for his involvement in the Occupy Central movement, Shiu learned about and began to focus on prisoner rights and prison conditions. In December 2020, he founded the prisoner rights support and advocacy group Wall-fare to provide support, including material and emotional assistance, to those imprisoned for their participation in the 2019 Hong Kong anti-government protests. Wall-fare also addressed prison living conditions and advocated for prison reform, such as exposing the Correctional Services Department's interference with inmates' "private meals" and highlighting issues of excessive heat within prisons. Due to pressure from various sources including political pressure, Shiu announced the disbandment of Wall-fare in September 2021, bringing an end to the organization's operations.

Illness and death

In early October 2024, Shiu felt stomach discomfort. The general practitioner thought it was due to excessive stomach acid. Because the condition did not improve and vomiting occurred, he was referred to a specialist. At that time, he was diagnosed with gastritis. However, after taking special medicine, the symptoms worsened, so he went to the hospital for treatment. The doctors initially thought it was duodenal obstruction. After emergency hospitalization for further examination, in early November, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and it was already stage 3C, which meant that the cancer cells had spread. He then underwent surgery to remove half of his stomach, resulting in him losing 15 kilograms of weight. At the end of December 2024, he was hospitalized again for treatment due to worsening of his condition. In early January 2025, he needed a gastrostomy tube to be inserted and could only eat liquid food and could not speak. Shiu stated on social media that due to the worsening of his condition, he had begun palliative care.

Shiu died of stomach cancer at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong, on 10 January 2025, at the age of 55.

References

  1. Lam, Oiwan (30 March 2021). "How Hong Kong lost its academic freedom in 2020". Global Voices. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  2. Buckley, Chris; Wong, Alan (3 December 2014). "3 Hong Kong Protest Leaders Turn Themselves In". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  3. Shiu, Ka-chun (11 April 2019). "In Full: 'Don't get used to the dark' – Shiu Ka-chun's Umbrella Movement speech ahead of sentencing". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  4. Chan, Holmes (24 April 2019). "Hong Kong's leading Umbrella Movement activists handed jail sentences". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  5. Chan, Holmes (7 May 2019). "Convicted Umbrella Movement activists Tanya Chan and Shiu Ka-chun in recovery after medical procedures". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  6. "Shiu loses job as Baptist University lecturer". RTHK. 27 July 2020. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  7. Leung, Mimi; Sharma, Yojana (28 July 2020). "Sacking of scholar 'marks the end of academic freedom'". University World News. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  8. "HK pro-democracy MPs quit in protest". The Australian / AFP. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  9. Kuo, Lily; Davidson, Helen (11 November 2020). "'An own goal': experts question resignation of Hong Kong lawmakers". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  10. Kwan, Rhoda (14 September 2021). "Hong Kong prisoner rights support group Wall-fare to disband". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  11. "Former pro-democracy lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun reveals stomach cancer diagnosis after emergency surgery". Dimsum Daily. 3 November 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  12. "Former pro-democracy lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun passes away at 55 after battle with cancer". Dimsum Daily. 10 January 2025. Archived from the original on 11 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  13. "Former lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun dies at 55 after cancer battle". The Standard. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  14. "港前立法會議員邵家臻因胃癌病逝 終年55歲". Radio Free Asia (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 9 January 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Preceded byCheung Kwok-che Member of Legislative Council
Representative for Social Welfare
2016–2020 		Succeeded byTik Chi-yuen
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