Chung Kim-wah

Chung Kim-wah (Traditional Chinese: 鍾劍華, born January 9, 1960) is a Hong Kong-born scholar, known for his over one thousand political commentaries and frequent references to George Orwell's satirical fiction Nineteen Eighty-Four.^[1][2][3]

Chung Kim-wah
Chun as a professor of applied social sciences in Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2017
Born	(1960-01-09) January 9, 1960 (age 65) Hong Kong
Alma mater	Moral Training English College (Highschool) Chinese University of Hong Kong, Bachelor in Social Science University of Hong Kong, M.A. and PhD in Social Science
Occupation(s)	Scholar, Professor, Social Worker, Political and Poll Commentator
Known for	Anti-legalization of gambling; Activism for universal pension and standardized working hours
Criminal charges	"Incitement of Sedition, Cooperation with Foreign Powers with the Intention to Subvert National Security"
Criminal status	Wanted with a one-million HKD bounty from the National Security Department (~125,000 USD), since 24 December 2024

Early life

Chung was born in a Sailor family at Choi Hung Estate, Kowloon. While studying in Moral Training English College, he was also a licensed English and Economics teacher for the evening sessions of a high school until the graduation with the Bachelor degree in Social Science from Chinese University of Hong Kong, and further the Master degree in Social Science and the and PhD degree from University of Hong Kong.^[1] He continued to work as social worker and teacher, while conducted survey researches with academical analyses.^[2]

Research career

Chung's early reviewing articles focused on social policies, such as opposing the legalization of gambling, striving for universal retirement pension plans, and promoting a standardized system of working hours for labors. However, he saw that composing survey reviews was insufficient to promote social justice and comuniity development, and believed that the contemporary chaotic situation in Hong Kong was related to the unfair treatment from the political system, so he began to discuss on political issues in newspapers and online, particularly after the government controlling measures on the Umbrella Movement^[4] He joined the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) as Deputy Chief Executive Officer after his retirement in 2020.^[5] His researches found that people identifying themselves as "Hongkongers" have declined, and feel hopeless about the future, such as Hong Kong being belittled, hence believing that the government and the Pro-Beijing camp needs to re-consider on people's daily livelihood issues.^[6]

Path to exile

The Tiananmen Square incident in 1989 was a turning point for Chung to change his point of view; nonetheless, he still wished that Hong Kong's way of life could remain intact after the handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.^[7] However, the subsequent developments disappointed him overwhelmingly.^[8][2] After seeing several arrests started, and himself being investigated by the National Security Department for the public survey on the "Russia-Ukraine War", Chung declared on 25 April 2022, that he had left Hong Kong to the United Kingdom for the safety concern.^[9]

Political persecution

In December 2024, the National Security Department issued an warrant for Chung for "inciting secession of the state" and "colluding with foreign countries or external forces to endanger the national security". He was accused of advocating Hong Kong independence through various social media platforms, and the high treason of pleading foreign sanctions against People's Republic of China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.^[10] Chung maintains his innocence and denies all the allegations.^[8]

On 14 January 2025, Chung’s wife and son in Hong Kong were detained from home to two police stations for investigation by the national security agents.^[11] Eight days later (22 January), Chung's brother and two sisters were also detained from their homes to 3 different police stations for investigation by the agents.^[12]