Chu Yiu-ming

Reverend Chu Yiu-ming
朱耀明
Chu Yiu-ming
Born	(1944-01-10) 10 January 1944 (age 80) Hong Kong
Nationality	Chinese (Hong Kong) (1997–)
Alma mater	Taiwan Baptist Theological Seminary
Occupation	Minister of religion
Known for	Co-founder of Occupy Central with Love and Peace
Children	2 sons, including Samuel
Church	Baptist Church
Ordained	1 January 1978

Chu Yiu-ming
Chinese	朱耀明
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhū Yàomíng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping zyu1 jiu6 ming4

Chu Yiu-ming (Chinese: 朱耀明, born 10 January 1944 in Hong Kong) is the minister of Chai Wan Baptist Church in Hong Kong.[1] He is one of the founders of the Occupy Central campaign for universal suffrage in the 2017 Hong Kong Chief Executive election.[2]

Biography

Early life

Chu Yiu-ming first lived in mainland China, then settled in Hong Kong. Chu Yiu-ming was baptized in Christianity in Hong Kong and worked in a local Baptist church in Hong Kong's poor Chai Wan district to help drug addicts and gang members. There Chu Yiu-ming was also a supporter of the creation of public hospitals as well as helped Chinese dissidents after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.[3]

Operation Yellowbird

After 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, Chu led a mission dubbed Operation Yellowbird to secretly move persecuted dissidents from mainland China to places overseas via Hong Kong.[4]

Occupy Central

Chu and 8 other activists were convicted on 9 April 2019 for events towards the Occupy Central and Umbrella Movement protests in 2014. Chu was given a suspended sentence while his other two allies Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man were immediately put in jail for 16 months.[5]

“We strive for democracy, because democracy strives for freedom, equality, and universal love. Political freedom is more than loyalty to the state. It professes human dignity. Every single person living in a community possesses unique potentials and powers, capable of contributing to society. Human right is a God-given gift, never to be arbitrarily taken away by any political regime,” he said during the sentencing hearing.[1]

Family

Chu Yiu-ming's son, Samuel Chu, an American political activist, was born in Hong Kong in 1978, and has lived since the 1990s in the United States of America. He is a founder and managing director of Hong Kong Democracy Council, located in Washington, D.C. On 2 August 2020, China Central Television said that Samuel Chu and five other Hongkongers were wanted by Hong Kong police for allegedly inciting secession and collusion with foreign governments to endanger Chinese security, the crimes cited in the new Chinese law, enacted on 30 June 2020 by the communist government of China.[6][7]

References

1. "In Full: 'I have no regrets, we do not give up' – Reverend Chu's Umbrella Movement speech ahead of sentencing". Hong Kong Free Press. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
2. Cheung, Tony (30 April 2013). "Occupy Central seeking support from women, workers after criticism". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
3. Su, Alice (9 April 2019). "With a Hong Kong court as his pulpit, pastor and convicted Occupy leader preaches democracy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
4. Lam, Jeffie (17 September 2017). "Occupy co-founder Reverend Chu Yiu-ming anxious but adamant ahead of trial and potential jail term". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
5. "Chu Yiu-ming overcome by jail terms for campaigners". The Standard. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
6. "Hong Kong security law: Life sentences for breaking law". BBC. 30 June 2020. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
7. "US Activist Accused of Breaching HK's Security Law Says He Will Not Back Down". Voice of America. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.